Do you still run Trisquel, even if...
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Do you still run Trisquel, even if your hardware is unsupported without free software? Or do you choose another distribution?
As someone who has many computers (and computer hardware) laying around, a lot of my devices require proprietary software for proper functioning. However, I prefer the default look, feel, and setup of Trisquel so I keep it installed on all of my machines. Some are fully liberated (like the X200), some work almost flawlessly with just the need of a compatible wifi adapter, and some need both proprietary GPU and network card drivers to function properly.
I'm curious if anyone else decides to use Trisquel this way, or if they just opt for a less-libre solution since they're using proprietary software anyways. I prefer to keep my devices as free as possible, while also still being functional.
The reason why I use trisquel is to only use free software with ease. I will be getting an Atheros wifi dongle to plug into my machine to be able to use wifi with trisquel, but at the moment right now, I am still using my phone with usb tethering.
This is possible for older modern hardware where the GPU is still compatible and CPU microcode updates are not a concern. However for modern hardware the ISO will not even load because it cannot load the GPU.
I wanted to run a 100% free distribution but had an HP Omnibook 7 ai, made in 2025 supposedly top of the line. Long story short, a bios bug made it fail when I rebooted too often. So I made the dive and bought a librebooted X200 thinkpad, canoebooted it and ran Parabola on it. It runs just as fine as my modern laptop for all normal use cases. You do not need modern hardware.
Older thinkpads are just better laptops, they have better keyboards, better modularity, little to no backdoors once librebooted. Just take the dive modern hardware is not worth it, its a meme.
I agree that the older Thinkpads are better laptops. I have a newer Lenovo Legion laptop with nVidia GTX 1650 that is running Trisquel, just with proprietary graphics drivers. Installation was a little tricky requiring TTY boot and some Grub modifications to get display output to function correctly.
I feel like Trisquel is still the best option. If GPU drivers ever become liberated and functional then the proprietary code can be removed or OS reinstalled. Same as to if there's ever a more liberated BIOS, it can be upgraded if/when that happens.
I'd describe the X200 as a laptop that can run libre or relatively libre boot firmware and a libre OS, not as fully libre hardware, not as open silicon, and not as an FLOSS computer design.
The X200 is not "fully liberated". You can replace the stock BIOS with a libre BIOS/UEFI and run a libre operating system, but that only frees part of the boot and software stack, not the whole machine. The EC firmware remains proprietary and still depends on Lenovo's original firmware path rather than on a libre EC replacement. The CPU depends on proprietary microcode, and there are other firmware-bearing components in the system, including the optical drive in the dock and various motherboard devices, that are not liberated just because the main boot firmware was replaced.
The system also speaks x86, and x86 is not generally considered as a fully open ISA in the way open ISAs are. The existence of open-source emulators or "unofficial documentation" around x86 does not make the ISA itself open.
Unfortunately we do not live in a libre hardware world. We live in a market that rewards cheapness, secrecy, and convenience, then teaches users to call that normal. The real scandal, IMO, isn't that one two-decade-old ThinkPad falls short. It is that an old ThinkPad with a replaced BIOS still counts as unusually free. The other scandal is that many really open projects, litke the openPOWER (Raptor CS, TALOS II, Blackbird) project failed because too few people bought in. I call it a failure because there has been no follow-up to their 2017 POWER9 hardware, while today's x86 machines, and even x86 machines from that time, offer substantially (by many factors) better energy efficiency and performance. Both matter if you want to scale a product, and if you cannot scale it, few people will be able to use it, because prices will remain prohibitively high or engineers who develop real libre computer hardware will choose to spend their time on something else because there is no reward of doing so.
/thum
That is an excellent way of putting things. I had so much faith in the EOMA68 project. A lightweight, relatively affordable and modular computing device aiming for RYF certification. Meanwhile openPOWER was equivalent to purchasing a used car and completely out of reach for almost anyone interested in freedom.
Very well written, showing the whole dilemma in which all Free Software enthusiasts live with their hardware from a person who tried to help freedom-loving people as best he could with his experience and his company. Thank you very much for that!
Christoph
In some situations, I used my laptops without internet connections because the libre OS didn't support the wifi cards.
I don't normally use laptops away from home and I prefer to avoid wifi, so the lack of wifi support is inconvenient only when I'm homeless.
I had to replace my old laptop recently, and I wasn't willing to buy very old hardware so I gave up on free firmware. Other than firmware I don't have any proprietary software installed.
The lack of modern wifi chipsets that don't require proprietary firmware is a problem that probably won't be solved any time soon.
I am a translator!
I want to only use FSDG-compliant distros and not to add anything to them to make the computer work.
I bought a laptop from novacustom (I guess it is from clevo) perhaps 2 years ago with what was a modern intel CPU of the time. It works fine with Trisquel and I could put a wifi card that works without installing non-free firmware (bought it from Thinkpenguin). I was told that the UEFI installed by the vendor probably includes non-free firmware for the integrated intel GPU, but that is somehow transparent to me.
I also use Trisquel on a T14s with the original Lenovo firmware. I did not have to install anything. I don't use wifi with it, I use a cellular connection via a GL-inet 4G router connected with a LAN cable.
Recently, I bought a T480s for my boyfriend, with the not so libre libreboot, and I chose this because it allows changing the wifi card for one that works with Trisquel, which I did (this time, bought a cheap one second hand). That laptop is from 2018, which I guess a number of people consider as "very old", but it is still much newer than an X200 or a T400.
I would still try to get a coreboot/libreboot intel me disabled device with ath9k wifi card if possible.
If you have to use a newer device, T480s is a good one for this purpose.
Well, it's too late for that. The T480s at least seems better than a lot of the computers recommended here, but I wanted newer hardware and hence decided to go with a newer Thinkpad (not brand new but a refurbished one from a couple of years ago).
The firmware situation sucks but I don't see it changing any time soon. Honestly I've been putting more of my energy into other causes such as animal rights activism which seems to be having an actual impact. When it comes to technology, I'm also more worried about the societal impact of AI (not that I'm against the technology as a whole) than proprietary firmware.
Am running Trisquel on:
i7 elitebook PRO HP: no wifi driver, no ethernet jack, no bluetooth driver, T10 Install worked only after overwriting Windows. Deferring upgrade because I want CTR-A that still selects entire bash scrollback buffer memory. Incorrect character mapping with foreign language since install.
i5 X250 Lenovo: nonexistent wifi. Bluetooth works. Dual boot T8 install, upgraded incrementally till T11. Deferring upgrade till OS backup is done requiring live session.
i3 Aspire acer: no wifi driver, no backlight adjustment driver, T9 Plasma USB install after failure to upgrade past T6. Triskel Plasma missing much needed character map.
2022 asus budget model died with T7, wifi worked however.
I am running Trisquel 12 on a second-hand refurbished desktop. I did not modify the BIOS/UEFI system but I am using the Intel integrated graphics that came with the machine, and ethernet for networking. This is the fastest computer I ever used, and I can accept non-free microcode as long as it does not get updated. The longer it stays unchanged, the higher the chances of catching and mitigating vulnerabilities. This is only possible if the whole operating system is fully libre, drivers and firmware included.
I am still to gather reliable information about other peripherals like external drives. Some of them seem to have the ability to use some embedded non-free code. I am not sure what actually happens when I start my external HDD for archiving or backup purposes.
To me, this is a false dichotomy. Many years ago I chose to live in software freedom. Every decision made since then, such as what hardware to get, was made from that initial decision. So when I install Trisquel I don't have to choose between software freedom and working hardware: I can have both. Everyone can.