Librem

Librem is a line of computers manufactured by Purism, SPC featuring free (libre) software.[1][2] The laptop line is designed to protect privacy and freedom by providing no non-free (proprietary) software in the operating system or kernel,[3][4][5][6] avoiding the Intel Active Management Technology,[7] and gradually freeing and securing firmware.[8][9] Librem laptops feature hardware kill switches for the microphone, webcam, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.[1][2]

Librem
DeveloperPurism (company)
ManufacturerPurism
TypeLaptop/Netbook, Desktop, Smartphone, Server
Release date2014 (2014)
Operating systemPureOS, QubesOS
CPUIntel Core
GraphicsIntel HD Graphics
Marketing targetComputer security purpose
Websitepuri.sm

Models

Librem 13, Librem 15 and Librem 14

In 2014 Purism launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowd Supply to fund the creation and production of the Librem 15 laptop,[10] conceived as a modern alternative to existing open-source hardware laptops, all of which used older hardware.[11][12][13] The 15 in the name refers to its 15-inch screen size. The campaign succeeded after extending the original campaign,[14] and the laptops were shipped to backers.[15] In a second revision of the laptop, hardware kill switches for the camera, microphone, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth were added.

After the successful launch of the Librem 15, Purism created another campaign on Crowd Supply for a 13-inch laptop called the Librem 13,[16] which also came with hardware kill switches similar to those on the Librem 15v2.[17] The campaign was again successful and the laptops were shipped to customers.[18]

Purism announced in December 2016 that it would start shipping from inventory rather than building to order with the new batches of Librem 15 and 13.[19]

As of April 2022 Purism has one laptop model in production, the Librem 14 (version 1, US$1,370[20]).

Comparison of laptops
Librem model Coreboot version CPU Intel ME Release Max RAM (GB)
15 v1[21] Intel Core i7 5557U Enabled July 2015 32
13 v1[22] 4.16 (2022)[23] Intel Core i5 5200U Enabled September 2015 16
15 v2[24] 4.16 (2022)[25] Intel Core i7-5557U Enabled September 2015 32
13 v2[26] 4.16 (2022)[27] Intel Core i5 6200U Disabled June 14, 2017 16
15 v3[26] 4.16 (2022)[28] Intel Core i7 6500U Disabled June 28, 2017 32
13 v3[29] 4.6 (2017)[30] Intel Core i7 6500U Disabled October 2017 16
15 v4 4.16 (2022)[31] Intel Core i7 7500U Disabled[32] January 2019 32
13 v4[33] 4.16 (2022)[34] Intel Core i7 7500U Disabled[32] January 2019 16
14 v1[35] 4.16 (2022)[36] Intel Core i7 10710U Disabled (but not "neutralized") early Q4 2020 64

Librem Mini

The Librem Mini is a small form factor desktop computer,[37] which began shipping in June 2020.[38]

Librem 5
Main article: Librem 5
Phosh, the GNOME mobile shell that runs on the Librem 5.

On August 24, 2017, Purism started a crowdfunding campaign for the Librem 5, a smartphone aimed to run 100% free software, which would "[focus] on security by design and privacy protection by default". Purism claimed that the phone would become "the world's first ever IP-native mobile handset, using end-to-end encrypted decentralized communication."[39] Purism cooperated with KDE and GNOME in its development of Librem 5.[40]

Security features of the Librem 5 include separation of the CPU from the baseband processor,[41] which, according to Linux Magazine, makes the Librem 5 unique in comparison to other mobile phones.[40] The Librem 5 also features hardware kill switches for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth communication and the phone's camera, microphone, and baseband processor.[42]

The default operating system for the Librem 5 is Purism's PureOS, a Debian GNU/Linux derivative. The operating system uses a new user interface called Phosh, based on Wayland, wlroots, GTK and GNOME middleware.[43] It is planned that Phosh/Plasma Mobile,[40] Ubuntu Touch,[44] and postmarketOS can also be installed on the phone.

The release of the Librem 5 has been postponed several times. In September 2018, Purism announced that the launch date of Librem 5 would be moved from January to April 2019, because of two hardware bugs and the holiday season in Europe and North America.[45] The Librem 5's DevKits for software developers were shipped in December 2018. The launch date was later postponed to the third quarter because of the necessity of further CPU tests.[46] and on September 24, 2019, Purism announced that the first batch of Librem 5 phones had started shipping.[47] The finished version of the Librem 5, known as "Evergreen", was finally shipped on November 18, 2020.[48]

Librem Server

The Librem server is a rack mounted server, released to the public on December 2019.[49]

Librem Key

Announced on 20 September 2018, the Librem Key is a hardware USB security token with multiple features, including integration with a tamper-evident Heads BIOS, that ensures a Librem laptop Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) was not maliciously altered since the last laptop launch.[50] Also a one-time password storage with 3x HMAC-based One-time Password algorithm (HOTP) (RFC 4226) and 15 x Time-based One-time Password algorithm (TOTP) (RFC 6238) and an integrated password manager (16 entries), 40 kbit/s true random number generator, and a tamper-resistant smart card. The key supports type A USB 2.0, has dimensions of 48 x 19 x 7 mm, and weights 6 g.[51]

Operating system
Main article: PureOS

Initially planning to preload its Librem laptops with the Trisquel operating system,[52] Purism eventually moved off the Trisquel platform to rebase onto Debian for the 2.0 release of its PureOS Linux operating system.[53] As an alternative to PureOS, Librem laptops are purchasable with Qubes OS preinstalled.[54] In December 2017 the Free Software Foundation added PureOS to its list of endorsed GNU/Linux distributions.[55][56]

BIOS

In 2015, Purism began research to port the Librem 13 to coreboot[57][58][59] but the effort was initially stalled. By the end of the year, a coreboot developer completed an initial port of the Librem 13 and submitted it for review.[60] In December 2016, hardware enablement developer Youness Alaoui joined Purism and was tasked to complete the coreboot port for the original Librem 13 and prepare a port for the second revision of the device.[61] Since summer 2017, new Librem laptops are shipped with coreboot as their standard BIOS, and updates are available for all older models.[62]

See also

References
  1. Miller, Paul; Krales, Amelia Holowaty (2017-08-23). "Librem 13 laptop review: physical security for the paranoid". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  2. Wallen, Jack (2018-03-26). "Purism Librem 13 review: This Linux-based laptop takes your privacy to the next level". TechRepublic. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-28.
  3. Kyle Rankin. "Purism Librem 15 Review". Linux Journal. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  4. IEEE Consumer Electronics, Vol 5, Number 1, 2016 January, "Veillance Integrity by Design A new mantra for CE devices and services", pp. 33-143, By Steve Mann
  5. Purism Aims To Build A Philosophically Pure Laptop, TechCrunch, Jan 23, 2015 by John Biggs (@johnbiggs)
  6. Bridgwater, Adrian (2015-01-26). "Purism Librem: 100% open source crowdsourced 'high-end' laptop". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  7. Armasu, Lucian (2016-08-29). "Purism Explains Why It Avoids Intel's AMT And Networking Cards For Its Privacy-Focused 'Librem' Notebooks". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  8. Ung, Gordon. "Purism discovered how to make open-source software laptops even more open". PCWorld. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  9. Armasu, Lucian (2017-04-12). "Purism Laptops To Use 'Heads' Firmware To Protect Against Rootkits, Tampering". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  10. "Librem 15: A Laptop That Respects Your Rights". Crowd Supply. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  11. "Purism Librem 15". Linux Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  12. "Purism Aims To Build A Philosophically Pure Laptop". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  13. "Purism Librem 15 Linux laptop blends high-end hardware with totally free software". PCWorld. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  14. "Purism's high-end, open software-stuffed Librem 15 laptop hits crowdfunding goal". PCWorld. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  15. "Librem 15 Laptop: Shipping Update". Crowd Supply. 2015-06-09.
  16. "Librem 13: A Laptop That Respects Your Rights". Crowd Supply. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  17. "Purism Puts Physical Kill Switches on Latest Laptop". Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  18. "Purism Librem 13 Review". Linux Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  19. Weaver, Todd (2016-12-15). "Growing to Ship from Inventory in 2017". Purism. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  20. "Librem 14 version 1 – Purism". Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  21. "Librem 15: A Laptop That Respects Your Rights". CrowdSupply.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  22. "Librem 13: A Laptop That Respects Your Rights". CrowdSupply.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  23. "librem_13v1 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-04-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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  25. "librem_15v2 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  26. "Products - Purism". puri.sm. Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  27. "librem_13v2 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  28. "librem_15v3 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  29. "Products - Purism". puri.sm. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  30. "Coreboot". wiki.puri.sm. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  31. "librem_15v4 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  32. "The Purism Freedom Roadmap: Road to FSF endorsement, and Beyond". Purism. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  33. "Librem 13 version 4". puri.sm. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  34. "librem_13v4 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  35. "Purism- Librem 14". puri.sm. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
  36. "librem_14 · master · firmware / releases". GitLab. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  37. "Purism Librem Mini is a FOSS-Focused Linux PC". OMG! Ubuntu!. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  38. "Librem Mini is Shipping". Purism. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  39. Holwerda, Thom (2017-08-24). "Librem 5: a security and privacy focused GNU/Linux smartphone". OSNews. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  40. Byfield, Bruce (2018). "Librem 5 and the Challenge of the Free Phone". Linux Magazine. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  41. Rankin, Kyle (11 March 2019). "Lockdown Mode on the Librem 5: Beyond Hardware Kill Switches". Purism.
  42. "Purism Librem5 modem revealed, will provide LTE and GPS support". TuxPhones. 2 April 2019.
  43. "Phosh". developer.puri.sm.
  44. Verma, Ardash (2018-04-25). "Open Source Smartphone Librem 5 Will Officially Support Ubuntu Touch". Fossbytes. Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  45. Faerber, Nicole (2018-09-04). "Progress update from the Librem 5 hardware department". Purism, SPC. Archived from the original on 2018-10-13. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
  46. Weaver, Todd (21 February 2019). "Massive Progress, Exact CPU Selected & Minor Shipping Adjustment". Purism.
  47. PurismBeautiful; Secure; Laptops, Privacy-Respecting; Phones (2019-09-24). "First Librem 5 Smartphones are Shipping". Purism. Retrieved 2019-10-20. {{cite web}}: |first3= has generic name (help)
  48. Hamner, David (November 18, 2020). "Librem 5 Mass Production Phone Has Begun Shipping" (Press release). Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  49. "Librem Server". Purism. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  50. "Introducing the Librem Key". Purism. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  51. "Librem Key". Purism. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  52. Rahl, Jon (2015-05-17). "Production and Shipping Update". Purism. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
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  54. "Best Qubes Laptop is the Secure Librem 14". Purism. Retrieved 2022-02-13.
  55. "FSF adds PureOS to list of endorsed GNU/Linux distributions". Free Software Foundation. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  56. "OpenNews: Фонд СПО признал PureOS полностью свободным дистрибутивом". www.opennet.ru. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  57. Moberg, Larry (2015-07-20). "Freeing the BIOS: Memory Init". Purism. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  58. Moberg, Larry (2015-08-14). "2015-08-14: Librem 13: Weekly BIOS Progress Update". Purism. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  59. Moberg, Larry (2015-08-21). "2015-08-21 Librem 13: Weekly BIOS Progress Update". Purism. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  60. Laurie, Duncan (2015-12-22). "Gerrit Code Review". review.coreboot.org. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  61. Alaoui, Youness (2017-01-05). "Diving back into coreboot development". Purism. Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
  62. "Downloading and installing coreboot on Purism Librem devices". Purism. Retrieved 2018-04-02.
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