coreboot (formerly LinuxBIOS) instead of proprietary BIOS

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38480

coreboot (formerly LinuxBIOS) instead of proprietary BIOS

38480 points posted to Linux, Desktops and Laptops by yesmathew 02/20/07

coreboot (formerly known as LinuxBIOS) is a Free Software project aimed at replacing the proprietary BIOS (firmware) you can find in most of today's computers.
- Fast boot times 3 sec.
- Runs in 32-Bit protected mode almost from the start
- Can boot Windows too...

External links:
- http://www.coreboot.org/Welcome_to_coreboot
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxbios<

An Example:
- http://wiki.laptop.org/go/LinuxBIOS

gautam 02/20/07	WE REALLY DO NEED THIS! thanks for suggesting it!
enxebree 02/20/07	It's a great idea!
awpoopy 02/22/07	Definitely a great idea!
ringerc 02/22/07	LinuxBIOS would make a lot of sense for Dell's cluster offerings and some of its servers. Beyond that, though, it seems unlikely. I'm well aware of the problems with current BIOSes (and the different but non-trivial problems with EFI) ... but I'm not sure LinuxBIOS would be the answer for general use. For clusters and some servers, however, it'd be incredibly useful.
bashar 02/23/07	A GOLDEN IDEA. The faster booting times will probably astonish customers. This would seriously add an edge to Linux sales.
guyjohnston 02/24/07	I agree. A free (as in freedom) BIOS is required to have complete freedom with your computer.
lleddell 02/27/07	Definitely a great idea! DELL bios is ok but... it just could be better.Linux bios gives user more choice and is cheaper to fix bugs/issues
drizzt321 02/27/07	Merged Idea originally posted 02/19/07 LinuxBIOS Just thinking off of another post, why not LinuxBIOS? It could be much more flexable and module so it would be easier to build a BIOS for a new model with smaller changes, less cost, and less time. Also it could potentially help out with the business end by aiding in virtualization, and hypervisor software/hardware support.
keylime 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/20/07 While the BIOS may seem like an esoteric area for improvement, the idea of switching to LinuxBIOS is a very good one for the reasons stated by drizzt321.
ventura 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 I am supportive of the idea of an independent BIOS. For example: The issue I am having with getting support for virtualization in the BIOS when Dell Support won't help me. An independent BIOS would have enabled me to get what I need out of my hardware without having to go through Dell Support.
siv 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 With LinuxBIOS installed, we can really boot quikly!
kernel26 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 Fast boot times (3 seconds from power-on to Linux console) Thats amaaaazing source: http://linuxbios.org/Welcome_to_LinuxBIOS
ward 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 I'm involved with the LinuxBIOS project. If Dell were to consider this avenue, we would be more than willing to work with you to make this happen. Just join the mailing list (http://linuxbios.org/Mailinglist) and write to it at linuxbios@linuxbios.org. Quick boot times are but one of the advantages of LinuxBIOS. Other advantages include no (per-board) royalty fee, easier code maintenance (the bulk of LinuxBIOS is written in C), vastly expanded possibilities (for instance, embedding a Linux kernel in the ROM chip is possible), etc.
klatu98 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/22/07 Think security. With LB, you can actually know and have input into what your machine may or may not be doing. Visit the linuxbios site and see how many other things it offers
rminnich 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/22/07 Security is very important to many companies and gov't organizaitons. These companies have now begun to realize that they are losing control of the machine to certain BIOS systems, and they are becoming more concerned about maintaining their control of the machine, for obvious security reasons. With LinuxBIOS, one can make guarantees to customers about the security of hte machine from power-on reset. Many large commercial companies are interested in LinuxBIOS for this reason. We have had discussions with Dell in the past about LinuxBIOS, and we would love to work with Dell to make LinuxBIOS available on Dell systems. The Dell AMD-based systems would be a good starting point.
biehl 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/22/07 I am waiting anxiously for the OLPCs to show how great suspend and resume CAN work, when it is not hindered by crappy BIOSes and undocumented hardware. Dell should pay attention too!
phigo 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/23/07 This is interesting, but it is not clear to me, after only a quick search of the LinuxBIOS website, whether or how LinuxBIOS provides the same functionality as the standard proprietary BIOSes. Things like setting CPU voltage, CPU clock speed, bus speed, boot devices and precedence, etc. For example, would I be able to set up a LinuxBIOS machine to boot multiple OSes (multi-boot)? If settings have to be compiled into LinuxBIOS, then what is the point of having LinuxBIOS preinstalled (assuming I understand this proposal)? Does this mean that anyone buying a PC with LinuxBIOS would have to either give up any control over the things normally set in BIOS, or be skilled and confident enough to build and install a new firmware image? Would it make more sense instead to ask Dell to provide specs for all the chipsets they use so a third party could port LinuxBIOS to a given system? I've heard that some chipset vendors are reluctant to publish specs or allow the BIOS code for their chips to be published. Is that true? If so, maybe this idea should address that problem.
guyjohnston 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/24/07 I agree. LinuxBIOS is free as in freedom software (see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/) A free BIOS is required to have complete freedom with your computer.
unknown2u 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/26/07 One HUGE disadvantage to linux BIOS is it takes the Basic out of Basic Input/Output System.
goonmaster 02/27/07	Merged Idea originally posted 02/21/07 Master BIOS A BIOS for managing the main BIOS, that way if you flash your bios and something goes wrong you dont have to buy a new computer.
mitybogus 02/27/07	Merged Idea originally posted 02/20/07 Bios Build in much more flexibility to your Bios. Dell can build a good machine but, with no flexibility to tweak settings in the bios, the hardware in the box, to include motherboard, memory, and cpu, are greatly under utilized. A good motherboard and flexible bios can make the difference between a good computer and a great one. I have been building my own boxes for over ten years, and the only reason I won't but a Dell for personal use is the inability to make simple bios changes that I can make with even lower priced motherboards. Dell usually uses good, solid, performing hardware that operates somewhat lackluster, due to the "one size fits all" bios settings.
yesmathew 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 May be Dell can consider LinuxBIOS - Fast boot times 3 sec. - Runs in 32-Bit protected mode almost from the http://www.dellideastorm.com/article/show/62549/LinuxBIOS_instead_of_propriet...
yesmathew 02/27/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 May be Dell can consider http://www.dellideastorm.com/article/show/62549/LinuxBIOS_instead_of_propriet...
boss_78 02/27/07	Good Idea but not essential for me...
tomjwalsh 02/28/07	I would like to see Dell PowerEdge servers boot faster to improve system availability. Currently, the system BIOS, RAID Controller, Ethernet Controller, and DRAC all add to the boot time (e.g. POST). It appears that faster boot times have not been a priority for the Intel server vendors in the past. I'd like to see Dell lead the industry in this area. I've also found it difficult to centrally manage all of the BIOS settings with the current product line.
emoshunz 02/28/07	This with say (by the time the implement it) Kubuntu 7.10 would be fantastic.
flokky 03/01/07	I'm in favor of this idea as long if the possibility remains to protect the BIOS with a password which can be handy when your notebook is stolen etc.
bob_robertson 03/01/07	Flokky, if your notebook is stolen, the crook just takes the disk out and mounts it as a slave to an already running system. Boot passwords are a waste of time. Try learning how to use encryption, encrypted partitions, and maybe encrypted USB thumb-drives. Hardware can always be bypassed. This ROM idea is _fantastic_ because it takes as much as possible _out_ of hardware.
minig 03/01/07	Bob, IBM has already solved this with their HD password option in addition to their boot pass.
flokky 03/01/07	Bob: I was not talking about the hard drive. I'm talking about securing the BIOS, so the 'crooks' cannot change BIOS settings. You can compare it with what Dell is doing the past years by implementing three kind of BIOS passwords. I know these things are circumvented so it would be nice if Dell enhanced the security on the BIOS.
bonz_r 03/02/07	Dell BIOS are very good besides what are doing the others manufacturers (no name ;)
kournikola 03/02/07	Good idea
lonelovetenerife 03/03/07	Great idea A+++
bob_robertson 03/04/07	What's the point of passwording the BIOS? If someone has taken the machine, it's pointless. Unless you mean to make the machine worthless to a thief. The data is worth far more than the hardware, thus my first reaction that it was data you were trying to protect with the password.
flokky 03/06/07	My satisfactionary level is reached when I know the thief cannot do anything with the hardware. Of course, it would be nice if also the software (=Hard drive) is protected which can't be broken.
dzus 03/06/07	Where in the 21 century, why do will still got slow BIOS when a fast and "Free" alternative exist ??? Why ??
bob_robertson 03/08/07	dzus, "backward compatibility". Neil Stephenson's "In the beginning was the command line" goes into this http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html
bamorrow 03/08/07	The linux bios would be a good option, but I would also like to see a move toward EFI as this opens far more options.
tonymac32 03/08/07	I like the idea, especially if it can provide bios-level abstraction from odd hardware (I think we have all had nightmares about SCSI RAID boots)
gembla 03/08/07	it's a great idea ...
kfuchs 03/09/07	bamorrow: Are you suggesting an Open Source EFI addition (GNUFI) to LinuxBIOS? If so, that is quite reasonable. If you are suggesting a closed (proprietary) BIOS with EFI hooks to put your own (or third party) code, I can't agree. I want a totally open source BIOS such as LinuxBIOS.
kfuchs 03/09/07	A concise description of LinuxBIOS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linuxbios The LinuxBIOS home page for the full scoop: http://linuxbios.org/ A current major application (olpc) of LinuxBIOS: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/LinuxBIOS An understated quote from the LinuxBIOS website (top of the main Welcome page): "It performs just a little bit of hardware initialization and then executes a so-called payload, for example a Linux kernel, FILO, GRUB2, OpenBIOS, Open Firmware, SmartFirmware, GNUFI (UEFI), Etherboot, ADLO (for booting Windows 2000 and OpenBSD), Plan 9, or memtest86." This is the magic (going into 32 bit mode immediately and doing only the initialization that Linux doesn't later do itself) that enables LinuxBIOS to boot its associated Linux kernel in just 3 seconds. Here's a video of LinuxBIOS + X + window manager + a few X applications, all packed into a 2MB BIOS that boots in 6 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWzB-tUwDLc Another really flexible feature of LinuxBIOS is once the (intial) Linux kernel is booted, it can boot another Linux kernel or another operating system kernel from any device the Linux kernel supports. This obviates the need for a boot loader to support every new boot device such as the various cluster interconnects when the Linux kernel already supports the device. However, the biggest advantage of LinuxBIOS is that it is open source, so if it doesn't do something you want or not the way you want it to do it, you can add that feature or change it to suit yourself (or even pay anyone with the expertise to do it). Thus, you (including Dell) is not at the mercy of some proprietary BIOS company's BIOS that may still be running in 16 bit mode (with all the associated backward compatibility cruft that results in unstable operation) versus LinuxBIOS' clean, well designed, 32 bit mode.
phigo 03/09/07	A previous comment mentions EFI. Please be aware that despite what Intel would like you to believe, EFI is not free (as in freedom) software. In fact, one of its design goals is to protect the (so-called) intellectual property of hardware vendors. I don't see how it can do that without portions of it being proprietary. That does not seem to be in the spirit of this recommendation.
oneeyedelf1 03/12/07	Personally the only reason I promoted this is because I wanna screw with the linuxbios as a fun project.
nobillyware 03/13/07	This is the best A++++Open source, user flexability, user control.Dell should set up a dual boot option packaged system using openBio's, with 3 or more Linux distro's (user choice at set up / run others off disk to try out) right off of Dell spash screen at start. keep window's as a boot option to satisfy the Billyware addictions, and you have a killer system, great marketing idea as well !
gwagnon 03/14/07	This is an under appreciated idea. You know, Phoenix BIOS got its start making the BIOS for the Compaq clone of the original IBM PC. Dell improving the utility of the BIOS would be a good idea. After years of using mostly PC hardware, I had a chance to see what the BIOS inside a Sun system was like. Its a much better device. Besides just the original "Basic Input/Output System", it is desirable provide a MASTER BIOS portion in ROM so reflashing can't ruin the motherboard. Besides this, put some real hardware diagnostics inside the BIOS, and also supply basic network connectivity as well as a few tools for partitioning for formating the hard drive. Having the BIOS also recognize a Flash drive as a bootable device would also be a very good idea.
erikdebruijn 03/15/07	Wow, I'd love to have serial I/O as early as possible, but Linux BIOS offers much more. Faster bootup times are also nice.
fishor 03/15/07	Good idea. I'm bored to see broken bioses.
bamorrow 03/22/07	I did notice the original request was for a Free Software product Linux Bios, but did not see the Free listed in feature list of what was wanted. Fast boot times was mentioned, and I have seen faster and more flexable booting with EFI. I also like the code to not have the 16-bit restrictions (have then even removed all the 8-bit code) in the bios. A flexable fast systems is what I would like to see. Do not get me wrong that Free is good for some things, but I would rather a better, faster, more flexable system that runs well.
jecoker79 03/22/07	This is THE main reason I switched from Compaq (HP) to Dell on my home laptop. I ran into a problem where I couldn't get a portion of the hardware on my old Compaq laptop to work in Linux without doing a BIOS upgrade and the answer I got from HP was basically "You have to have Windows installed to do it." This lack of support convinced me I don't want another of their machines any time soon.
winoffice 03/23/07	So what? Windows XP also has fast "boot" time and is 32 bit (the majority of Windows XP operating systems -- there is also the 64 bit Windows XP Professional x64).
brentoboy 03/28/07	This is a terrible idea!!!! The reason I buy dell laptops is because I hate the bios on so many other laptops. The "official" dell bios gives me options that have full control of all kinds of important hardware and disable things... etc. Dell has had a wonderful bios on every laptop I have purchased becuase it is carefully tailored to each laptop. Using an open source bios would mean that dell would loose incentive for having the best bios on the block because competitors would be able to cleat and steal the innovative ideas. if you want innovation (good software) you have to allow those people who have a good thing going to hold on to it long enough to give them the edge otherwise everyone keeps up and no one company will foot the bill for new innovation because it will just be stolen and used against them.
ielian 04/03/07	I don't agree with the previous post. Open source is where we've seen innovation because frankly it is written with passion and a genuine desire to solve real world problems. The human kind advances because of sharing knowledge and know how. Successful companies know how to turn open source into good software. I like the idea of LinuxBIOS. can someone answer the questions posted by phigo about multi-boot and over clocking?
guyjohnston 04/04/07	I also disagree with brentoboy. I'd like to be have a computer which uses LinuxBIOS by default, because it's free (as in freedom) software, unlike most of the BIOS's provided by computer manufacturers. I don't have any unusual technical requirements for a BIOS, so I expect LinuxBIOS would be good enough for me technically. From what I've read, I'm dubious of the claim that it's actually worse technically than Dell's BIOS. I also completely disagree with brentoboy's claim that good software needs to be proprietary. I expect all the people who've voted to have GNU/Linux preinstalled on Dell computers (as I have), and all the people who choose Firefox over Internet Explorer would agree with me on that.
misiu_mp 05/01/07	I disagree with brentboy too. Free software IS the essence of innovation. There is no risk of having anything stolen since stealing is illegal (if you use the general public licence for instance). Having open and free bios would make it possible for YOU or anyone to make it do whatever you want it to do. The only way for competition to make it happen would be opening their bioses. And then all bioses would be open, free and best ever. Wouldnt it be nice to have all bioses fulfill users' needs? So the only 'negative' side effect could be that other makers would have equally good bioses. Now thats reaaaaaally bad right?
cosh 05/06/07	yesmatthew, would you consider editing the article to mention that a LinuxBIOS can boot Windows too... otherwise people might demote if they think it won't allow them to use Windows on the same machine.
jack.ripoff 05/07/07	The OEMs are the only ones with enough power to pressure the chip vendors to release their documentation! Vendors: we don't want your source code and we don't want NDAs. All we want is the complete documentation of your hardware so we can build our own stable and maintainable opensource drivers! If Dell wants to let its customers satisfied with its new Linux PCs offering, it MUST make vendors provide full and free (both in the sense of freedom - i.e. not under NDA - and in the sense of price) documentation. The rest (hardware support and opensource drivers) will come along. Cast your vote for free hardware documentation! Dell's Linux PCs offering will be completely useless without proper hardware support... http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/64498
honeyb 05/08/07	plus Dell doesn't have to rely on buggy, proprietary BIOS's anymore. They could hire someone to fix the issue themselves, or another company could do that too, since it's GPL licensed. You can even boot Windows with it. Did you know that even banks like LinuxBIOS? http://fosdem.org/2007/interview/ronald+g+minnich Link is down right now, but google cache has it: http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache: important thing to realize about EFI is that it also contemplates enabling chipset features that will trap certain OS operations to an EFI-based control system running in System Management Mode. In other words, under EFI, there is no guarantee that the OS owns the platform. Accesses to IDE I/O addresses, or certain memory addresses, can be trapped to EFI code and potentially examined and modified or aborted. Many see this as an effort to build a "DRM BIOS". I am not sure what the real intent of this design is, but is is a real concern in secure environments (such as those found in governments, banks, and large search engine companies). A number of vendors and users have told me that they are not sure they can ship an EFI system they are willing to trust in a secure environment" Sorry for triple posting , I wish we could edit posts... Anyways, Linux BIOS adoption rates have tripled since 2000. Great graph here: http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/3931/clipboard01gw7.jpg< http://linuxbios.org/data/V3.pdf Google's text of the PDF: http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache: an open source bios would mean that dell would loose incentive for having the best bios on the block because competitors would be able to cleat and steal the innovative ideas." The GPL means they have to share their code back, and therefore Dell AND CUSTOMERS gains from their contributions; this isn't BSD licensed. The entire project gets stronger and doesn't split into needless forks (eg., there is ONE Linux kernel). Isn't it said that two heads are better than http://lkml.org/lkml/2007/2/21/490 The first motherbnoard to support Linux BIOS, the GIGABYTE M57SLI-S4 thanks to an AMD engineer.
djrob 05/10/07	Video of the talk by Ronald G Minnich about LinuxBIOS http://www.fosdem.org/2007/schedule/events/linuxbios
vavarachen 05/15/07	Merged Idea originally posted 02/21/07 Use LinuxBIOS on Dell PC's & Workstations Why stop at just the idea of offering Linux pre-installed on Dell hardware? Why not go a step further and engineer a PC that incorporates LinuxBIOS into the product? From the LinuxBIOS website (www.linuxbios.org) I quote: Benefits — There are many reasons for using LinuxBIOS. * 100% Free Software (GPL), no royalties, no license fees! * Fast boot times (3 seconds from power-on to Linux console) * Avoids the need for a slow, buggy, proprietary BIOS * Runs in 32-Bit protected mode almost from the start * Written in C, contains virtually no assembly code * Supports a wide variety of hardware and payloads * Further features: netboot, serial console, remote flashing, ... Dell can revolutionize the PC industry by producing a PC that couples LinuxBIOS with a Linux operating system.
kdean06 05/15/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 Strong support here! Over the past several years, the BIOS has moved from "the grey area of hardware" very squarely into software. For this reason, I am now considering the viability of LinuxBIOS in the motherboards I purchase. Dell making the push to fully Free systems, including the BIOS, would very firmly land me in Dell's "fanboy" camp.
phigo 05/15/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/21/07 This is interesting, but it is not clear to me, after only a quick search of the LinuxBIOS website, whether or how LinuxBIOS provides the same functionality as the standard proprietary BIOSes. Things like setting CPU voltage, CPU clock speed, bus speed, boot devices and precedence, etc. For example, would I be able to set up a LinuxBIOS machine to boot multiple OSes (multi-boot)? If settings have to be compiled into LinuxBIOS, then what is the advantage of having LinuxBIOS preinstalled (assiming I understand this proposal)? Would it make more sense instead to ask Dell to provide sufficient specs for all the chipsets they use so a third party could port LinuxBIOS to a given system? What impact would this have on which chip sets they could use?
guyjohnston 05/15/07	Merged Comment originally posted 02/24/07 I agree. LinuxBIOS is free as in freedom software (see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/) and a free BIOS is required to have complete freedom with your computer.
kfuchs 05/15/07	Merged Comment originally posted 03/09/07 phigo: Options are often compiled into LinuxBIOS because it is easier for the developers to use this rather than provide a UI, but some options are already available as menu choices and an X server has already been installed on a (2MB) BIOS chip with LinuxBIOS, so even a GUI for selecting BIOS options should be relatively easy to do as well. The FrameBuffer UI patch (50KB) to the Linux kernel might be more practical to use than X on smaller BIOS chips like 1MB or even 512KB.
bogdano2 05/19/07	See my post at http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/67418/PCs_With_Embedded_Internet_Capabi... In my previous life as a support professional, I have been in countless no-boot situations that required me to pull out my customized boot cd/dvd to fix things such as corrupted MBRs, boot.ini files, partition tables, volumes, or simply re-configure the BIOS boot order. The worst part is that these types of problems almost always required my direct presence to fix along with having to keep a couple of hard drives handy in case the problem turned out to be media based. It seems to me that Dell could fix the easy issues by embedding a more intelligent BIOS/boot intelligence including Internet capability so that customers could get remote help. While the OS vendors can be made responsible for their end, Dell is responsible for covering BIOS boot order, MBR protection, and preventing the PC from becoming a doorstop just because customers cannot Suggestion: provide an Internet capable BIOS with more intelligence related to bootability of the PC.
dpic 05/24/07	This would be incredible! Also: http://openbios.info/
dell_admin1 09/11/07	Changed status to UNDER REVIEW.
amp_man 09/24/07	Hi, I'd just like to say I'd love to see this as well. From my point of view, it seems that LinuxBIOS should be just as easy if not easier to implement than a factory BIOS. AMD has jumped on board the LinuxBIOS project, and has done a lot of work with the Geode series, and is aiming at the AMD 690 chipset next, with support for the k8 already in place. Tyan for a time also supported LinuxBIOS on all their Opteron-based products. Intel has yet to join the project, but I'm sure if a company like Dell asked them nicely, they'd be willing to devote a few engineers to it. nvidia recently sent in support for the mcp55 chipset, including the Gigabyte M57SLI and several other baords. SiS is also working on a LinuxBIOS port, and a couple Via chipset ports are in the works through the community. LinuxBIOS does not currently support Windows Vista, and I know for many this would be a huge issue in the long run. However, ADLO is currently working towards booting Windows XP on real hardware (already working in QEMU), and Vista surely won't be far behind that. Dell could seriously help the community by providing a few machines to work on, complete with Vista licenses to test out, and reap the benefits in the long term.
nerach 09/29/07	I'm strongly in favor of LinuxBIOS ! Benefits — There are many reasons for using LinuxBIOS. * 100% Free Software (GPL), no royalties, no license fees! * Fast boot times (3 seconds from power-on to Linux console) * Avoids the need for a slow, buggy, proprietary BIOS * Runs in 32-Bit protected mode almost from the start * Written in C, contains virtually no assembly code * Supports a wide variety of hardware and payloads * Further features: netboot, serial console, remote flashing, ... plus... Use Cases — LinuxBIOS can be deployed in a wide range of scenarios. * Standard desktop computers and servers * Clusters, high-performance computing * Embedded solutions, appliances, terminals * Small form factor computers, Home-theater PCs (HTPC) * No-moving-parts solutions (ROM chip as "hard drive") * Various non-standard scenarios (e.g. FPGA in Opteron socket) * One Laptop per Child (OLPC / X0) LinuxBIOS is the futur for computer freedom !
expat.iain 10/05/07	Great to see this has been marked as 'under review'. What are the next steps for Dell? Where can we keep in touch with how this is progressing through the Dell machinery?
dpic 10/05/07	This is also something else great for Open Source Hardware http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/72320/Help_The_Open_Graphics_Project
petzymathuram 10/05/07	looks pretty cool....;)
dpic 10/06/07	Also, if Dell did this they would make huge publicity for the LinuxBIOS project and make huge press being the first to sell with LinuxBIOS preinstalled! It would be almost as big as the new of selling Ubuntu preinstalled if not as great. Not to mention gaining more love from the Open Source community :)
petzymathuram 10/06/07	hmmm if anything good for Dell...I would really support it with all my heart......;)
dpic 10/14/07	Also: http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/74358/Dell_Support_Open_BIOSes_for_Linux
kaleida 11/12/07	Merged Idea originally posted 02/20/07 Linux BIOS Sempre in italiano, per gli italiani: utilizzare Linux Bios al posto del bios tradizionale, si ottiene un incremento di prestazioni superlativo.
winoffice 11/12/07	Merged Comment originally posted 04/13/07 Io preferisco ad usare Windows. (Italian for: I prefer to use Windows.) (Note: I write my comment in Italian because kaleida written his/her idea in Italian.)
winoffice 12/25/07	UNDER REVIEW???????????????????????????????? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...
imago54 Jan 14	Looks great!
piratehead Feb 6	Linux BIOS can boot Windows just fine, winoffice -- it gives advantages to non-Windows operating systems without taking anything away from Windows.
gotsomeideas Feb 8	A Free Software BIOS would be so great; it's one of the only things left before 100% free/open source computers are a reality. Also, just for clarification, the developers changed the project's name from LinuxBIOS to coreboot -- a wise decision, considering many people misunderstood the name to mean that it required you to use Linux. It doesn't. You can boot Windows too, so there is no reason not to at least TRY to implement something like this (a Free Software BIOS).
winoffice Feb 13	piratehead - as a Windows user, I am not comfortable at all with being forced into using a Linux BIOS.
dpic Feb 13	winoffice , why in the world not? I think LinuxBIOS would be great.
yesmathew Feb 28	Changed status to none.
yesmathew Feb 28	@dell_admin1, I made some changes to this idea. Could you please update the status back to UNDER REVIEW. Thanks in advance.
yesmathew Feb 28	An great example, http://laptop.org ... We are using LinuxBIOS and Linux as a bootloader in place of a proprietary BIOS on the Laptop board. We're doing this for a number of reasons .... http://wiki.laptop.org/go/LinuxBIOS
piratehead Feb 28	winoffice: The problem with proprietary BIOS is that you can't check out the code and see just what's going on down there. That is a cause of concern for me, and it is legitimate because it is an unknown part of my machine that could compromise everything else. A Linux BIOS would obviously have the same power to compromise the OS on top of it (whether Linux, Windows, or other), but due to its open nature it can be studied and verified thoroughly. Mistrust of your computer components is a good thing; but which do you mistrust more? That which is published publicly and can be studied, or that which is kept private and secret?
dpic Feb 29	Dear Dell, can't you just start by putting coreboot on the Ubuntu machines? That'd be nice-- we'd love that :) You can decide from there whether or not you'd like to expand coreboot to other machines
notequal Feb 29	I'd love to see this option. I'm currently in the market for a new laptop and am leaning heavily towards the Inspiron 1420n with Ubuntu. Having a truly open BIOS on the machine would be icing on the cake. I don't know of any laptop that has this, aside from the OLPC.
nerach Feb 29	What new with its very good proposition ? When we'll be able to buy computers with Coreboot (ex-LinuxBIOS) ?
gaffe Jul 31	I really wish I had more points to give this idea. It really should be at the top of Dell's to-do list. Never again will I buy a computer that does not have coreboot.
dpic Aug 11	Well, since Dell has been quiet here, i decided to go and ask a more consumer friendly company, system76. Perhaps they'll at least have a response http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=5570909 Dell hasn't even said a word about this to my knowledge. No explanation or anything. What would be necessary to make this happen? Dell, let us in the loop!

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