Re: question about proprietory packages

[Ekaitz Zarraga <ekaitz@elenq.tech>]

Hi,

On 2025-01-08 11:26 PM, gfp wrote:
> Hi,
> thanks for explaining this.
> 
> 1.
> I understood that
> EFI is on the top
> it runs Grub
> and Grub runs the init system shepherd.

Instead of top I would say bottom. It's the closest thing to the 
hardware. EFI is written in your motherboard.

> 2.
> Guix has a Grub without proprietary software AFAIU
> and then remains the question about EFI.
> 
Yes. Interesting point.

> 3.
> Can we exclude that EFI is without proprietary software?
> Or has it only the task to run Grub?, because then it runs without 
> proprietary software?
> 
It's not as simple as that but mostly yes, its task is to run Grub.

> 4.
> Or are there other booting proprietary firmware blobs somewhere?
> Or also Microcode updates?

Microcode is a different story. I don't want to answer you wrong but 
AFAIK microcode is some code that the processor runs internally, that 
handles how the CPU works. Think about the CPU as a machine that has a 
smaller CPU inside that controls how the outside CPU works. The outside 
one is the one you run programs on.

> 
> 5.
> Do those things depend on the laptop or PC you have got?

Yes. Both the microcode and the UEFI. But the UEFI is in the motherboard 
and the microcode is in the CPU if I'm not mistaken.

There are free software UEFI alternatives:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coreboot

You need to flash the chip in the motherboard to install this. Some 
companies do that for you, or sell laptops with Coreboot preinstalled. 
You can do that yourself, but it's not easy for a non-technical person 
and you have to make sure your device is compatible.

> I know Intel and ARM.
> Risc-5 AFAIK has no proprietary software, is that right?
> Or depends that on the company which produces Risc-5?

No. RISC-V is free meaning that CPU description (the ISA is the 
technical concept here, but it's some kind of high-level description) is 
free (libre) but the implementation itself doesn't have to be. The code 
that it runs or the drivers neither.

> Thanks
> 
> Gottfried
>
Cheers,
Ekaitz