Description
Libreboot pre-installed. Minifree will, on request, install a different Linux distro or FreeBSD/OpenBSD of your choosing – if no such request is made, the laptop will come with Debian Linux pre-installed.
A major new Libreboot release, version 20230319, recently came out. Released on 19 March 2023. Minifree now installs this version.
The price is in GBP (British Pound, £). You can pay in a different currency e.g. USD/EUR, if you wish; use xe.com currency converter to get the correct exchange rate, and send the amount. Minifree’s bank provider automatically converts foreign currency to GBP, when received.
Shipping worldwide! Free technical support provided for all customers, via email/IRC. The correct power cable will be supplied, for your country. Select SSD specification in the drop-down menu (see above). Basic specifications: Ivybridge platform with Intel Core i5-3320M and HD4000 graphics.
Did you know that most modern Intel and AMD computers come with backdoors implanted by the NSA and other agencies? You do now, and it isn’t pretty. And it’s getting worse. Since the Snowden revelations, we know that most computer products contain backdoors or have insecure software with exploitable bugs. Manufacturers intentionally insert insecure backdoors for profit, putting your company at risk of data theft, corporate espionage or worse. The Libre X230 from Minifree changes that!
Your Libre X230 obeys you, and nobody else! It’s Libreboot inside! The Intel ME firmware is *neutered* on every machine, using me_cleaner which disables the ME after BringUp.
The Libre X230 is a *high-end* secure, private, freedom-respecting laptop that comes with Libreboot. *Encrypted* Debian GNU+Linux is pre-installed by default, with *full* driver support including WiFi. Libreboot is a Free Software project, which replaces proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware. These sales are conducted to fund development Libreboot, lead by Leah Rowe who is the founder and lead developer, and the director of Minifree Ltd.
Unlike most proprietary firmware, Libreboot is well-audited and well-maintained. The code is regularly refactored and tweaked to make it more efficient, stable and secure. These machines are constantly being improved upon in Libreboot. This, specifically, is the strength of libre software, that it gives you such freedom to use your hardware in unlimited ways.
Excellent CPU and GPU performance
This is an Ivybridge series machine, with Intel Core i5-3320M with 16GB RAM and your choice of 480/960GB SSD or 2×480/960GB RAID1 SSDs. The X230 will easily satisfy most people’s performance requirements.
The graphics is Intel HD 4000. This will play 60fps videos smoothly and perform 3D rendering at high speed. It will easily satisfy the performance needs of most users.
Debian Linux is secure, easy to use
By default, Minifree ships with *encrypted* Debian (KDE Plasma desktop environment).
Debian is a solid, robust OS with a strong security team and release engineering team behind it. It’s the bedrock of the Linux world, upon which many distros are built. It has a proven track record of reliability, and it’s easy to use for most new people while being extremely flexible for advanced users. It’s an all-round good default choice, which is why Minifree ships it.
More info about Debian can be found here: https://www.debian.org/
2nd SSD upgrade available (RAID1)
If you pick one of the 2xSSD options (e.g. 2x480GB, 2x960GB) your laptop will then have a 2nd SSD added. This is done by putting the laptop in a docking station (UltraBase Series 3), and putting a SATA SSD adapter in the Ultrabay Slot (instead of a DVD RW drive) of the docking station.
Example use-case of a 2nd SSD: movies and pictures on the SSD, for when you get home; dock connected to a big screen and speakers. The 2nd SSD in the dock could also be used for backing up data from the main SSD.
*By default*, Minifree will configure (on X230 specifically) the 2nd SSD as a standalone drive with its own mount point.
If you request it, the main SSD and docking station SSD will be joined in the system setup, configured for software RAID1, like on the T440p product. This means that you would have to keep the docking station attached at all times. It does add some bulk to the machine, but it would still be portable – this is why RAID1 is *not* default on X230. You can ask for RAID1, and it will be done.
NOTE: Software RAID1 is not feasible in *every* Linux distro, because some distros have very non-power-user-friendly installers, such as Linux Mint or MX-Linux. So if you’re requesting a Linux distro other than Debian, please confirm before ordering; depending on the distro, Minifree may instead configured the 2nd SSD as a separate standalone data storage, with its own mount point (for example, you could use it for backups, or movies and so on).
Works in every country
The Libre X230 from Minifree ships worldwide!. The AC-DC adapter (charger) is 100-240V auto-switching, so it will work in all countries. Minifree will include the correct power cable(s) for your country.
Fresh thermal paste, fully stress tested
Minifree previously used Arctic MX-4, but it now uses Thermal Grizzy Kyronaut which offers superior performance.
Minifree applies fresh thermal paste on every machine, and stress tests it. This is to ensure that the machine can handle even the most demanding of users, under constant heavy load.
The screenshot shows “xsensors” which monitors temperatures. In the terminal it is running the “stress” program on all threads, which makes the CPU work harder such that it gets to full temperature. Minifree also runs the “glmark2” program on a loop, while stress testing, to ensure optimal GPU performance even under heavy CPU load (on these machines, CPU/GPU share the same cooling system).
Intel ME disabled!
The Intel Management Engine is entirely *disabled*, using me_cleaner. See: https://github.com/corna/me_cleaner/wiki/How-does-it-work%3F
The machines are shipped in a *truncated* configuration, providing about 11.5MB of free unused space in the flash (12MB total size).
Encrypted by default
Whichever operating system Minifree installs, the system you receive will be fully encrypted, with simple instructions included for how to get started.
Encryption by default is a recommended first security step, to protect your data. In this day and age, there’s no excuse for companies not to ship with encryption, so Minifree does it by default, on all operating systems.
USA/other keyboards
Minifree can optionally provide USA keyboard layout, instead of UK layout: https://minifree.org/product/us-keyboard-layout/
Other keyboard layouts are also possible. The keyboard page linked above has more information.
2nd battery
You can purchase a 2nd battery, if you wish:
The unlimited power of Libreboot
The *Libreboot* firmware (based on coreboot) provides boot firmware, which initializes the hardware and loads your operating system (e.g. Debian). By default, the coreboot payload in use is GNU GRUB but you can request SeaBIOS instead. SeaBIOS is more useful for BSD operating systems (e.g. OpenBSD).
With the Libreboot firmware, you have far greater security and stability than with standard, proprietary boot firmware (BIOS/UEFI). The Linux and BSD kernels are both able to run on the bare metal, including on x86, so there’s no need for bloatware such as UEFI! Advanced features like encrypted /boot (GNU+Linux only), signed kernels and more are available. You can learn more on the Libreboot website. See: https://libreboot.org/docs/
You can also find information on the coreboot website, to learn about any topic pertaining to the firmware. See: https://doc.coreboot.org/
Why is Free Software important?
To learn about Free Software, please see: Free Software Definition: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Your freedom matters. Free Software matters. Free software is software that gives the user the right to study, adapt, modify and share the software freely, without prejudice or discrimination. Free software is also more reliable and secure than non-free, proprietary software. With free software, you can study and understand every part of it, to know how it works, if you so choose; you can even modify its behaviour. You are in control of your computer.
Free Software matters, for the same reason universal access to knowledge of maths, physics and many other fields is important. Education is important. Free Software is a *community* of millions of people all over the world; by comparison, Windows does not have a community, only Microsoft customers and Microsoft employees.
Free Software is about giving power to *you* and all others who use computers. Free Software unlocks many possibilities that are simply unavailable with proprietary (non-free) software. You can learn more about your computer and in general, have more control. Things that are completely impossible on Windows are trivial on GNU+Linux; it’s the OS of choice for programmers, but it’s easy to use for non-technical users too.
Have you ever had your computer stop working, and been frustrated by the lack of support by the vendor of your operating system (e.g. Microsoft), or otherwise frustrated with how little control you have over your machine? Even if you’re not a programmer, you might still want to be able to get help when you need it, just like you can pay an independent mechanic to fix or otherwise maintain your car.
Minifree provides *free* technical support, to all customers. However, because all of the software is free, you could easily get help elsewhere in the future, if you ever wish to do so. I, Leah Rowe, also pride myself on teaching others about coreboot, and have done so far many years. I usually hang out in #libreboot on the libera IRC network. I’m the founder of Libreboot.
Free software gives you back control over your computing. You can learn more about Free Software, by reading the Free Software Definition: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
Information about the product
Included accessories
- Battery included, fully tested
- AC-DC adapter (charger) included (100-240V auto-switching, works in all countries)
- UK, EU and US power cable included.
Laptop specifications:
- 2.6GHz Intel Core i5-3320M processor
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Screen: 12.5″ 1366×768 LED TFT LCD
- Gigabit ethernet as standard
- Ports: 1x VGA, 2x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Microphone, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x ExpressCard/54
- Backlight (brightness) control is fully functional in Libreboot on this laptop (NOTE: If you have issues with backlight controls, refer to the FAQ on https://libreboot.org/
- Battery: 6 cell. In either case, we guarantee at least 45Wh capacity per battery (you can request higher capacity, and then we will make sure to get you the best, e.g. 84Wh or whatever is feasible. These batteries aren’t made new anymore, so new batteries are 3rd party ones not made by Lenovo. 3rd party batteries work well, but capacities vary per supplier).
- More specifications shown here: https://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:X230
When new Libreboot versions are released, it is possible to update to those newer versions using software (no disassembling required). Full instructions are provided.
Similar-priced models available on request
*X230 Tablet, X220, X220 Tablet, T420 and T430 also available, for the same price per RAM/SSD combo, with Libreboot. Write what you want in the textbox at the checkout page*. All of these are sandybridge/ivybridge, offering similar performance. The T420/T430 come with bigger screens, but at the same screen resolution. Coreboot has support for all of these, and Libreboot supports them using the coreboot code.
These other laptops listed above are of the same/similar performance, and they use the same code in coreboot (which Libreboot uses for hardware initialisation). If you request one of these, they will be sourced specifically for your order, for whatever you wish to order.
These other laptops are available to Minifree for roughly the same price, so Minifree will charge the same price.
