Leah Rowe, the main developer and founder of the distribution Libreboot, introduced the first issue of the project canoeboot, developed in parallel with libreboot and positioned as a fully free assembly libreboot. This assembly corresponds to the requirements of the SPO Foundation for completely free distributions. Earlier, the project was published under the name “Unofficial GNU Boot”, but after a claim from the creators of GNU Boot, it was first renamed Nongenuine Boot, and now it is called Canoeboot. The latest issue of canoeboot, canoeboot 20231026, is based on the recent version of Libreboot 20231021, with certain components and changes that do not meet the criteria.
The need to create a separate assembly of Libreboot is explained by the fact that the Free Distributions for Free Distributions formed by the FIRMWARI FORNSE (FIRMWARE) and any binary components of the drivers are not allowed. However, since last year, the Libreboot project has switched to more pragmatic rules for using binary components. This change has allowed the project to significantly expand the spectrum of supported hardware. The new goal of the Libreboot project is to support all the equipment supported in Coreboot, with the exception of binary components that may affect safety and reliability (for example, Libreboot uses ME_Cleaner to disable Intel Me). Due to this approach, Libreboot lost its status as a completely free distribution from the position of the Free Foundation.
The devices supported in Canoeboot include:
- Server motherboards:
- asus kfsn4-dre
- asus kgpe-d16
- Desktop systems:
- gigabyte GA-G41M-SES2L
- acer g43t-am3
- Intel D510MO / D410PT
- Apple Imac 5.2
- HP Elite 8200 SFF/MT
- HP Elite 8300 USDT
- Asus KCMA-D8
- dell Precision t1650
- Laptops:
- ThinkPad X60 / X60S / X60 Tablet
- ThinkPad T60
- Lenovo ThinkPad X200