[Testannounce] Librem 14 News Summary: May 2021

[testannounce at announce.puri.sm]

Librem 14 News Summary: May 2021


  Librem 14 and Mini Price Increase

Librem 14 and Mini base prices are going up $100 on May 31! Order now to 
get the lower price. <https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-14/>


  The Ball and Supply Chain

Every manufacturer has a supply chain, down to the raw materials 
suppliers whose supply chain is the earth itself. Links within the 
supply chain can (with difficulty) be swapped out for similar suppliers 
but each link in the chain and who controls that link is important. Over 
the course of the last twenty years the method of holding swaths of 
inventory (which is equivalent to cash value sitting on shelves) began 
dwindling in favor of just-in-time manufacturing, and the more reliable 
the suppliers in a supply chain on delivering just-in-time the less 
desire to hold inventory (also called safety stock).

Manufacturing in the technology sector has some additional churn to 
dissuade holding parts stock in high quantities, parts like an I.MX8M 
Quad rev AA, are devalued when they’re deprecated in favor of the 
improvements created by rev AB. This high-churn in technology reinforces 
the just-in-time nature of manufacturing and acts like a heavy, metal 
ball on that chain that restricts your movement.


    The Ball

Just-in-time works really well when it works really well. But the ripple 
effect of a global pandemic upon every sector of the globe, coupled with 
more demand for devices that are full computers in IOT 
<https://puri.sm/posts/the-s-in-iot-is-for-security/> and Automotive, 
causes a lot of companies to feel the immobilizing weight of the ball 
attached to the supply chain.


    The Chain

Another trend over the past twenty or so years is the reliance upon 
outsourcing. Similar to the materials supply chain, more and more 
companies have shifted entirely to sales, marketing, and finance as 
their primary labor, and most in the tech sector also add development, 
usually in the form of software development (with mostly digital goods 
produced, no tangible goods). This trend adds more links in the chain, 
and the more links, the less control of those links when there is a problem.


    The Problem

Parts, price, and lead-time. /Parts/ are getting harder and harder to 
find, and using alternatives require engineering talent that most 
companies don’t have (we do), so these parts shortages mean procurement 
scrambling, similar to the toilet paper frenzy early in 2020 as the 
pandemic reached regional shelter-in-place levels. But unlike that TP 
shortage that was short lived, this frenzy repeats weekly. Parts get 
snatched up, and some may even return again at a higher price.

/Price/ is one of the biggest factors in supply and demand. Parts 
brokers are able to seize on this opportunity for some parts and 
therefore charge $35 for a part that has consistently cost $5 for a 
decade. Even at the resistor level parts can be unavailable requiring 
procurement of tighter tolerance resistors at a higher price.

/Lead-time/ is another big problem. Parts like more complicated 
integrated-circuits (ICs) are sometimes irreplaceable for a product. The 
lead-time from the parts maker needs to be factored in, these lead-times 
are increasing every week, with the theoretical end of increasing 
lead-times being sometime in 2022, when just-in-time will probably work 
really well again. Some parts will be available within months, while 
others may not see full restoration to pre-pandemic levels of 
availability until after 2022.


    The Solution

Pay, price, and persevere. It will be challenging to be able to produce 
product in the coming quarters, and /paying/ the premium to have parts 
is one part of the solution.

/Prices/ will increase as consumer goods (the end product) become more 
scarce and the bill-of-materials (BOM) are bought for higher and higher 
prices. This passing on of the price increases allows for the market to 
determine what products are worth the higher prices, and commodity 
priced products are likely to suffer the most. We will be increasing 
prices in stages over the next year as BOM prices change and as we 
deliver greater quantities of product.

/Perseverance/ is the best solution for longevity. Having a dedicated 
team who address problems by finding answers rather than giving up 
ensures that product will be delivered, sometimes at a higher price, and 
sometimes a bit later than hoped, but delivered nonetheless.


    Products and Availability

At Purism we have a growing list of products, Librem Servers 
<https://puri.sm/products/librem-server/> with PureBoot 
<https://puri.sm/projects/pureboot/>, Librem Key 
<https://puri.sm/products/librem-key/> USB security token, Librem 14 
<https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/> laptop, Librem Mini 
<https://puri.sm/products/librem-mini/>, and two separate supply chains 
for Librem 5 <https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/> phone and our Librem 5 
USA <https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa/> with Made in USA Electronics.

The below chart will help share the top-level supply, availability, and 
impact.

	Product Status 	Parts Blocker 	Shipping Status 	Shipping Parity 	Price 
Increasing
Librem Servers <https://puri.sm/products/librem-server/> 	Holding stock 
Future CPUs, future RAM 	Shipping 	At Parity, likely to stay in stock. 
Possibly in Q3 2021
Librem 14 <https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/> 	Holding stock 	Future 
CPUs, future RAM 	Shipping 	Parity in June, probable to stay in stock. 
Yes, May 31st 2021, +$100; Possibly again in Q3 2021
Librem Key <https://puri.sm/products/librem-key/> 	Holding stock 	ICs 
unavailable for 52+ weeks 	Shipping 	At Parity, will run out before 
parts are available. 	Possibly in Q3 2021
Librem Mini <https://puri.sm/products/librem-mini/> 	Holding stock 
Future CPUs, future RAM. 	Shipping 	At Parity, likely to stay in stock. 
Yes, May 31st 2021, +$100; Possibly again in Q3 2021
Librem 5 <https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/> 	Rolling Manufacturing 
Current CPUs (unavailable until October), RAM, ICs 	Shipping, with a 
break in product shipping from May to around October 	Parity after 
October 2021, possibly into 2022 as demand continues to increase. 	Yes, 
June 30th 2021, +$100; Possibly again in Q3 2021
Librem 5 USA <https://puri.sm/products/librem-5-usa/> 	First Production 
May 2021 	Future CPUs, future RAM, ICs 	Beginning to Ship in May 2021 
Parity planned within Q2 2021 	Possibly in Q3 2021


    The Future

One of the exciting things about building a company that has tighter 
control of the supply chain with engineering expertise to handle issues, 
and even doing US manufacturing for our Librem 5 USA with a US-based 
secure supply chain, is that it allows for us to address the complexity 
of producing product in 2021 and into 2022. It reinforces the business 
model of selling on features (not price) while owning, controlling, and 
doing more manufacturing lightens the load of the heavy ball that 
typically comes with that complex outsourced supply chain.


  Librem 14 First Boot

Whether you’re still thinking about ordering or if your Librem 14 is 
just about to arrive, this is what you can expect on first boot:
https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_1.mp4 
<https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_1.mp4>

Make sure you find the included charger and any accessories you might 
have ordered in the box.

The Librem 14 supports our Pureboot bundle 
<https://puri.sm/faq/what-is-pureboot/>. This includes software based on 
Heads and Coreboot and a hardware security device called a Librem key. 
It’s a compelling way to verify your OS has not been tampered with.

While most GNU/Linux distros can be installed on the Librem 14, the two 
supported OSs are PureOS 10 and QubesOS. PureOS 10 code name Byzantium 
is our flagship OS with security and convenience at its core. QubesOS is 
a bit less convenient but adds extra software security for those that 
need it.

When you first boot into PureOS, you’ll be asked to set up your new 
users and local encryption.

After the initial setup, it’s a good idea to run updates from the PureOS 
store. It’s essential to run this often as security patches, and new 
features are added constantly.

The Librem 14 is where convenience and user freedoms come together in a 
14-inch laptop frame.


  Best Qubes Laptop is the Secure Librem 14

/Update 2021-04-26: We’ve gotten some questions in response to this post 
about Qubes support on our laptops. To clarify, while we offer Qubes as 
an OS option, we do not yet pre-install it. This is simply because Qubes 
does not yet offer an “OEM install” method like with PureOS where we 
could set up disk encryption securely and allow the customer to change 
their encryption key at first boot. Instead, when you select QubesOS as 
your OS, we include Qubes install media so you can install it yourself 
and set your disk encryption passphrase. While there are some OEM 
install methods available that are tied into the Heads boot firmware, 
many of our customers choose the Qubes and coreboot combination so we 
are waiting for an OEM install solution that is built into Qubes itself 
before we will pre-install it./

Librem 14


    Librem 14 – Full Qubes Support

Qubes <https://www.qubes-os.org/> is a high-security operating system 
that makes it easy to isolate workflows into different virtual machines 
(VMs) or “Qubes” that you can label, colorize, and firewall off based on 
trust level. One of the challenges finding the best Qubes laptop has 
always been hardware compatibility–Qubes uses advanced Xen features and 
relies on hardware virtualization extensions like IOMMU to power all of 
its virtual machine features and the Linux kernel in Qubes often doesn’t 
support all of these features on all hardware.

While Qubes maintains a community-built hardware compatibility list, 
it’s not always up to date and typically reflects Qubes support on a 
particular piece of hardware in a point in time. Since few vendors apart 
from Purism test Qubes on their hardware, much less support it, if you 
want to run Qubes on your own laptop, you are often on your own.

Qubes’s heavy reliance on virtualization also means that machines 
running Qubes typically need more resources–in particular RAM and fast 
storage–than a regular operating system. It’s not uncommon to have five 
to ten virtual machines running at a single time with many of them 
running their own independent web browsers. While Qubes lists 4GB of RAM 
as the minimum, to get the most use out of Qubes you really need a 
minimum of 8GB of RAM, with 16 or 32GB RAM recommended if you intend to 
create and run many VMs simultaneously.

Qubes Logo


    Purism’s Long History of Qubes Support

Purism’s Librem 13v1 laptop was the first laptop to be certified as 
officially supported by Qubes 
<https://www.qubes-os.org/news/2015/12/09/purism-partnership/> in 2015. 
Since then we treat Qubes as a first class citizen, like PureOS, and 
have provided Qubes as an alternative to PureOS on all of our laptops. 
Each Librem 13 and Librem 15 hardware update has been tested not only 
for PureOS compatibility but also for Qubes compatibility to ensure our 
hardware fully supports Qubes’s virtualization needs 
<https://puri.sm/posts/qubes4-fully-working-on-librem-laptops/>. We 
provide technical support for Qubes on our hardware just like PureOS.


    The Best Qubes Laptop: Librem 14

Librem 14

Qubes demands hardware with lots of resources and we designed the Librem 
14 <https://puri.sm/products/librem-14/> to be our dream laptop 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-thoughts-from-a-librem-13-early-adopter/> 
with many advanced security features 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-security-features/> as well as 
significantly more resources than past models. The Librem 14 features a 
6-core tenth-generation 4.70Ghz Intel i7 CPU with two SO-DIMM slots to 
provide up to 64GB of RAM and two M.2 slots to support up to two fast 
NVMe hard drives.

Like with past laptops we have tested and validated Qubes on this 
hardware and offer Qubes as an OS alternative to PureOS when you place 
your order. The combination of the high security features of the Librem 
14, our PureBoot firmware, free and auditable Embedded Controller 
Firmware 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-adding-librem-ec-freed-embedded-controller-firmware/>, 
and Qubes makes the Librem 14 the most secure laptop you can buy.


  Librem 14 in Video

Security is one of the core pillars we build upon. The Librem 14 offers 
the most advanced security feature set so far.
https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_2_v4.mp4 
<https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_2_v4.mp4>

*User feedback*

We had reports of users flipping switches on accident when placing older 
models in laptop bags. It’s also hard to know which switches are flipped 
at a glance. The Librem 14 places the switches front and center with 
additional LED indicator lights. Now you’ll know what’s running and 
what’s off just by looking below the screen.

*Improvements*

You can turn off all microphones with the flip of a switch. Like all our 
laptops, the microphone switch turns off the built-in microphone, but 
now the switch will also disable the headphone jack’s microphone 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-adds-microphone-kill-switch-enhancements/> 
if one is attached.

Whether you’re a system admin looking to configure a switch, or if you 
want faster and more secure networking, the built-in full-sized Ethernet 
port is here for you.

While attached to your network directly over Ethernet, you can flip off 
your WiFi switch and enjoy the extra security that comes from the 
reduced attack surface.

While still under development, you’ll soon be able to write-protect the 
BIOS and EC firmware 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-features-bios-and-ec-write-protection/>. 
Once done, you’ll be able to trigger this protection with the new set of 
switches on the motherboard.

Main PCB, top side, BIOS and EC flash + write protect DIP switch circled 
in red

*BIOS/Firmware Security*

The Librem 14 will ship with the Intel Management Engine (ME) disabled. 
With further firmware updates, the goal is to remove as much of the 
disabled ME code as possible. Once removed, the attack surface on the 
L14 will be even smaller.

Have you ever wondered what a user-controlled secure boot would look 
like? PureBoot 
<https://puri.sm/posts/pureboot-the-high-security-boot-process/> is our 
out-of-the-box solution for verifying your computer is as you left it.

The Librem 14 will also ship with a liberated Embedded Controller (EC) 
<https://puri.sm/posts/librem-14-adding-librem-ec-freed-embedded-controller-firmware/>. 
With this EC, Librem 14 owners have source-level control over their 
hardware. This also makes security audits straightforward.

*Operating System*

By default, the Librem 14 will ship with our latest and greatest release 
of PureOS. For those that want even more security but at the expense of 
some convenience, we also offer Qubes <https://www.qubes-os.org/> on an 
optional USB thumb drive you can add to your order and install once you 
get your Librem 14. The core idea of Qubes is to put everything in its 
own virtual machine. Having so many virtual machines running does have a 
cost but makes the software much harder to exploit.

*Anti-interdiction Shipping*

We also offer an anti-interdiction service 
<https://puri.sm/posts/anti-interdiction-services/> to help ensure 
nothing is tampered with in shipping. This is an optional add-on service 
where we use encrypted email to custom-tailor security measures to 
protect the laptop during shipment, including protecting the hardware 
itself with tamper-evident seals.

Regardless of your security needs, the Librem 14 can accommodate you and 
is yours to use, audit, or modify.


  Librem 14 Runtime and Charging

The Librem 14 has a powerful 66.8Wh battery; let’s dig into what that 
means for runtime and charging.
https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_charging_v3.mp4 
<https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_charging_v3.mp4>

The Librem 14 gets around 9 hours and 48 minutes with the screen on max 
brightness and all sensors enabled. This is the uptime you can expect 
with light use, like reading a text document or other simple low CPU 
programs.

With the screen at 1/2 brightness, you get about 47 min more uptime.

https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_half_screen.mp4 
<https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_half_screen.mp4>

(Timelapse of 1/2 bright discharge test)

With Wifi powered off and the screen brightness turned down, you can 
expect around 16 hours and 17 minutes.

Playing HD 60FPS video lasted 4 hours and 8 minutes from a full charge 
to auto shutdown.

The Librem 14 packs a lot of computing power in a 14″ frame. While you 
won’t likely need to use all 12 threads at their max, it can come in 
handy when building projects from source. With all 12 threads maxed out, 
the battery lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes.

When it comes to charging, the Librem 14 takes about 4 hours and 40 min 
to get to around 90% powered on. The last 10% taking the longest to 
complete.

With the Librem 14 powered down, you can charge it from dead to around 
42% in 2 hours.

For extra convenience, the Librem 14 can be charged with any compatible 
USB-C charger. This gives Librem 14 owners another way to keep their 
battery topped off while away from the main charger.

Knowing how long you’ll be away from a power source and using these 
expected runtimes, you’ll be able to judge if you can use the full power 
and display brightness or to keep things at a minimum while away all day.


  Gaming on the Librem 14

Gaming on the Librem 14 is respectful, ad-free, and covers most game 
classes at no upfront or monthly cost, all while protecting your data.
https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_gaming.mp4 
<https://videos.puri.sm/promo/L14_gaming.mp4>


    Sandbox

Minetest is a Minecraft-inspired game with a versatile modding engine 
built-in.

Minetest


    FPS

The Librem 14 has many well-made first-person shooters.

Freedoom

Nexuiz

OpenArena

Red Eclipse


    Strategy

0.AD is a historical Real Time Strategy game where you gather resources, 
battle your armies, and defend your town.

0.AD


    Racing:

For those in a racing mood, The Librem 14 has several games to get 
sucked into.

Extreme Tux Racer

SuperTuxKart

Dust Racing 2D


    Arcade

The Librem 14 can help save your quarters by offering many free 
alternate arcade games.

GLtron

Armagetron Advanced

A7Xpg

Emilia Pinball

Blobby Volly 2

Show Chromium B.S.U Critical Mass, Cultivation, TuxPuck, Amoebax, 
Antigravitaattori, Liquid War, Show Barrage


    Platformers

PureOS also has many platformers in our software repositories.

Pekka Kana 2

SuperTux2

FreeGish


    Other

Flightgear is a fully-featured flight simulator.

Flightgear

Hedgewars

Want to play some pool? Here are two great games to test out.

BillardGL

Foobillard++


    Brain/learning

Games aren’t just for fun; help keep your math, memory, verbal, and 
logic skill up with the following game-like tools:

Gbrainy, GCompris, Brain Party


    Puzzle

Keeping your brain active can be addicting and fun with puzzle games.

CaveExpress

Block Out II

BRIQUOLO, Block attack rise of the blocks, Brutal Chess, Do’SSi Zo’la


    Dungeon Crawler

Dungeon crawlers will be happy to find Flare in our repos; this great 
game lets you select a class and level up your skill tree as you 
massacre loads of enemies and search for loot.

Flare


    Hacking

Software on your computer should be in your control; this includes 
offline games. With tools like scanmen and Game Conqueror, you can 
identify which parts in ram your games store their values and simply 
edit them to your liking.

GameConqueror locking HP value

The Librem 14 even allows you to create new 3d assets or games using 
Blender. This is a powerful tool that lets you build beautiful models 
and animations.

Blender

Of course, all this comes with the freedom to inspect any of these 
project’s source code, help improve, or simply enjoy what’s in our 
software store without extra cost or ads.

Purism

Thanking you for your support,
— the Purism team (feedback at puri.sm)

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