Hello,
I saw this propposal, could be interesting: https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubuntu-open...
But I think I would like an laptop without an OS more.
With regards, Paul van der Vlis
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote -- - 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
The specs are not high end. In this vicinity I could also recommend some of the contemporary Chromebooks. Most of them run with coreboot by default. The hardware of some models[1] runs out of the box with 100% Free distros. The processors are similar to the Intel Core series, but usually branded as Intel Pentium or intel Celeron, those names take some getting used to. Wikipedia has a very useful ressource[1] in this regard. Just stay away from the ARM Chromebooks, they depend on proprietary graphic acceleration (the unaccelerated graphics delivered by the Free driver isn't worth your money).
[1]Using the Acer C720 myself, but the specs are lower than the proposed notebook [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_microprocessors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intel_celeron_microprocessors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Atom_microprocessors
Hello Paul Hänsch and others,
Op 23-11-14 om 23:39 schreef Paul Hänsch:
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
But when you build it into a laptop, you may call the laptop FSF-free, so far I know.
The specs are not high end. In this vicinity I could also recommend some of the contemporary Chromebooks. Most of them run with coreboot by default. The hardware of some models[1] runs out of the box with 100% Free distros.
Interesting, so the Acer Chromebook C720. Do you have an exact type-number of what you use? There is a version with touchscreen too, do you know more about it? Do you know more of such Chromebook devices what work fine with free distro's?
The Chromebook C720 is supported from Linux 3.17, but many people will use an older kernel. And you get problems when the accu is really empty because you cannot boot anymore: https://blog.mdosch.de/2014/09/14/acer-chromebook-c720-legacy-boot-dauerhaft...
The processors are similar to the Intel Core series, but usually branded as Intel Pentium or intel Celeron, those names take some getting used to. Wikipedia has a very useful ressource[1] in this regard. Just stay away from the ARM Chromebooks, they depend on proprietary graphic acceleration (the unaccelerated graphics delivered by the Free driver isn't worth your money).
Thanks for that information.
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.
[1]Using the Acer C720 myself, but the specs are lower than the proposed notebook [2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_microprocessors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_intel_celeron_microprocessors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Atom_microprocessors
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
* Paul van der Vlis:
Hello Paul Hänsch and others,
Op 23-11-14 om 23:39 schreef Paul Hänsch:
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
The CPU has its own firmware, too. It even needs updates sometimes. Why doesn't it matter there?
(I got an OS-less laptop some time ago for much less than $500, but I don't know if it is CoreBoot-capable. Obviously, there is also tons of firmware running on other chips besides the main CPU.)
Op 25-11-14 om 20:35 schreef Florian Weimer:
- Paul van der Vlis:
Hello Paul Hänsch and others,
Op 23-11-14 om 23:39 schreef Paul Hänsch:
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
The CPU has its own firmware, too. It even needs updates sometimes. Why doesn't it matter there?
I know the microcode is for correcting bugs in the CPU firmware, but it could be used for something else. So I don't like it.
Everything you can do in software, you can do in hardware. It's only less flexible. With loadable firmware it becomes flexible.
(I got an OS-less laptop some time ago for much less than $500, but I don't know if it is CoreBoot-capable.
But can you buy it now? And was it sold to you with the information that it works fine with Linux and with open source drivers or did you see that later?
There are very many laptops, but very less salesman do you tell that it works fine with Linux and open source drivers.
When you would want to buy a new consumer grade laptop, which one would you buy? I think you don't know ANY new laptop what works fine without testing and a risk on problems.
For me it's my job to sell laptops with Debian. I have to test laptops very carefully before I can sell them. Many consumer modells have new versions after 6 weeks, then you have to test again.
Obviously, there is also tons of firmware running on other chips besides the main CPU.)
There is some, but I think the SSD is a critical place.
I've said there are no open source SSD's. That's not correct: http://www.openssd-project.org/wiki/The_OpenSSD_Project https://code.google.com/p/opennfm/ https://github.com/lightstor/ssd-controller
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.
Hi all,
Am 25.11.2014 um 21:25 schrieb Paul van der Vlis:
Op 25-11-14 om 20:35 schreef Florian Weimer:
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
The CPU has its own firmware, too. It even needs updates sometimes. Why doesn't it matter there?
I know the microcode is for correcting bugs in the CPU firmware, but it could be used for something else. So I don't like it.
Everything you can do in software, you can do in hardware. It's only less flexible. With loadable firmware it becomes flexible.
CPUs are able to betraying you whether you load the microcode update or not. https://duckduckgo.com/l/?kh=-1&uddg=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwi...
Best wishes Michael
* Paul van der Vlis:
(I got an OS-less laptop some time ago for much less than $500, but I don't know if it is CoreBoot-capable.
But can you buy it now?
This particular one? Probably not. There's another one for 250 EUR, though.
And was it sold to you with the information that it works fine with Linux and with open source drivers or did you see that later?
I don't know anymore. I naïvely expected it to work, and it did.
There are very many laptops, but very less salesman do you tell that it works fine with Linux and open source drivers.
The first piece of hardware I bought which advertised Linux support was an ATAPI CD drive which had a firmware bug which caused it not to work under Linux, it required a workaround which was only part of the proprietary Windows driver.
When you would want to buy a new consumer grade laptop, which one would you buy? I think you don't know ANY new laptop what works fine without testing and a risk on problems.
In Germany, if you buy from an online retailer, you can return it if it doesn't run with GNU/Linux (I hope, I'm going to find out soon).
For me it's my job to sell laptops with Debian. I have to test laptops very carefully before I can sell them. Many consumer modells have new versions after 6 weeks, then you have to test again.
Yes, that's a problem. It's also annoying that they change essential aspects of the user experience without notice, such as the keyboard.
Obviously, there is also tons of firmware running on other chips besides the main CPU.)
There is some, but I think the SSD is a critical place.
Worse than the CPU? Come on.
I've said there are no open source SSD's. That's not correct: http://www.openssd-project.org/wiki/The_OpenSSD_Project https://code.google.com/p/opennfm/ https://github.com/lightstor/ssd-controller
You could go with straight NAND storage and a wear-levelling file system. Some early Linux-based devices did that.
Op 25-11-14 om 21:53 schreef Florian Weimer:
- Paul van der Vlis:
(I got an OS-less laptop some time ago for much less than $500, but I don't know if it is CoreBoot-capable.
But can you buy it now?
This particular one? Probably not. There's another one for 250 EUR, though.
And was it sold to you with the information that it works fine with Linux and with open source drivers or did you see that later?
I don't know anymore. I naïvely expected it to work, and it did.
You are lucky. The wifi works without non-free firmware? And it was new hardware?
In which country do you live? Here in the Netherlands we use US-keyboards, and it's not possible to buy laptops without OS for such a price. You can buy laptops without OS, but with Windows they are a lot cheeper. I can buy laptops without OS in other countries, but then they have not an US-keyboard.
There are very many laptops, but very less salesman do you tell that it works fine with Linux and open source drivers.
The first piece of hardware I bought which advertised Linux support was an ATAPI CD drive which had a firmware bug which caused it not to work under Linux, it required a workaround which was only part of the proprietary Windows driver.
When you would want to buy a new consumer grade laptop, which one would you buy? I think you don't know ANY new laptop what works fine without testing and a risk on problems.
In Germany, if you buy from an online retailer, you can return it if it doesn't run with GNU/Linux (I hope, I'm going to find out soon).
Here in the Netherlands too. But it's work for nothing.
For me it's my job to sell laptops with Debian. I have to test laptops very carefully before I can sell them. Many consumer modells have new versions after 6 weeks, then you have to test again.
Yes, that's a problem. It's also annoying that they change essential aspects of the user experience without notice, such as the keyboard.
Obviously, there is also tons of firmware running on other chips besides the main CPU.)
There is some, but I think the SSD is a critical place.
Worse than the CPU? Come on.
I've said there are no open source SSD's. That's not correct: http://www.openssd-project.org/wiki/The_OpenSSD_Project https://code.google.com/p/opennfm/ https://github.com/lightstor/ssd-controller
You could go with straight NAND storage and a wear-levelling file system. Some early Linux-based devices did that.
I would like that. If you have more information I am interested.
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.
Hey Paul (hey everyone),
some more info regarding the Chromebooks. I just catched up with the discussion and learned, that it might be of special interest for you (regarding selling Debian notebooks, etc ;-).
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Mon 2014-11-24 00:42:
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
OK, I'm still assuming there is more chips in a modern computer which contain bits of non-free firmware. In case of the wireless chip it usually shows because the code is so big/complex/dynamic/idontknow, that the OS is expected to provide it. For the rest of the chipset I wouldn't put the hard disk at a special place. Obviously non-Free firmware is always bad, even when it doesn't affect your Free OS, I was just confused that this was pointed out for the SSD but for no other components. The article you linked to is pretty l33t ("installing Linux on my hard drive" made my day), though I still don't put the mass storage at a special place.
Interesting, so the Acer Chromebook C720. Do you have an exact type-number of what you use?
There is what seems to be a sub model number on the package: NX.SHEEG.001 I don't think that's important though.
There is a version with touchscreen too, do you know more about it?
My previous two laptops were convertibles and I noticed that I don't have much use for a touch screen, even though I like working with external graphic tablets. The touch screen version comes with almost no increase in price (maybe +10€) but it has one hour less battery run time, so I wasn't interested in it. The touch screen variant is *not* a convertible, the screen still has to stay in an upright position.
Do you know more of such Chromebook devices what work fine with free distro's?
Well, the ASUS chromebook looked very promising too, so my girlfriend got one of those. However she returned it a day later, as to her disappointment, the Coreboot didn't provide a SeaBIOS (the extension for enabling the legacy IBM boot) and thus installation of a common Linux- Distribution would have been tricky if at all possible.
Aparently I got especially lucky with the C720. Though the entire Chromebook brand is promising.
It is possible to build your own versions of Coreboot and replace the ROMs on existing Chromebooks. John Lewis [1] provides prebuild ROMs and flashing scripts which have the reputation of beeing very safe. There is currently no ROM for the ASUS Chromebook. I got another Acer C720 for one of my clients and learned the hard way, that with the stock ROM it is much too easy to accidentally reenable the OS verification when booting. Enabling OS verification with a Not-ChromeOS installed immediately renders the device unbootable until you insert a ChromeOS recovery medium, which will erase the hard disk in order to restore ChromeOS. After that, you can start over again.
For this reason I recommend you flash the ROM of all Chromebooks before selling them with Debian. I'm going to do that as soon as I have an adapter to read the mSATA SSDs in case of emergencies. I'll probably hold one in my hands by the beginning of the year, and I'm going to keep you posted.
The Chromebook C720 is supported from Linux 3.17, but many people will use an older kernel.
This is much less of a problem than it first seems. The only device which is not supported with kernels prior to 3.17 is the tuchpad. Everything else works (I choose to not use the proprietary firmware image required for running the bluetooth adapter). There are Free kernel patches to make the touchpad work with older kernel versions as well, but I've decided to apt-pin a 3.17 kernel from Debian Experimental instead (my client is still using an external mouse, but I'm going to install the newer kernel there as well).
I copied a couple of rc.local hacks from the web blog of another Fellow [2] to make suspend work (didn't check if that's still needed in 3.17, I actually use *only* the lines for rc.local). I haven't modified any settings for the touchpad.
And you get problems when the accu is really empty because you cannot boot anymore: https://blog.mdosch.de/2014/09/14/acer-chromebook-c720-legacy-boot-dau erhaft-aktivieren/
I let my C720 die in suspend one time and didn't experience this. The fix described in this article might be a good alternative to flashing the ROM. I'd recommend one of the two anyways.
The best thing about the Chromebooks: no matter what hacks you require to operate a GNU/Linux-Distribution on the devices, it seems there is no way at all of running Windows on the things! Yeah, how does *that* feel for a change? *gg
[1] https://johnlewis.ie/custom-chromebook-firmware/rom-download/ [2] http://blogs.fsfe.org/the_unconventional/2014/04/20/c720-debian/
Hey Paul (hey everyone),
Op 24-12-14 om 00:34 schreef Paul Hänsch:
Hey Paul (hey everyone),
some more info regarding the Chromebooks. I just catched up with the discussion and learned, that it might be of special interest for you (regarding selling Debian notebooks, etc ;-).
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Mon 2014-11-24 00:42:
A SSD has it's own processor and firmware, and that's always non-free so far I know.
OK, I'm still assuming there is more chips in a modern computer which contain bits of non-free firmware. In case of the wireless chip it usually shows because the code is so big/complex/dynamic/idontknow, that the OS is expected to provide it.
This has a few reasons:
- It's cheaper to make such a device without a flashrom, and load the firmware every time by the OS. - It's possible, on some other devices like SSD's or DVD players it's not possible if you also want to boot from it. - It's more flexible: the manufacturer can change the firmware later and repair bugs etc. A friend of me once told: "you can do everything in hardware what you can do in software, it's only less flexible". Now this disadvantage is gone. - Maybe it's important for different markets, in some countries they use different regulations. Not sure about this point.
For the rest of the chipset I wouldn't put the hard disk at a special place. Obviously non-Free firmware is always bad, even when it doesn't affect your Free OS, I was just confused that this was pointed out for the SSD but for no other components.
Not sure how many other parts are in a laptop these days, except from the chipset. Will devices like a keyboard or a display have it's own processor? Not sure.
The article you linked to is pretty l33t ("installing Linux on my hard drive" made my day),
I don't understand you here.
though I still don't put the mass storage at a special place.
Something like an 3G modem is very interesting too. Or AMT...
Interesting, so the Acer Chromebook C720. Do you have an exact type-number of what you use?
There is what seems to be a sub model number on the package: NX.SHEEG.001 I don't think that's important though.
Many devices are changing every few weeks.
There is a version with touchscreen too, do you know more about it?
My previous two laptops were convertibles and I noticed that I don't have much use for a touch screen, even though I like working with external graphic tablets. The touch screen version comes with almost no increase in price (maybe +10€) but it has one hour less battery run time, so I wasn't interested in it. The touch screen variant is *not* a convertible, the screen still has to stay in an upright position.
Thanks for your info.
Do you know more of such Chromebook devices what work fine with free distro's?
Well, the ASUS chromebook looked very promising too, so my girlfriend got one of those. However she returned it a day later, as to her disappointment, the Coreboot didn't provide a SeaBIOS (the extension for enabling the legacy IBM boot) and thus installation of a common Linux- Distribution would have been tricky if at all possible.
Aparently I got especially lucky with the C720. Though the entire Chromebook brand is promising.
It is possible to build your own versions of Coreboot and replace the ROMs on existing Chromebooks. John Lewis [1] provides prebuild ROMs and flashing scripts which have the reputation of beeing very safe. There is currently no ROM for the ASUS Chromebook. I got another Acer C720 for one of my clients and learned the hard way, that with the stock ROM it is much too easy to accidentally reenable the OS verification when booting. Enabling OS verification with a Not-ChromeOS installed immediately renders the device unbootable until you insert a ChromeOS recovery medium, which will erase the hard disk in order to restore ChromeOS. After that, you can start over again.
Hmm. Maybe John does provide a coreboot ROM for the Acer C720.
For this reason I recommend you flash the ROM of all Chromebooks before selling them with Debian. I'm going to do that as soon as I have an adapter to read the mSATA SSDs in case of emergencies. I'll probably hold one in my hands by the beginning of the year, and I'm going to keep you posted.
Thanks, I am interested ;-)
The Chromebook C720 is supported from Linux 3.17, but many people will use an older kernel.
This is much less of a problem than it first seems. The only device which is not supported with kernels prior to 3.17 is the tuchpad. Everything else works (I choose to not use the proprietary firmware image required for running the bluetooth adapter). There are Free kernel patches to make the touchpad work with older kernel versions as well, but I've decided to apt-pin a 3.17 kernel from Debian Experimental instead (my client is still using an external mouse, but I'm going to install the newer kernel there as well).
There is an unresolved lockup bug in kernel 3.17 and later. Not sure how important that bug is. http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTg2NzA
I copied a couple of rc.local hacks from the web blog of another Fellow [2] to make suspend work (didn't check if that's still needed in 3.17, I actually use *only* the lines for rc.local). I haven't modified any settings for the touchpad.
And you get problems when the accu is really empty because you cannot boot anymore: https://blog.mdosch.de/2014/09/14/acer-chromebook-c720-legacy-boot-dau erhaft-aktivieren/
I let my C720 die in suspend one time and didn't experience this. The fix described in this article might be a good alternative to flashing the ROM. I'd recommend one of the two anyways.
The best thing about the Chromebooks: no matter what hacks you require to operate a GNU/Linux-Distribution on the devices, it seems there is no way at all of running Windows on the things! Yeah, how does *that* feel for a change? *gg
Windows RT needs UEFI so far I know.
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.
[1] https://johnlewis.ie/custom-chromebook-firmware/rom-download/ [2] http://blogs.fsfe.org/the_unconventional/2014/04/20/c720-debian/
At Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:39:09 +0100, Paul Hänsch wrote:
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
Don't trust a hard drive to not modify the data in flight:
http://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack&page=5
Neal
Op 24-11-14 om 13:28 schreef Neal H. Walfield:
At Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:39:09 +0100, Paul Hänsch wrote:
Paul van der Vlis paul@vandervlis.nl, Sun 2014-11-23 23:06:
https://bryanquigley.com/uncategorized/would-you-crowdfund-a-500-ubunt u-open-to-the-core-laptop
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't notebook SSDs appear as standerdised SATA disks these days? I've never experienced any trouble with this class of device. Could imagine that the internal ROM firmware is proprietary, but this should be the case for a lot of the components (even when the loadable part of the firmware is free).
Don't trust a hard drive to not modify the data in flight:
This link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPEzLNh5YIo is about SD cards and what's dangerous about them. But what you can do with SD cards you can do with SSDs and USB sticks too, I would say.
And think about removing data what's in bad blocks. I think it's not possible to remove that data without destroying the SSD. An SSD could even copy all your data to hidden parts.
I would like SSD's without a controller, where the OS is reponseable for bad-block mapping and wear leveling. Or SSD's with open source firmware.
See here a list of the tasks of the processor in a SSD: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive#Controller
With regards, Paul van der Vlis.
Neal _______________________________________________ Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
"Neal H. Walfield" neal@walfield.org writes:
At Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:39:09 +0100, Paul Hänsch wrote:
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't trust a hard drive to not modify the data in flight: http://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack&page=5
I've now read that (short) page, but it doesn't say anything to me about “hard drive […] modify the data in flight”. Probably because I'm not expert on hardware hacking.
Can you point to, or write, an explanation of what a free-software proponent is expected to learn from the above page?
Hi Ben,
It's actually on the page 4 (proof-of-concept): [quote]
"This little bit of code would replace the first 4 bytes of every sector in cache with 0x12345678 every time it's called, so if I uploaded all this to the hard disk, I should see that number on the start of every sector I read. I uploaded the bits of code over JTAG..."
You'll find that passage just before the white-on-black ROXTerm screenshot.
And some more possible scenarios on page 6: http://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack&page=6
"With the firmware hack in place, however, the attacker could tell the hard disk to do something nefarious with the new install. He'd need to trigger that behaviour first, though, and that could be done by writing a certain magic string the firmware hack would look for to the disk. The magic string can be in any file; the attacker could for example upload a .jpeg-file with the string in it to the server. He could also request a file from the webserver with the magic string appended to the URL. That would eventually end up in the logs of the machines, triggering the exploit. "
BTW: The same goes for SD cards, USB drives, etc. that have a (micro)controller on board, which could be (remotely/before-hand) programmed with malicious software.
A good thing to look at with this in mind is full disk encryption, so the HDD/SD/USB-stick controller sees only "noise" as data. In case of LUKS there's still the LUKS header on the disk, with the malware could mess with... Not sure if that gives any chance to attack.
Best, Jann
On 25/11/14 00:07, Ben Finney wrote:
"Neal H. Walfield" neal@walfield.org writes:
At Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:39:09 +0100, Paul Hänsch wrote:
I don't get this point:
""quote --
- 128 GB SSD (this would be the one component that might have to be
proprietary as I’m not aware of another option) -- ""
Don't trust a hard drive to not modify the data in flight: http://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack&page=5
I've now read that (short) page, but it doesn't say anything to me about “hard drive […] modify the data in flight”. Probably because I'm not expert on hardware hacking.
Can you point to, or write, an explanation of what a free-software proponent is expected to learn from the above page?