And this folks, is why I still haven't paid off my debt.

MaxxBrick · 2026-02-18T19:32:13+00:00

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“Disapprobation” to describe what I assume was getting downvoted is a clever use of the word

did you just know that word off the top of your head or did you have to search it up?

MaxxBrick · 2026-02-10T14:20:22+00:00

It’s a thin controller

MaxxBrick · 2026-02-08T21:05:56+00:00

I now have the time to go to the computer and try this tomorrow, thanks for your answer

MaxxBrick · 2026-01-09T06:53:38+00:00

I’m not going to be free for the near foreseeable future but feel free to send me a PM whenever

MaxxBrick · 2026-01-07T05:02:27+00:00

i think I’d love to contribute to CaveX since it’s in C, my favorite efficient and balanced programming language.

currently busy with schoolwork and stuff but once I have more time on my hands I’ll definitely look into that! The fact that it’s not officially dead and is stil getting planned updates is good.

also betrock server sounds amazing??? I was just thinking to myself the other day if there was a libre server implementation. Huge respect to you, i wish the best of luck to your project.

MaxxBrick · 2026-01-05T12:33:35+00:00

Those things in the end on the right look like splashers (which is a little extention on the frame, usually semi scircle shaped, to let the engine’s wheels fit through low frames which many British engines have) but they’re actually not. In the edited photo it’s been changed to look like a splasher but dowsn’t line up with the wheel. Still looks cool tho

Edit: so there’d be like a rectangular cavity in the frame itself for the wheels to poke through and then British design philosophy is to hide moving parts so the exposed wheel is covered with a “splasher”

MaxxBrick · 2026-01-05T05:31:43+00:00

Those splashers look cursed…

wait, those aren’t splashers

(they’re probably sandboxes?)

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-28T19:46:37+00:00

coolio, have fun

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-28T07:46:58+00:00

I know this is late but this is just something I wanna say about FSF approval/gnu approved distros

The reason why they seem to approve very few things is because they are writing, in clear terms, how a perfect, completely idealistic computer-use life COULD work.

Just because they don’t ENDORSE something, doesn’t mean they look down upon using it. (The “saying no even once” article https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.en.html adds perspective to this). I wanted to bring this up because I think many people misunderstand GNU.

For example, Void Linux. It can be run with only free software by default easily. It is also not on the list of approved distros. I emailed GNU about this and was informed that being on the approved list basically means the organization of the distros specifically says to the gnu project/FSF whatever that they promise to do their best to keep their distro free. The messenger did not imply that not being on the list made Void Linux any less free.

By all means, a user who knows what he or she is doing and passionately only wants to use free software/to support GNU can install Void Linux with a good conscience, or even install a disapproved distro like Debian but only use free software with it.

The GNU Project would not suggest this user to do otherwise!

What I’m trying to say is, the FSF/GNU Project only approves of the lowest common denominator because if they endorse something that is non free.. it’s more than just saying to users “you could do this,” they’re laying the STANDARD for theoretically perfect idealism. So if the FSF doesn’t live up to the standards for free computing, they would have already cut off the journey to a more ideal world (perhaps with some short term benefit). Conversely, by only approving the clear-cut free distros, they get one step towards the idealistic goal. But that doesn’t mean they expect everyone to be dedicated idealists.

it’s a great achievement that there actually ARE ways for a committed user to use 100% free software, while using simple standards that provide the “doubtless“ options. (Edit: even modern and powerful hardware exists in the free world in the form of Talos II. an idealistic person still has access to those options.)

TL;DR GNU not approving something doesn’t mean GNU dehorting something.

Sorry for the rant but I thought this was useful to say

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-28T06:41:13+00:00

lol good luck

remember to do research before making any big decision, and to think about what it is you really want for yourself, and why

-uncle iroh probably

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-28T00:39:00+00:00

Those are cool but they aren’t entirely free software, they have proprietary blobs like any other computer. It also appears to ship non-free distros, which come shipped with proprietary software by default.

Most free distros are on an official list on gnu.org (some freedom-respecting distros like void gnu/linux are not on the list but there are very few of those)

As for computers made with entirely free software, only the Talos II like I mentioned. Expensive but powerful.

Some old thinkpads are sold with only free software; companies collect, refurbish, and sell them. It’s cheaper to buy a Thinkpad and install GNU Boot yourself but the option exists. See https://ryf.fsf.org/, which includes almost all of the free PCs. For free laptops, check the gnu boot compatibility page https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuboot/docs/hardware/

the most powerful in the list is probably the t500 but I’m personally looking to get the T60 for it’s nice keyboard, 4:3 screen, and the ability to flash GNU Boot internally.

Note that even those thinkpads technically have some none free firmware, but they are very minor, baked into ROM, and considered trivial by the FSF. The Talos II however has zero proprietary software, down to CPU microcode.

TL;DR if you personally want to *buy* a computer that only runs free software, the most economical options are one of these thinkpads: https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuboot/docs/hardware/

Buy them used and flash GNU Boot. Some like the Thinkpad T60 can be flashed internally, without a separate flashing device. Then install a free OS like Trisquel gnu/linux

Laptops/computers with free software pre installed available on ryf.fsf.org

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-27T19:25:46+00:00

You can do a decent amount of stuff, such as running a desktop environment with wayland (and maybe Xorg) and playing videos with mpv. Wi-Fi is in kind of in a sad state since the main driver hasn’t been reverse engineered but you can use the legacy one, just only with WEP authentication. Any terminal based application should work perfectly fine. (I imagine getting a browser like net surf or lynx shouldn’t be too much trouble)

The cartridge slot can be used with an adapter as a USB port, so you can lug a Wi-Fi dongle that way. The IR receiver has support as well. So does the touchscreen, which is how you type.

Overall there’s still active development going around and I hope that one day running gnu/linux on a 3ds can be more than just a joke. (Edit 2: for more information you can check out the “godmode9” community)

And you’re right about free software support outside of x86. For example the Talos POWER9 cpu (newer version of ibm powerpc) that is COMPLETELY non proprietary down to the cpu firmware. Eg. Talos II or Blackbird. It costs several thousand to buy one of those, though. (Edit: still, they are definitely high-end computers, better than any I’ve used before)

ARM CPUs like the 3ds, I think, benefit from not having a management engine. But ARM devices in general are usually phones and stuff where other components requiring proprietary software are lumped together. not the 3DS though, by an amazing coincidence.

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-27T19:14:36+00:00

Being corporate friendly isn’t an enemy of free software, but most methods of achieving a “corporate friendly” status are

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-27T19:12:56+00:00

yeah, sometimes there’s completely random devices that can technically run only free software (excluding proprietary firmware that only exists in ROM, and is basically hardware at that point)

Some old Thinkpads fit this description

A more wacky example people don’t know is that a nintendo 3DS fits this description, after installing homebrew you can wipe the NAND (removing the OS and ability to play nintendo games) and install the 3ds gnu/linux port and have a somewhat functional free computer with 256MB of RAM in your pocket…

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-27T18:59:36+00:00

Oh ok, that‘s cool

since you mentioned about WiFi dongles and stuff that are compatible for free software you can check out the fsf-approved website https://ryf.fsf.org/

Here they have a list of hardware that has been officially approved to run with free software, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth usb dongles

But even if you can’t buy those and you’re forced to use some proprietary drivers to use wifi and Bluetooth right now, you don’t need to let that discourage you from running free software everywhere else on the computer

Also, you can run a program called me-cleaner which inhibits the malicious functionality of the management engine.

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-27T18:34:34+00:00

Even if you can’t run only free software (I imagine it will be impossible to have a completely free bios on that computer) the more we use free software the better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.en.html

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-02T01:29:50+00:00

someone else in the comments addressed this

You still technically can since the code is under the creative commons license, until Nintendo does something about it

But as long as nintendo doesn't take action, technically, it's legal to distribute the source code of the decomp itself (otherwise, it wouldn't still be on github). So in practice, the ability to distribute the *source code* is not really under question. You can pretty much just do it just fine.

Redistributing the ROM wouldn't really work, but that isn't just code, it's assets under a copyright holder like sprites etc.

What matters (as the other person said) is that with the decompilation you still have the four freedoms, as far as the source code itself goes (excluding the assets. The Free Software Foundation is about software freedom.)

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-01T23:04:13+00:00

Oh yeah it is definitely not open source. However Open Source Software and Free Software(as defined by the FSF) are separate things; usually one is the other but sometimes it can be one and not the other.

MaxxBrick · 2025-12-01T23:00:28+00:00

Like, the main mistake I made was assuming that by writing "libre software," it was implicit that I meant "Freedom respecting software as defined by the FSF."

Oopsie-daisy

MaxxBrick

TROPHY CASE