I Backed MNT Reform, an Open Source Laptop

Posted on 2020-06-09
TL;DR
I support the MNT Reform crowdfunding campaign. A laptop where almost all aspects of the system are released under an open license. It is designed to be repairable and more secure by the lack of undocumented proprietary firmware.

As nowadays most computers suffer from security bugs 1, glued together components, and undocumented, not upgradable hardware, its great to see people making an effort to provide an alternative. Instead of buying a new device every two to three years we need to repair and upgrade the devices we own. Now there is a laptop that claims to live up to these higher standards.

The MNT Research GmbH from Berlin, Germany started a new crowdfunding campaign in May 2020. It features the second generation of their open hardware laptop MNT Reform. I already followed the projects updates on twitter. A laptop that is truly open, without intels infamous CPU bugs and without it’s shady management engine is something that I have to support. In addition to that it features a nice keyboard, passive cooling and even has a trackball! Of course I went for the DIY kit option and will have to assemble the whole machine myself.

The crowdfunding platform of their choice crowdsupply.com accepts payment methods other than credit card on request. The hardware is expected to ship as early as December 2020.

Footnotes

  1. https://securityboulevard.com/2020/03/new-intel-chipset-bug-utter-chaos-will-reign/↩︎

Portrait of the blog's author. Dude with full beard and short hair.
Author: Benjamin Brunzel I'm a software engineer based in Hamburg, Germany. If you want to get in touch contact me in the fediverse