Hey TCLUG,

I'm not sure if you've been reading the news recently related to how 
insecure most proprietary Bios software is, but here's a blog post, 
video, and set of slides to bring you up to speed or jog your memory:

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2015/03/bios_hacking.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNYsfUNegEA
http://legbacore.com/Research_files/HowManyMillionBIOSWouldYouLikeToInfect_Full2.pdf

I have been using Tails, which is based on Debian, as my primary 
operating system for a year and a half now and recently transitioned to 
a Libreboot laptop due to the news in the links above. Free and Open 
Source Software is the only way to go if you want to have an auditable 
Bios chip. You can't audit proprietary Bios chips for security because 
you can't even read the code they use. Anyways, if you haven't heard of 
Libreboot, here's some more information about it:

http://libreboot.org/faq/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/libreboot

Another reason why I made the transition was because I have come to love 
free software all the more as I get older and wiser and wanted a 
computer that respected my freedom. Here's some info about how the 
Libreboot X200 got the Free Software Foundation's Respects Your Freedom 
(RYF) certification: 
https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/gluglug

Once I figured out how to flash Libreboot onto Thinkpad Bios chips I 
went a bit overboard and flashed too many and am now looking to sell a 
few of them (and take orders for more if there is an interest). I have 
an X200 and a T400 for sale currently. They are both very high quality 
machines with very little wear. As far as I understand the Libreboot 
X200 is only available from this online store which is based in England: 
http://minifree.org/product/libreboot-x200/ To ship it to Minnesota, it 
would end up cost a minimum of $475 for the cheapest model. Please 
correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the Libreboot T400 is even 
available to buy anywhere at all.

I am looking for $275 for the X200 and $325 for the T400. If multiple 
people offer to pay me less, I'll sell it to whoever gives me the best 
offer. I live in South Minneapolis and am more than willing to meet up 
with you and let you check out the condition of the computers before you 
buy them. I'm currently running Tails on the machines, but I can install 
Trisquel or your prefered OS ahead of time if are confident that you'd 
like to buy the machines. I'm also planning on flashing a MacBook 2.1 
with Libreboot in the near future if anyone is interested in buying 
that.

In Liberty,
Kurtis Hanna
https://twitter.com/CaptainKurtis