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Star Labs, a UK-based manufacturer of Linux hardware, and the Qubes OS Project, the makers of the Qubes OS security-oriented distribution, announced today that Qubes OS 4 is now certified for the StarBook Mk VI Linux laptop.
StarBook Mk VI is a 14-inch Linux laptop released by Star Labs in August 2022, which comes with either AMD Ryzen 7 5800U or Intel Core i3-1315U and Intel Core i7-1360P CPUs, up to 64GB RAM, up to 2 TB SSD storage, as well as open-source Coreboot and EDK II firmware.
Until today, the StarBook Mk VI laptop shipped pre-installed with either Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Kubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, Ubuntu MATE 22.04.3 LTS, Xubuntu 22.04.3 LTS, elementary OS 7.1, Linux Mint 21.2, MX Linux 23, Zorin OS 17, or Manjaro Linux 22.0 distributions.
As of today, the Linux-powered notebook is also certified for the security-oriented Qubes OS distribution. Qubes OS is a unique distro that leverages Xen-based virtualization to provide users with top-notch security for their needs through isolated compartments called “qubes”.
qubes-fwupdmgr, a new feature in Qubes OS 4.2 that allows Qubes OS to securely update the computer’s firmware,” said the Qubes OS Project in an announcement.The Qubes Project also noted the fact that they tested and certified their Qubes OS 4 series distribution on a StarBook Mk VI configuration featuring 13th-Gen Intel Core i3-1315U or i7-1360P processors with integrated Intel graphics and Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX210 wireless, without built-in wired Ethernet, and using Coreboot 8.97 firmware.
In addition, the Qubes Project said that the Qubes installer in Qubes OS 4.1.2 includes the kernel-latest package and that upgrading to Qubes OS 4.2 won’t cause any hardware issues as it doesn’t require the kernel-latest package.
However, those who plan on installing Qubes OS 4.1 on their StarBook Mk VI laptops will have to select the kernel-latest option from the GRUB bootloader menu when booting the Qubes installer.
Therefore, if you’re in the market for a portable and ultra-secure Linux laptop that ships pre-installed with the latest Qubes OS release, you can buy and configure the StarBook Mk VI from Star Labs here.
Image credits: Star Labs (edited by Marius Nestor)
Last updated 4 months ago
