SysAdmin
810301908d
Three viable vendors today for a UK-based hardened-laptop reseller program: Star Labs (UK), NovaCustom (NL), System76 (US). Recommended 3-SKU lineup: - Tier 1 / Lite: Star Labs StarBook Horizon (Alder Lake-N, ME disabled, ~£1,140) — UK domestic, no Heads option - Tier 2 / Pro: NovaCustom V54 (Meteor Lake, Dasharo + factory Heads, ~£1,210) — flagship; B2B reseller programme + custom engraving - Tier 3 / Workstation: NovaCustom V56 (Meteor Lake + optional dGPU, ~£1,250+) — Qubes-certified, dual NVMe, 96 GB RAM ceiling Key findings: - Framework not yet shipping factory Coreboot for non-Chromebook (AMD openSIL port still in development per Phoronix Mar 2026); revisit Q4 2026 - Purism Librem 14 ruled out — old CPU, supply unreliable - AMD PSP cannot be cleanly disabled in shipping firmware in 2026 — Intel with neutered ME wins for the hardened tier; revisit when Star Labs StarFighter AMD or Framework AMD Coreboot ports stabilise (~2027) - NovaCustom is the strongest single partner: Clevo B2B reseller programme, factory-flashed Heads option, free UPS to UK, custom-logo engraving available Operational cautions documented: Meteor Lake S0ix suspend caveat with ME disabled (default to hibernate-only), EC firmware not 100% open anywhere (don't market as "fully libre"), Dasharo firmware ships quarterly so re-verify before each procurement batch. Snapshot dated 2026-04-25; all source URLs cited for human verification. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
SilverMetal
Privacy-hardened devices for users who want their privacy back — on whatever platform they have.
SilverMetal is SilverLABS' cross-platform privacy-hardening program. We don't believe in "one true OS" — we meet users on the platform they actually use, and give them the strongest hardening that platform physically allows. Honestly labelled, no marketing fluff.
Two product lines
The SilverMetal program ships two distinct product lines, named to make their scope obvious to buyers:
🔒 SilverMetal OS
We ship the operating system or ROM. Full kernel-level control, our verified-boot key, our update channel. Strongest possible hardening.
- SilverMetal OS — Linux (Debian/Kicksecure-based ISO) — Tier A
- SilverMetal OS — Pixel (GrapheneOS-fork ROM) — Tier B
- SilverMetal OS — Samsung (LineageOS-fork ROM, unlocked-bootloader models) — Tier C
- SilverMetal OS — Motorola (DivestOS/LineageOS-fork ROM) — Tier C
🛡️ SilverMetal Enhanced
We harden the OS your device already runs. Configuration profiles, hardening installers, the SilverLABS Application Stack. For users who can't or won't replace their OS.
- SilverMetal Enhanced — Windows (LTSC IoT installer + hardening + Stack) — Tier C
- SilverMetal Enhanced — macOS (signed config profile + setup script + Stack) — Tier C-D
- SilverMetal Enhanced — iOS (MDM profile + Stack) — Tier D
- SilverMetal Enhanced — Android (generic profile + Stack on existing Android) — Tier D
Tiers explained in docs/platform-matrix.md.
What every SilverMetal device gets
Both lines ship the SilverLABS Application Stack — a suite of cross-platform privacy apps that replace the cloud services your device normally talks to (Google, Apple, Microsoft):
| Component | Status | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| SilverBrowser | v1 (Linux MVP) | De-Googled, telemetry-free, fingerprint-resistant browser |
| SilverVPN | Existing — see SilverLABS/SilverVPN |
Always-on, no-logs VPN with our own infrastructure |
| SilverSync | v1 (Linux MVP) | Private replacement for iCloud / Google Drive / OneDrive |
| SilverChat | Existing — SilverVPN.Client.Chat, Signal Protocol over VPN transport. Promoted from v1.1 to v1 |
E2EE messenger |
| SilverDuress | v1.1 | Duress password / panic-wipe / anti-coercion |
| SilverKeys | v1.1 | Zero-knowledge password + 2FA manager |
Two ways to get SilverMetal
Every flavour — OS or Enhanced — supports both buyer modes:
"I'm choosing a new device"
Buy a preflashed SilverMetal SKU. We've done all the work; it arrives ready.
"I already own a device and want to harden it"
Download the free SilverLABS Stack + the SilverMetal OS or Enhanced package for your platform. Apply it yourself. Same software, same hardening, no hardware lock-in.
Status
| Component | Status |
|---|---|
| Documentation + roadmap | Initial scaffold complete |
| SilverMetal OS — Linux v1 | Phase 1 — moving to milestone 1.1 (build pipeline) |
| SilverLABS Stack v1 (Browser + Sync) | Planning |
| SilverVPN | Existing product, integration into v1 ISO planned |
| SilverChat | Existing product (SilverVPN.Client.Chat); promoted to v1, integration into v1 ISO planned |
| Other OS/Enhanced flavours | Planning, post-Linux v1 |
See docs/roadmap.md for the milestone-driven plan.
Related repositories
| Repo | Relationship |
|---|---|
SilverLABS/SilverVPN |
The VPN component of the SilverLABS Stack — already in production. SilverMetal integrates it; does not re-implement it |
SilverLABS/SilverApple |
Deprecated. Earlier iOS-hardening prototype, superseded by SilverMetal Enhanced — iOS |
SilverLABS/SilverDROID |
Unrelated (SilverSHELL AppStore Android client). Name is similar but scope is different |
Documentation
docs/threat-model.md— who we defend against, who we don'tdocs/design-principles.md— privacy-by-default, verifiability, honestydocs/platform-matrix.md— full per-platform pros/consdocs/roadmap.md— milestones, ship order, scopedocs/trust-model.md— signing keys, reproducible builds, governance
License
Components carry their own licenses (most are GPL/MIT/Apache-derived from upstream forks). Original SilverLABS-authored glue code is AGPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE.
SilverLABS
SilverMetal is built by SilverLABS — privacy-first infrastructure and applications.