Any modern Intel computer needs the Intel ME. It is a harmful opaque binary but the only ways to get around it is to a) use an ancient chipset (i.e. GlugGlugs x60s) or b) use a different processor like ARM.
I dislike Purism in that they say things like "Purism OS" rather than Linux / Trisequel, but if they do ship a coreboot bios laptop running Trisequel (Trisequel is just Ubuntu stripped of non free kernel components) then I believe it will be the most free Intel laptop with a modern chipset available.
it will be the most free Intel laptop with a modern chipset available.
How will it be any more free than the laptops listed here[1]?
Any modern Intel computer needs the Intel ME.
My reaction to that is to evade modern Intel like the pest. I wonder if I’ve enough company in this reaction to be noticeable for the people at Intel who listen to money.
For one thing, Intel Boot Guard is disabled unlike many other modern Intel laptops, allowing you to modify the firmware in the first place. I think this is more important than being "100% FOSS" or the like.
Since Kaveri AMD started building in the "Platform Security Processor". That's an ARM core that provides Trust Zone feature (ie. "make Hollywood trust your computer, despite you, the user"). Its code is signed as well.
About the same time they also stopped releasing source code for hardware initialization.
So along that axis they're not significantly better or worse than Intel nowadays. (I guess you can get by with a smaller firmware, and they allow redistribution, which are both nice, but not very relevant for freedom or security purposes)
My Thinkpad x201 has an hardware switch for turning wireless on/off, though I can't tell if it actually cuts the power or just tells the module to disable itself.
I'm not aware of any major commercial computer with a FOSS BIOS or a hardware RF killer for the wireless parts.