Thanks for the link. I agree. Seems every choice allows non-systemd efforts and/or objections to be overruled, nullified or ignored.

HextorBRX, this is simply a window mgr and a file mgr. For some, it's all they want or need. I made it workable for me by adding commands to the Fluxbox menu so it has some functions similar to a real DE.

As an example, there's no DE, so there's no auto-mounting USBs or DVDs. In the screenshot where the menu is open to Utils, one of the unseen labels under USB is Mount1. When I click on it, the underlying command mounts a USB drive and opens it in Rox-filer with read/write permissions.

The only documentation I vaguely recall was about the style files, but it's been years since I edited the Cthulhain file or looked at the Fluxbox wiki.

No, I didn't. At least, not when I edited that style file. The desktop image in red was originally blue, and I used a blue theme. I changed it to red a year or so ago and kept some notes.

If you want to give it a try, I'll be happy to get into the details with you. An alternative, if you're already using a DE, is setting up Fluxbox with a similar look, but as a session choice at login... you'll still have a Control Panel and the DE's automated functions.

I use a Devuan Jessie base install with a console login. The Fluxbox style is Cthulhain and Rox-filer's theme is DarkCold4 GTK2/3. No matter which of the desktops shown here... what I really like is seeing the different ways they're tweaked to suit work habits, creature comforts and style.

Had no idea what a BIOS was back then... my Mac IIcx was just an appliance for work. Was many years later, on a PC, when I had to update the BIOS, but by then the process was an automated point and click.

I agree. Intel, like the other tech companies that want to know everything about anyone who uses their stuff, is a bit better at concealing how they do it. Privacy used to have a different meaning, but that meaning evolved with the rise of technology, and corporations discovered how to monetize their customers' personal info. I very much appreciate those who have the knowledge to investigate and publish.

You're welcome... seems our tinfoil hats are of a similar vintage.

You're welcome, Altoid.

Why is the Devuan kernel loading the IME module?
It's not Devuan or a distro. It's part of the kernel. I read those articles maybe six months ago and IIRC, disabling the mei and mei_me mods limits my CPU from phoning home.

Why is the module present in the kernel files for 4.9.0-7-amd64 but not for 4.9.0-8-amd64?
I don't know. Thanks for that info. Perhaps the change was a result of all those articles?

What is it necessary for and in what environment?
Intel's stated purpose:
Intel Management Engine Interface (Intel MEI) (kernel.org)

How is it being loaded and how can this be prevented in Devuan ASCII and the upcoming kernels?
I'm still running the stock kernel on Jessie and those two mods don't load. Did kernel devs remove those mods from the newer kernel? Did Intel just include them in their tiny OS so they no longer need to be separately added? I don't know and have no answer to your question. If you find out, please post it.

By the time I saw your previous thread about real.video, it was solved. I had the same problem, same errors, and solved it. I don't know what you did, then, to fix it, but here's what I did. Maybe it'll help?

After finding nothing recent or relevant from searching, I renamed the browser's dot directory in /home to dot old. Using the newly created default settings, and without any plugins or extensions, I got sound and video at the real.video site. That told me the problem was local.

I deleted the newly created default directory and went back to the original. I figured NoScript was the culprit and found the same as fsmithred... a ton of sites all wanting to 'help' me watch a video. By trial/error I eventually found the 2 or 3 sites I needed to allow so the videos would work. My security settings caused the real.video problem.

I went to yandex and their videos showed mostly from youtube, with some from dailymotion. The problem was XSS... cross site scripting is required. As a test, I disabled NoScript and the videos worked. A suggestion... go to hooktube (or youtube) and search 'yandex' for their videos.

FWIW, I'm using Pale Moon.

Just got mine two weeks ago, also a 3B+. The 'no boot' has happened twice for me... once when I didn't seat the micro SD properly, and the other time I needed to re-flash the img file to the micro SD with Etcher to get it to boot. If that hadn't worked I'd have downloaded another img file and tried again.

Excellent news!

Congratulations and thank you!

Appreciate the welcome, golinux. I agree, it's likely happy Devuan users.

The troubling thing to me, sgage, is how so many seemingly independent distros agreed to systemd. I understand the based-on distros with few devs. But the rest of them agreeing in such a short period of time? Seemed like dominos. I don't understand what would draw them away from their independence to integrate (in hindsight) a half-baked init system.

DragonflyBSD seemed right for me... just in case.