The other big change is that I actually removed any other firmware except the one for IPTS. The reason is that all of these files are part of linux-firmware, and get updated through the package manager. The distro most likely can do a better job of keeping them up to date over time than we can.

I agree, that already works well for me on Arch and it's definitely more appropriate.
Although, I think we should mention this in the readme.

The only distros that I can think of where these files would be missing are the FSF-approved distros shipping without non-free firmware. If you would want to run such a distro you would have to download and install these files manually. But then, if you would want to run such a distro you probably wouldn't want to buy a Microsoft Surface anyways.

Completely agree. I guess anyone buying a Microsoft device should be aware of that and fine with it.

I also pointed the setup script at this repository so that users actually get a kernel that can work with the IPTS layout.

Given the absence of Jake and the current development status, that's probably a good idea.

I think we should keep the firmware files separate from the config files (something like firmware/intel/ipts as separate folder). Apart from that this looks good.

Moved the firmware into their own folder and updated the setup script accordingly.

Thanks!