[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
Discussing this with Paul, now I see why Matt was muttering about old laptops I guess. On the other hand I was after a linux laptop, for which a fairly old one would be more than adequate. Simon Begin forwarded message: > From: "Free Software Foundation" <info@xxxxxxx> > Subject: Gluglug X60 Laptop now certified to Respect Your Freedom > Date: 19 December 2013 23:27:35 GMT > To: Simon Waters <simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Reply-To: "Free Software Foundation" <info@xxxxxxx> > > "Finally there is a free software laptop that respects your freedom as it comes > from the store," Richard M. Stallman. > > We don't usually send press release messages to this list, but this is a big > announcement! > > If you want to see even more hardware certified in 2014, please help us reach our > $450k winter fundraising goal with a $20 donation. > > Gluglug X60 Laptop now certified to Respect Your Freedom > > > BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, December 19, 2013 -- The Free Software > Foundation (FSF) today awarded Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification to > Gluglug X60 laptops. The RYF certification mark means that the product meets the > FSF's standards in regard to users' freedom, control over the product, and > privacy. This is the first laptop to receive RYF certification from the FSF. > > It can be purchased from http://shop.gluglug.org.uk. > > The FSF has had a call out for a laptop sold with a free OS and free boot system > since 2005. Today it announced that the call has been met. > > "Finally there is a free software laptop that respects your freedom as it comes > from the store," stated Richard M. Stallman, founder and president of the FSF. > > The boot programs (such as a BIOS) run when a computer is turned on and their > primary purpose is to initialize the hardware before loading the operating system. > Computer makers not only install nonfree boot programs, but they also have made it > notoriously difficult for free software developers to have access to the necessary > hardware specifications and information needed to produce free software > replacements. > > When a user purchases a product that bears the Respects Your Freedom certification > mark, they can be confident they are recieving a product that comes with a free > boot program and OS, as well as documentation under free licenses, multimedia > unencumbered by proprietary formats, and the assurance it is not known to contain > any backdoors and is not designed to share users' information without their > knowledge (e.g. spyware). > > "This announcement comes at a time when people have a heightened concern over > controlling their data and securing their communication. Proprietary software is > by nature fundamentally insecure, because it uses both force of law and > technological measures to prohibit a user from controlling and securing her own > computer. This new complete system runs on free software and is backed by the > FSF's commitment to do our best at ensuring respect for your freedom and privacy," > said FSF executive director John Sullivan. > > The Gluglug X60 laptops are refurbished models of Lenovo's ThinkPad®† X60. Gluglug > has updated the computer by adding a modern wifi chipset, replacing the > proprietary BIOS with a free software boot system made by modifying Coreboot to > remove all proprietary microcode and proprietary blobs, and replacing the > proprietary Microsoft Windows OS with the FSF-endorsed, Trisquel GNU/Linux OS. > > "The Gluglug X60 laptop is a major victory for computer users and supporters of > the Free BIOS campaign. Not only has Gluglug produced a 100% free version of > Coreboot that carries freedom to each user, but it has made it easy and fun to > install updates, which in my experience, make real and noticeable improvements to > the operation of the laptop. I also found that despite the hardware being a few > years old, the Gluglug X60 remains a durable machine that is more than capable of > running modern GNU/Linux distro," added Joshua Gay, the licensing & compliance > manager who heads-up the FSF's RYF certification program. > > Francis Rowe of Gluglug issued the following statement: > > Gluglug is very proud to have achieved RYF certification and we will always try to > exceed the requirements. The mission of Gluglug is to promote free software in a > practical way by making it easy to find a system built for total freedom. With the > X60 laptops sold through the site you get everything: free boot program, free > operating system, free drivers, free applications. The machines also come > pre-fitted with a new 802.11n wireless card that is fully compatible with free > software. > > The machines come fully loaded with Trisquel GNU/Linux, and they can also have > gNewSense or Parabola GNU/Linux installed on request. With the Gluglug X60, you > get full source code for all of the tools used to create the boot program, plus > documentation. If you want to hack your machine, you can. That's really the whole > concept. > > You also get updates, so when the Gluglug makes a substantial change to the > firmware it ships, you will receive a copy of it along with documentation for how > to flash it and tweak it to your needs. > > A project like this is especially important in this day and age when more and more > devices are becoming locked down with with things like Restricted Boot, and > containing hardware-based backdoors. The Gluglug provides an opt-out for that kind > of mistreatment. > > To learn more about the Respects Your Freedom hardware certification, including > details on the certification of the Gluglug X60 laptops, as well as information on > source code for the device, visit https://www.fsf.org/ryf. Hardware sellers > interested in applying for certification can consult criteria at > https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/criteria. > > For those needing to purchase other hardware, the FSF recommends the h-node.org > database, as well as direct users toward hardware sellers that offer laptops with > GNU/Linux preinstalled. The FSF is also asking supporters to write to Intel asking > for the company to ship laptops with a free boot system to begin with, so that > users can buy brand new freedom-respecting hardware in the future. > > About the Free Software Foundation > > The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer > users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The > FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- > particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free > documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the > ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, > located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about > GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at > https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA. > > About Gluglug > > The Gluglug is a Canvey Island, Essex, UK based company dedicated to Free > Software. We sell computers that are made to respect the freedom of users to study > and hack their machine. Visit http://shop.gluglug.org.uk. > -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq