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FSF Certifies First Device in "Respects Your Freedom" Program

Posted by Unknown on from the free-as-in-hardware dept.

Earlier this year, the Free Software Foundation announced a hardware endorsement campaign for hardware that respects the rights of its owner (no DRM, runs Free Software, support for open formats, no or freely licensed patents, etc.). Now, they've announced that the Lulzbot AO-100 3D Printer is the first device to pass certification and be endorsed by the FSF. Source code to both the hardware and software is available, naturally.

79 comments

  1. They endorsed it by partyguerrilla · · Score: 0, Redundant

    for the lulz.

    1. Re:They endorsed it by unixisc · · Score: 1

      The wheel has come full circle. RMS started this due to his problem in getting a printer to work with his lab computers, and today, he has a 3D printer that follows this spec.

  2. 2d printers too? by welshie · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I look forward to the first compliant 2D inkjet and laser printers, even more so if they are affordable.

    1. Re:2d printers too? by game+kid · · Score: 1

      Yes yes. I was looking for a new printer and when the offerings don't self-destruct* or quaff ink like mana potions, they restrict network printing to "licensed" computers (what if a few too many smartphone users visit? Will it get overwhelmed and forget my PC?) or generally bow to the Secret Service (but I guess that's mandatory now anyway so whatever). *sigh* I'll probably just hold my nose and buy the best one available.

      As with video cards, I can't wait for a "third" group to come along and kick some stagnant corporate ass.

      *As my last one apparently has. Something about "Service Requested" that came after no (clear) evidence of impact- or paper jam-induced harm. I guess printout-maximum related, but I don't remember printing, say, this many pages. A hex unknown even to the Lord High Clericscribes of Google in any case.

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
    2. Re:2d printers too? by poetmatt · · Score: 1

      That would be awesome and certainly could go a long way towards inks that aren't made out of plastic (creating tons of waste) and don't have a ridiculous cost per ounce.

    3. Re:2d printers too? by Dishevel · · Score: 1

      Xerox Phaser 8560 MFP.
      Have 2 in our office and I love em.
      Solid Ink "Pucks". No Plastic to surround em. The puck is the ink.

      --
      Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
  3. So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    And the 3 people who still find the FSF relevant are sure to be excited.

    1. Re:So what? by pr0nbot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The world is awash with evil fuckers who, rather than trying to win you over with solid products and services, will expend their effort and money on bribes, advertising, patent warchests, takeovers and suchlike with the sole goal of manipulating, extorting, deceiving and straitjacketing you, not just to get the money you have now, but an ever increasing tithe, in perpetuity. Against this backdrop, a small organisation starts a modest initiative to help lift the veil from these practices to help you, and you... mock them for it.

    2. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Maybe if they focused more on issues that actually mattered and stopped acting like god damn babies people would take them seriously. Right now they're trying to attack every non-free thing at once, flagging everyone who doesn't suck RMS' dick and releases every line of code ever written under the GPL as evil fuckers who should basically go die just because they disagree with the FSF philosophy.

      Being pragmatic about the GPL is what accomplishes things. FSF just leads the example of what not to do, except sometimes it occasionally works. The other times, the rest of the community does the real work by looking at things with a practical approach rather than asslicking inducing religiousness.

    3. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean on /.?

      It is true that /. has gone downhill comments increasing from those ignorant fools who run windows and macos. The quality of the comments is down as a result too.

      Still a few folks on this site who value freedom.

      In the greater world, there are a whole lot of us, but, agreed, a tiny percentage of the total population-- most of the population (you included?) just walk around in a marketing daze, and buy as they are told by folks who own more turtleneck sweaters than is healthy.

    4. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      He said the FSF, not the free software movement. Stop assuming that doing it the RMS way is the only way to do things. Then again, you're one of those idiots who assume that if someone disagrees with them, they're obviously a human drone incapable of rational thought. Truth is, you're the one incapable of it by acting that way and feeling smug over everyone else.

      Hopefully there's more people out there who value freedom AND common sense AND don't obsess over it as much as RMS.

    5. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Translation: Someone dared to question my religious organization so I must attack and demean them. Yes, I favor pragmatism over religiosity when it comes to computing. I'll take Linus any day over Richard 'Toejam' Stallman. He gets results without the cultish attitude.

    6. Re:So what? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Maybe if they focused more on issues that actually mattered and stopped acting like god damn babies people would take them seriously. Right now they're trying to attack every non-free thing at once, flagging everyone who doesn't suck RMS' dick and releases every line of code ever written under the GPL as evil fuckers who should basically go die just because they disagree with the FSF philosophy.

      Being pragmatic about the GPL is what accomplishes things. FSF just leads the example of what not to do, except sometimes it occasionally works. The other times, the rest of the community does the real work by looking at things with a practical approach rather than asslicking inducing religiousness.

      I think that you need to consider them in context:

      Specifically, it is the positions of the 'extremists' that help define the range that counts as 'pragmatic'. If you only have extremists on one side, your 'pragmatic' window drifts toward them one half-step at a time; because compromising and following the past of least effort is what 'pragmatists' tend to do. Extremists get less done, because there aren't as many of them; but their presence has a strong effect on what counts as 'moderate' opinion(and, please note, there are extremists of the opposite bent and they do the same thing. Consider, for instance, the incredible upsurge in the respectability of devices cryptographically locked from running anything not blessed by their vendor...)

    7. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That was already common for mobile devices for quite some time.
      Many dumbphones would only
      Let you install applications signed by the manufacturer or carrier of the phone. People seem to conveniently forget this the making chicken little posts. Mobile devices have always been viewed as appliances by the general population which is why the lockdown nature is accepted.

    8. Re:So what? by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      That's not a good argument. Why mock a company if it does not help you in some way? I bet there is an enormously long list of companies that you do not benefit from.

    9. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nice false dichotomy, apparently we can only use what market types tell us to use, or use what you say we should use, either way just apparently we have to just use what others say to. What about people that not only value freedom, but actually know how much they value freedom and factor that into their cost versus benefit evaluation of what tools to use? Too bad you didn't use the word "sheeple," that is always a nice flag for people essentially saying, "If you don't do the same thing as me, you are doing it because you are blind. Stop listening to what people tell you to do and do what I tell you to do."

    10. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The world is awash with evil fuckers who, rather than trying to win you over with solid products and services, will expend their effort and money on bribes, advertising, patent warchests, takeovers and suchlike with the sole goal of manipulating, extorting, deceiving and straitjacketing you, not just to get the money you have now, but an ever increasing tithe, in perpetuity.

      Welcome to Capitalism, if you don't like it you're welcome to move to North Korea.

      Against this backdrop, a small organisation starts a modest initiative to help lift the veil from these practices to help you, and you... mock them for it.

      ... Because they hate freedom, idiot. You and the irrelevant FSF can take your Communism, get out and git to North Korea, China, Cuba or some other Socialist hellhole.

      We mock the FSF because we respect private property, they're against the spirit of copyright ("copyleft" lol, never heard so much Orwellian Communist double-speak in all my life) and they're against software patents, which reward innovators and punish freeloaders (like the loonie-leftist hippies denizens of this Web site).

    11. Re:So what? by brit74 · · Score: 0

      The world is awash with evil fuckers who, rather than trying to win you over with solid products and services, will expend their effort and money on bribes, advertising, patent warchests, takeovers and suchlike with the sole goal of manipulating, extorting, deceiving and straitjacketing you, not just to get the money you have now, but an ever increasing tithe, in perpetuity.

      What does that have to do with open source software and open source hardware? Open-source companies can still "expend their effort and money on bribes, advertising, patent warchests, takeovers and suchlike with the sole goal of manipulating, extorting, deceiving and straitjacketing you". You can't seriously believe open-source companies are limited from things like "bribes and advertising" by the FSF's bullet points. At this point, you're just going hyperbolic to try to make everyone agree with you.

      Against this backdrop, a small organisation starts a modest initiative to help lift the veil from these practices to help you, and you... mock them for it.

      My view of the FSF is that they are as misguided as communists - they fight against capitalists (which makes them good in your mind), but they have a crappy understanding of economics so they'll never manage to get people paid for their work. Yeah, the communists were once a "small organization" too.

    12. Re:So what? by Raenex · · Score: 2

      Or in other words:

      "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man." --George Bernard Shaw

    13. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget RMS also and openly supports child molesting too.

    14. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Specifically, it is the positions of the 'extremists' that help define the range that counts as 'pragmatic'.

      Sounds like a lack of imagination and simple mindedness to me. I don't need RMS to realize that you can always do more.

    15. Re:So what? by pr0nbot · · Score: 1

      -- What does that have to do with open source software and open source hardware?

      (I'm not sure I've understood this question, as I'd assume the issues with closed software and hardware are familiar to anyone who reads slashdot.) Many of the companies that produce hardware and software do so in a way that is deliberately designed to work against you. Off the top of my head... CarrierIQ springs to mind. Apple's walled garden. Vendor lock-in. Standards bait-and-switch. Patent submarines and trolls. Tivoisation. Non-repairable hardware. Security through obscurity. Thanks to the market, you often have choice, but instead of just not doing these shitty things and instead adding value, the evil fuckers are expending their effort and money on keeping you in the dark and misdirecting you until it's too late, and you're locked into your two year contract or whatever.

      It seems evident to me that software and hardware that has been vetted by someone like the FSF to ensure it does not represent the kinds of practices listed above is better, all other things being equal. This vetting is only possible if it is open source.

      -- You can't seriously believe open-source companies are limited from things like "bribes and advertising" by the FSF's bullet points

      (BTW by advertising I mean the kind of advertising that deliberately exploits our frailties.)

      No I don't believe that they are limited from these things. The evil fuckers are everywhere, and such is their nature that you often don't realise it till they present you with the bill. An open source company could still be trying their damnedest to fuck you over.

      But I do believe that producing the kind of product that would pass the FSF bullet list is a good indicator that the company's values and priorities are aligned with mine, and they're therefore less likely to be evil fuckers, or at least are being forced to innovate and find new ways of being total douchebags.

      -- At this point, you're just going hyperbolic to try to make everyone agree with you

      I think "evil fuckers" is a good shorthand for most businesses of a certain size. Yes, it's hyperbolic. But basically the gist of their attitude is to do absolutely anything at all to reduce costs and maximise profits, which is effectively a search for a way of giving you nothing and taking everything (aka "maximising ARPU"). It's hard for me not to see this as a pretty reasonable definition of evil, even if it's carried out in an environment of competition that in theory prevents it from coming to pass. And if someone is the sort that's convinced himself that this quest is not only not evil, but actually good -- "good business" -- then, well, he's a fucker.

      -- [The FSF and communists] fight against capitalists (which makes them good in your mind)

      I'm a capitalist, in the sense that I take capitalism as a given. I believe our choice isn't between free markets and central planning, it's between free markets and black markets. But I don't believe that capitalism has to have the bias towards immorality that it currently seems to ("If I don't pull this dick move that screws people over but is to my advantage, my competitor will, and I'll soon be out of business"). It seems feasible to me to have a form of regulated capitalism where the spirit of the regulation is that businesses should provide customer value, and if it is shown that they have deliberately acted against this spirit, they are sent to the naughty chair. We see this can work with things like, random example, car safety standards.

    16. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about game consoles? Originally even third party software was banned from them.

    17. Re:So what? by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      So inspiring it see such an impassioned defence of Lulzbot by pr0nbot. :-(

      I think its time I reported to the Sleepshop. I don't much like this new world.

    18. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have never owned a "dumb phone" that supported applications and did not install whatever I wanted, but I guess such devices have been in existence... But then this is just another "but Y has been doing that before, why are you blaming X now" - where in most cases the kind of people blaming X have also blamed Y before X but this is just conventionally left unmentioned, and even when it's not the case it still justifies nothing...

      P.S. Posting anonymous, for whatever reason slashdot shows me logged in on main page, but not on post threads - anyone know why!?!?

    19. Re:So what? by robsku · · Score: 1

      The world is awash with evil fuckers who, rather than trying to win you over with solid products and services, will expend their effort and money on bribes, advertising, patent warchests, takeovers and suchlike with the sole goal of manipulating, extorting, deceiving and straitjacketing you, not just to get the money you have now, but an ever increasing tithe, in perpetuity.

      Welcome to Capitalism, if you don't like it you're welcome to move to North Korea.

      Thanks, but I'd rather stay in Europe... We're not perfect but at least we see a middle ground between being either communist extremists or free market extremists and while far from perfect we do have regulations controlling what business do, and even our right wing nuts are (mostly) not whackjobs enough to suggest that unregulated market would do us better - hell, we just need to look across the pond to see it's not the way to go, yet you yanks just push towards that goal...

      Against this backdrop, a small organisation starts a modest initiative to help lift the veil from these practices to help you, and you... mock them for it.

      ... Because they hate freedom, idiot. You and the irrelevant FSF can take your Communism, get out and git to North Korea, China, Cuba or some other Socialist hellhole.

      We mock the FSF because we respect private property, they're against the spirit of copyright ("copyleft" lol, never heard so much Orwellian Communist double-speak in all my life) and they're against software patents, which reward innovators and punish freeloaders (like the loonie-leftist hippies denizens of this Web site).

      Yeah, you just keep babbling... there are very few places I'd not choose to live in over USA, but North Korea is one of them, so is China, but Cuba I would choose over USA... Still I'd choose my home country over any of the above any day.

      As for your software patents claim... Well, I should have read your whole post before starting my reply and I'd have noticed you are actually making fun of free market extremists ;)

      --
      In capitalist USA corporations control the government.
    20. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's more, you represent the anti-Freedom side with such articulate words and obvious nobility of character.

    21. Re:So what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ZOMG who will think of the chillren?!?!!!11!!!

  4. Re:We're racing towards a free future now! by peppepz · · Score: 1

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3d_printer

  5. Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...uhm... isn't FSF against this restriction on software??... well, maybe they don't care about it on hardware. Cuba will have to built its own printer :P

    1. Re:Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      I don't know if the project has any legal obligation to actually come out and say that; but those are just US export restrictions, not the project team's choice whether they want that to be there or not.

    2. Re:Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since the source is available for both hardware and software, it would be possible for folks in those countries to build the design themselves. Those are the same rights you would have if you chose to assemble the design for yourself. There are no restrictions on the intellectual side, just export regulations on the physical/monetary side.

    3. Re:Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by kasperd · · Score: 1

      That's a business opportunity for you. You can buy them from the vendor and resell them in those countries where the vendor isn't selling them directly. I'm sure you can resell them with a huge margin. Just be careful with which countries you travel to afterwards. You may find yourself being wanted. After all, when it has been endorsed by the FSF, there is probably no code in there to prevent you from printing WMDs.

      --

      Do you care about the security of your wireless mouse?
    4. Re:Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by onemorechip · · Score: 1

      "the Cuba"?

      Is that like "the Iraq, and such"?

      --
      But, I wanted socialized health insurance!
    5. Re:Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria... by Transkaren · · Score: 1

      US law trumps FSF preferences.

      --
      -If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.
  6. Re:We're racing towards a free future now! by Nerdfest · · Score: 2

    It needs to start somewhere. If they start certifying desktops, laptops, and smartphones, I'll probably start wih those when I'm shopping.

  7. Desperate claim for relevancy by SuperBanana · · Score: 2

    This is nothing more than an attempt to cash in on the Makerbot closed-hardware closed-source fiasco.

    You know, all the people who were alllllllll about open hardware / open source? Until people started making clones of their sacred cow, the makerbot 3D printer?

    You know, the same people who then got absolutely ripshit when Makerbot went closed-source?

    It's a desperate attempt by the FSF to remain relevant when the world has largely moved on and ignored them...

    --
    Please help metamoderate.
    1. Re:Desperate claim for relevancy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nuh uh! Some dude who knows a dude whose third cousin twice removed knows a dude who still cares what RMS thinks!

    2. Re:Desperate claim for relevancy by bzipitidoo · · Score: 1

      What's with all the capitalist venom that stories like this bring out? It's scary how religiously these trolls espouse the dogma and supposed supreme goodness of an ownership society. They're very noisy, as if they're insecure. In a dog eat dog world, they think they can be, if not the top dogs, at least the plutocrats' poodles, rather than the next item on the menu. They seem to think if they put on a good enough act of devotion to these poisonous principles, they will not be skewered and roasted over the grill this time around. Suckers.

      And you come along with a nutty conspiracy theory idea to add to the pile of manure? Cash in how?? You can't comprehend that money isn't everything? Stop poodling for the plutocrats!

      The world has not moved on from the FSF, far from it. They have yet to arrive, and, judging from the vitriol here, want to fall back even further.

      --
      Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
    3. Re:Desperate claim for relevancy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah yeah, the freedom revolution has been 'coming' for 30 years, and in that time there is still no fully free consumer products that people want to use because free products always lag in terms of quality and usability. Not saying it cannot be done but the vitriolic attitude in free software circles (LKML is a perfect example) and boys-club mentality tends to drive away innovative thinking.

      You can pontificate all you like but my bet is you don't exclusively use free products, it's not that you can't, it's that you just don't want to. You could adapt to a free model in your own life or move from this sort of society but you are weak-willed and incompetent so you will resort to simply complaining but won't actually take any measures to enact change because you want to reap all the benefits that this society offers you, you'll rollover and willingly take whatever you're given and justify it to yourself with this sort of pompous rubbish post as though you really have the balls to do something about it even though you don't. If you're looking for someone poodling to the plutocrats you need only look in the mirror.

    4. Re:Desperate claim for relevancy by gnujoshua · · Score: 1

      I am flattered. However, the reality is that it took me months of work to put together this certification program, get a contract in place, and to make the announcement. I began talking with Aleph Objects, Inc. in April and had hoped get it completed by early summer. When we were wrapping things up at the end of the summer we did aim for getting it out by Maker Faire and the 3D printer summit because that would be good timing ... but, I even missed that deadline.

  8. Re:We're racing towards a free future now! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd love if they would actually certify a printer, meaning it does not print near-invisible identification marks on every page.

  9. Re:We're racing towards a free future now! by jones_supa · · Score: 1

    Agreed, if they ever would certify a 2D printer, I think that would certainly have to be one of the requirements.

  10. Unluckily it cannot be sold to EU by aglider · · Score: 1

    Because it has only 90 days of warranty, against the 2 years mandatory in EU.
    Remember, the "AO-100" is still a printer, just like any (normal) printer. Apple knows it very well, now.
    The iPhone is like any other phone as far as the warranty is concerned.

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
    1. Re:Unluckily it cannot be sold to EU by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because it has only 90 days of warranty, against the 2 years mandatory in EU.

      See, eurofags, this is why you can't have nice things.

    2. Re:Unluckily it cannot be sold to EU by aglider · · Score: 1

      ... and this is why in the USA you can have nice things that got broken at the 91st day. It's a matter of tradeoffs. Coolness vs rights.

      --
      Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  11. For small values of free... by H0p313ss · · Score: 2

    From the website: Not for sale to the Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, or North Korea.

    --
    XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
    1. Re:For small values of free... by mfwitten · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Those are restrictions imposed by a violent third-party gang of thugs.

    2. Re:For small values of free... by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      well.. don't those same restrictions apply to screwdrivers sold in USA?

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:For small values of free... by H0p313ss · · Score: 1

      well.. don't those same restrictions apply to screwdrivers sold in USA?

      Victory screwdrivers?

      :)

      --
      XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
  12. Wait, my freedom? by EmagGeek · · Score: 1

    How would an electronic device, that is completely voluntary to own, infringe upon my freedom?

    1. Re:Wait, my freedom? by Arker · · Score: 1

      There are lots of things you can do voluntarily that limit your future freedom. There are also things that are theoretically voluntary, but for practical purposes less than voluntary, because possible alternatives have been limited by force. A trivial example would be milk. No one is forcing you to buy pasteurised milk, but in many places it is illegal for anyone to sell you natural milk, which limits your choices drastically, if you like milk at least.

      --
      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
    2. Re:Wait, my freedom? by peppepz · · Score: 1
      For instance by printing, without your knowledge, invisible patterns on every page, which can help undisclosed third parties to track what you print back to you. I thought this was a crazy conspiracy theory until it was officially confirmed that many printer do this.

      Also, many inkjet printers won't print money :-D . If you try, their drivers will point you to a site where you can download authorized fac-simile images instead.

    3. Re:Wait, my freedom? by marcello_dl · · Score: 1

      "Sorry, Dave, i can't save the recording you just did with your iphone9: there is a dr who episode on the tv behind you that triggers the DRM agent."

      But this is the future. The now is the friggin android phone which doesn't give me root without voiding the warranty, so a 800mhz cpu can't do the things i could do with a 166mhz PC.

      Strange comment from a low UID.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    4. Re:Wait, my freedom? by exomondo · · Score: 1

      How would an electronic device, that is completely voluntary to own, infringe upon my freedom?

      It depends upon the language you use, it's not going to be taking away any freedoms (or "infringe" upon them) that you already had but it may not grant you particular freedoms. Moreover you may be willing to accept not being granted certain freedoms when using certain products - we all do this - for example when posting on this site you don't have the freedom to examine the source code of all software running on all servers through which you transmit data, this could be misconstrued as an infringement of your freedom.

      Having products that 'infringe upon your freedom' is much like the 'stealing of copyrighted material' in that nothing has been taken away. These 'freedoms' are just an arbitrarily defined list of things set out in the license and they vary between licenses, some offer more freedoms, some less, some create restrictions on the developer, some create restrictions on the user, ultimately it is - as you say - the choice of the user. Most often the user will choose the most integrated, user-friendly and polished solution over something that offers more freedoms unless those freedoms mitigate a case where measurable harm is being caused.

  13. AC Trolling, part 27... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Since this seems to be the trend, I'll add to the AC trolling.

    Whether you agree with RMS or not, it is impossible to deny the signficance of the GPL and the GNU ecosystem he created. Just because you don't like bearded hippies who don't compromise their integrity doesn't make them insignificant. Obviously no one likes being told that someone else makes a moral choice that one doesn't, because folks don't think of themselves as immoral. That's why omnivores hate on vegans. That's why folks think religious nuts are out to stop their fun (okay, maybe true here). Get over yourself!! Be glad that there are people of integrity in our world who don't let pragmatism get in the way of their belief system. Call them extremists if you will, but they are, at least, honorable.

    More open hardware please! I love to tinker and mod. It's exciting to share these ideas back. I like to control the things I own, so open hardware makes my electronics better for me.

    1. Re:AC Trolling, part 27... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Be glad that there are people of integrity in our world who don't let pragmatism get in the way of their belief system. Call them extremists if you will, but they are, at least, honorable.

      You know you just described Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and the rest of them? Holding onto a belief system is not a good thing if said belief system is screwed up. And RMS's belief system definitely IS screwed up if you ask me. Especially on the non-software-related points.

    2. Re:AC Trolling, part 27... by Desler · · Score: 1

      Be glad that there are people of integrity in our world who don't let pragmatism get in the way of their belief system.

      Why should I be glad about people who can never admit they might be wrong about something. Blind devotion to anything is not a good thing. The people who are constantly questioning their belief systems and changing their minds when they are wrong are the people who we should be glad to have. The world doesn't need more dogmatists.

  14. Awesome! More products please by gQuigs · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm looking at you System76 and ZaReason. One of FSF requirements in this program is a free BIOS, and we have a good one in CoreBoot (and it can make boot times faster). Worried about Secure/Restricted Boot? Get a laptop with a free bios, boot what you want.

  15. Can I use this printer... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can I use this printer to make more 3D printers?

    1. Re:Can I use this printer... by sudozero · · Score: 1

      I know that you can print the plastic parts that hold together the various bars. As a matter of fact, the AO-100 printer I've looked at has printed parts holding it together. You'd need to buy motors, the arduino clone they use, and other stuff like the heating bed. I don't know how heavily modded their motherboard is though. I suppose you could get some parts elsewhere, or get them from the source.

    2. Re:Can I use this printer... by bryanandaimee · · Score: 1

      The electronics are a RAMPS shield on a standard Arduino. The plastic parts are indeed printed by other 3d printers in the Lulzbot bot farm. So depending on your definition of "make" it can indeed make more 3D printers. The frame is based in large part on the MendelMax design. All of this is open source and available on the reprap.org site, and other related sites.

      Kudos to the Lulzbot team.

  16. More of this please by jonwil · · Score: 2

    I want to see a PC (that can run a full Linux distro) that has this FSF stamp.
    Or even just the bits that go into one (motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM etc)

    1. Re:More of this please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As above, buy something like a Lemote, something based on Loongson or Allwinner, and chances are it will get this FSF seal of approval.

  17. Re:Awesome! More products please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ThinkPenguin's actually selling freedom friendly systems with Trisquel: http://libre.thinkpenguin.com/ and they actually want to work on porting a free BIOS in the future. It's purely the lack of demand for GNU/Linux laptops which is holding the company back.

    The thing is ThinkPenguin's goal is to take it a step farther than just a free BIOS. The founder has stated many times he wants to eventually release a completely free system. That though means switching architectures.

    They're currently working with Atheros on freeing a new USB N chipset. There currently are no good USB N adapters. They have a USB G adapter that works well and an older generation USB N although neither of these items are going to be around forever. It's stock that'll be depleted eventually and at that point they need a new chipset as the company does not sell hardware dependent on non-free drivers/firmware.

  18. Re:Awesome! More products please by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

    I recently got a Lemote Loongson 3A laptop, it has a free "BIOS", actually PMON. The sleek aluminium look and 4 cores of relatively obscure architecture are just a nice bonus ;)

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  19. Can we ever have a good DeskJet printer ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can we ever have a good DeskJet printer with does not have monopolistic behaviour like automatic damage after sometime, DRD ink, etc ?

    Can pay for it.

  20. Communist software by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Yeah, just like there is FSF-EU, FSF-LA, FSF-India, they should introduce an FSF-Comintern made up of Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, China & such countries, and have that group make this 3D printer, as well as work on completely liberated software. Start w/ GNU Hurd, which would be from scratch, and then have Emacs and GNOME on it. Also, have them working on a VLIW CPU on which to run all these, so that every iteration of it would require re-compiles, and there is no place for any binaries or object code when it comes to distribution mechanisms. RMS should get a suite right next to Casto's, where he can be the head of the world Software Liberation Army, and be a modern Che.

  21. Re:Awesome! More products please by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Hey, make a VLIW CPU, w/ its verilog code under GPL3. Not only will the CPU be GPL, but in that family, anyone who wants to maintain compatibility w/ the CPU will have to release the source, since a recompile will be needed w/ each & every change. Let the FSF get obsessed w/ perfecting a VLIW compiler, which is GPLed.

  22. Re:Awesome! More products please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's RMS' chosen laptop as well. Wonder whether he has a new one since the time his last one was stolen in Argentina? That thing runs gNewSense

  23. Thanks! by Yeb · · Score: 1

    Jeff Moe here, founder of Aleph Objects, Inc. maker of the LulzBot 3D printer. Note this is a printer which makes *objects*, not a printer that prints on paper.

    I haven't spent much time on /. recently. I appreciate the post and the positive comments from many of you. The others, not so much. ;) I typically use the nick "jebba", but this account got set up with "yeb" for some reason, long forgot.

    I am a long time supporter of free software, open culture, open publishing, etc. I am not a communist, as you can figure out if you go to opensecrets.org or many other places (cf. http://thebubblefilm.com/ )

    Just saying hi. Thanks again, and happy hacking!

  24. certified android phone by jmcvetta · · Score: 1

    I'd pay top dollar for a quality Android phone with RYF certification. Just sayin'...

  25. Patents by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Many people would love to see more open hardware but that won't happen until there are CPUs, GPUs and RAM which are patent free.

  26. NASA could really use these. by detain · · Score: 1

    Space is probably the best example of a place where when something goes wrong, not having the right spare part really is a matter of life and death. With a beefed up 3D printer, stored schematics to the hardware in space equipment, and a 'printable' material suitable for space use, they could theoretically create any replacement part they need on the fly to help avoid many of the potential problems found in space. If 3D Printers could also be tied into an automated mining/refinery process, you could theoretically land some hardware on the moon or mars that would begin mining and refining local materials into a usable material for the 3D Printer, which could then church out buildings one piece at a time providing an unmanned way of building out a possible future settlement of sorts. 3D printers have the potential to be basically the equivalent of a Star Trek replicator. Given that it has the right materials to print with, it can create virtualy anything.

    --
    http://interserver.net/