Free Software Foundation Endorses a "Truly Free" Laptop

An anonymous reader writes "The Free Software Foundation announced today the first laptop they have been able to certify as-is that respects the user's freedoms. The laptop is free down to using Coreboot in place of a proprietary BIOS. The OS shipped on the laptop is Trisquel, the Ubuntu derived Linux OS that removes all traces of proprietary firmware, patented formats, etc. The only issue though for new customers is this endorsed laptop comes down to being a refurbished 2006 ThinkPad X60 with single or dual-core Intel CPU, 1GB+ of RAM, 60GB+ HDD, and a 1024x768 12.1-inch screen, while costing $320+ USD (200 GBP). The FSF-certified refurbished laptops are only offered for sale through the Gluglug UK shop. Are these outdated specs worth your privacy and freedom?"

Comments

Well...

[twocows]

I support the FSF, but I can really just install free software on my own computers. This even includes coreboot usually. And they're a lot less expensive and a lot more powerful. I suppose it might be good to buy if your child needs a laptop or something.

Re:Well...

[briancox2]

I get the sense that the FSF, though having some very good ideals, has no understanding of the importances of "just works" and "value added".

Re:Well...

[K. S. Kyosuke]

No, it's not truly free unless it comes with exactly zero mysterious binary blobs calling home (or NSA, which may be the same thing).

Re:Well...

[marcello_dl]

You have a strange definition of freedom.
A laptop with free hardware and free software let me do whatever with it, including signing up for pseudo-voluntary profiling in exchange for a meager chunk of ad ridden web service.

GNU licensed stuff poses additional restriction but those are aimed at the respect of others' freedom, in the same way that "do what you wish" makes a less free society than "do what you wish as long as it lets other do what they wish", no matter the smaller number of restrictions imposed.

Re:Well...

[manicb]

When was the last time a proprietary video card driver or wifi chipset called home and caused you any problem?

I have no idea, and that's the scary part.

"Truly free", but with Intel inside(tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously. I laughed.

Nothing says freedom...

[MrEricSir]

...like "Made in China."

Re:Umm, okay, but...

[Kardos]

Creating free replacements for all non-free software is a monumental task that started many years ago, one that may never be complete. However, this is a milestone; the list of laptop models that are "truly free" can only expand from here, as can the includeable software. Have you seen the DD-WRT compatibility list recently? It was quite short a when that project was getting started.

FSF does free; they do step one, others step two

[ciaran_o_riordan]

> no understanding of the importances of "just works"

That's not their part of the job.

Various entities can label something as user-friendly. FSF is pretty much the only entity that can label stuff as free.

This is one laptop. Hopefully next year there'll be twenty, and then someone can take on the job of announcing which is the most user-friendly of the twenty free laptops.

Liberated CPUs

[unixisc]

Yeah, RMS goes w/ Loongson, so since the FSF is putting this together, why don't they just team up w/ Lemote, slap Trisquel (or gNewSense) on the laptop, fire it up w/ GNOME3, and put it out to market? Better yet, if they can find someone to fab the OpenRISC chip, or come out w/ an GPLed version of a SPARC (where its HDL designs are GPLed) and fab it, and design it into a laptop, w/ coreboot, they'll get what they want.

Remember, for an FSF endorsement, it doesn't need to be good, or even run end user software. It just needs to 'respect your freedom & privacy', so the solution above should do it.

Re:Liberated CPUs

[mythosaz]

Yeah, RMS goes w/ Loongson, so since the FSF is putting this together, why don't they just team up w/ Lemote, slap Trisquel (or gNewSense) on the laptop, fire it up w/ GNOME3, and put it out to market? Better yet, if they can find someone to fab the OpenRISC chip, or come out w/ an GPLed version of a SPARC (where its HDL designs are GPLed) and fab it, and design it into a laptop, w/ coreboot, they'll get what they want.

I recognize that most of the words you wrote are in English, and Google Translate auto-detects English, but I still have no clue what you just said.

A merry Loongson to you, dear Trisquel! And a Lemote coreboot to HDL!

Re:Liberated CPUs

[CronoCloud]

In part they are able to get away with living in Fantasyland because they still use computers the same way they did when they were students at MIT back in the 70's, not like the way most everyone else uses computers.

For goodness sake, RMS doesn't actually use a web browser like "normal people do:

http://stallman.org/stallman-computing.html

I spend most of my time editing in Emacs. I read and send mail with Emacs using M-x rmail and C-x m. I have no experience with any other email client programs. In principle I would be glad to know about other free email clients, but learning about them is not a priority for me and I don't have time.

There's nothing wrong with using Emacs... but the vast majority of computer users don't use a text editor to read their e-mail. If one wants to make a free operating system that is of use to people who don't have neckbeards...then perhaps one should learn about Non-Emacs reading of E-mail. It's not that hard to learn a E-mail client...it's not like learning lisp.

I edit the pages on this site with Emacs also, although volunteer helpers install the political notes and urgent notes. I have no experience with other ways of maintaining web sites. In principle I would be glad to know about other ways, but learning about them is not a priority for me and I don't have time.

Not even Seamonkey's composer.

I generally do not connect to web sites from my own machine, aside from a few sites I have some special relationship with. I fetch web pages from other sites by sending mail to a program (see git://git.gnu.org/womb/hacks.git) that fetches them, much like wget, and then mails them back to me. Then I look at them using a web browser, unless it is easy to see the text in the HTML page directly. I usually try lynx first, then a graphical browser if the page needs it (but I make sure I have no net connection, so that it won't fetch anything else).

I sometimes use Google's search engine, and I sometimes use DuckDuckGo. When I use a search engine, it is always from a machine that isn't mine and that other people also use. I never identify myself to the site, of course.

That more than anything else shows the disconnnect in how a Free Software most fervent promoters use computers compared to everyone else. No wonder they seem so "Fantasyland"

I think it would serve RMS or any other hardcore FSFer to actually watch how people who are NOT FSF members actually use computers and then design a free operating system for them...not just bearded guys still using 1970's paradigms who know nothing about modern computer use.

Re:Umm, okay, but...

[unixisc]

...what can you do on it besides run gcc?

Run emacs. If you can run emacs, you shouldn't need anything else

Re:FSF does free; they do step one, others step tw

[Jherek Carnelian]

That's a definition of fundamentalism, it certainly isn't the definition of fundamentalism that is common short-hand for extremist asshole. The FSF does not qualify for the extremist asshole definition, not by a long shot.