D&C GLug - Home Page

[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]

[LUG] Fwd: FSF-certified to Respect Your Freedom: ThinkPenguin USB Wifi adapter with Atheros chip

 

Again, I trust this is of interest.

Begin forwarded message:

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 -- The Free
Software Foundation (FSF) today awarded Respects Your Freedom (RYF)
certification to the TPE-N150USB Wireless N USB Adapter, sold by
ThinkPenguin. The RYF certification mark means that the product meets
the FSF's standards in regard to users' freedom, control over the
product, and privacy. The TPE-N150USB can be purchased from
<http://www.thinkpenguin.com/TPE-N150USB>. Software certification
focused primarily on the firmware for the Atheros AR9271 chip used on
the adapter.

ThinkPenguin's founder and CEO, Christopher Waid, accepted the
certification: "ThinkPenguin, Inc. was founded with the goal of making
free software more easily adoptable by the masses. Today I'm proud to
say we are one step closer in achieving that goal. Not only do we have
a product catalog that works with free software, but there is a
reputable certification process to help users distinguish the good
from the bad."

Only a handful of 802.11 wireless devices have both free software
drivers and free firmware, so the need for wireless networking cards
has been a major obstacle preventing people from running a completely
free GNU/Linux operating system. Additionally, because many machines
now come with a blacklist in their boot firmware that severely limits
what internal wireless cards users can install, external USB devices
are sometimes the best or only option.

Furthermore, even when a given wireless device is supported by free
software, few sellers of such devices publish that information. The
FSF supports <http://h-node.org>, a database of hardware compatible
with free software, as a resource where users can find and share
information about compatibility to help their purchasing
decisions. But RYF certification goes beyond that. It is reserved for
companies who promise not only that their certified device is and will
continue to be compatible with free software operating systems, but
also to promote this fact to their potential customers.

The TPE-N150USB Wireless N USB adapter chipset, Atheros AR9271, was
developed by Qualcomm Atheros (QCA).

FSF's executive director, John Sullivan, said, "The FSF is grateful to
the QCA team for publishing the firmware for this device as free
software. Much credit also goes to Christopher Waid of ThinkPenguin
for his central role in making this collaboration successful. At QCA,
we especially want to acknowledge Adrian Chadd for his development
work on the firmware and driver, and Luis Rodriguez for his related
legal and policy work. We hope others will follow the example set by
these two companies working together."

Once QCA published the firmware, free software developers, including
Jason Self, Rubén Rodríguez, and Alexandre Oliva, completed the work
of packaging it as part of the Linux-libre kernel for Trisquel,
Parabola GNU/Linux, and other FSF-endorsed distributions
(<http://gnu.org/distros>).

The TPE-N150USB is the second product to be awarded RYF
certification. The first certification was awarded in October 2012 to
the LulzBot AO-100/AO-101 3D printer sold by Colorado-based Aleph
Objects, Inc.

To learn more about the Respects Your Freedom hardware certification,
including details on the certification of the TPE-N150USB Wireless N
USB adapter, as well as information on the driver and firmware for the
device, visit <http://www.fsf.org/ryf>. Hardware sellers interested in
applying for certification can consult
<http://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/criteria>.

Subscribers to the FSF's Free Software Supporter newsletter will
receive announcements about future Respects Your Freedom products,
<http://www.fsf.org/fss>.

## 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
<http://donate.fsf.org>. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

## About ThinkPenguin, Inc

Started by Christopher Waid, founder and CEO, ThinkPenguin, Inc. is a
consumer-driven company with a mission to bring free software to the
masses. At the core of company is a catalog of computers and
accessories with broad support for GNU/Linux. The company provides
technical support for end-users and works with the community,
distributions, and upstream projects to make GNU/Linux all that it can
be.

## Media Contacts

Joshua Gay
Licensing & Compliance Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942 x20
licensing@xxxxxxx


Media Inquires
ThinkPenguin, Inc.
+1 (888) 39 THINK (84465) x703
media@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

###

-- Follow us at https://status.fsf.org/fsf | Subscribe to our blogs via RSS at http://fsf.org/blogs/RSS
Join us as an associate member at http://www.fsf.org/jf

Sent from the Free Software Foundation,

51 Franklin Street
Fifth Floor
Boston, MA 02110-1335
United States


You can unsubscribe to this mailing list by visiting the link https://crm.fsf.org/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/unsubscribe&reset=1&jid=127603&qid=3984684&h=587664febf1a19a7 .

To stop all email from the Free Software Foundation, including Defective by Design,
and the Free Software Supporter newsletter, click this link: 
https://crm.fsf.org/index.php?q=civicrm/mailing/optout&reset=1&jid=127603&qid=3984684&h=587664febf1a19a7

--
Phil Hudson                  http://hudson-it.no-ip.biz
@UWascalWabbit                 PGP/GnuPG ID: 0x887DCA63


--
The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG
http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list
FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq