14 DAY TRIAL // The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has just awarded its coveted Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification to a laptop, Gluglug X60, making it the first to receive this distinction.
The Free Software Foundation has launched the requirements for the “Respects Your Freedom” (RYF) certification back in 2005, but no one managed to get it.
According to FSF, the RYF certification mark means that the product meets the FSF's standards about users' freedom, control over the product, and privacy. This is the first hardware product to receive the distinction.
"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,” reads the official announcement.
The Respects Your Freedom certification mark assures the buyer that the hardware they have just purchased comes with a free OS and free boot software. It is also free of any spyware, backdoors, and any means of intruding on the privacy of the users.
"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,” said FSF Executive Director John Sullivan.
The Gluglug X60 laptop can be purchased straight from the official website and it comes win a large variety of hardware configurations.