3D Printers
Lulzbot TAZ 4.0
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Respects Your Freedom-certified by the FSF to run with all free software, making 3D printing more accessible and encouraging innovation.
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Supports tetherless printing, optional Dual Extruder upgrade, and exotic filaments including wood-, rubber- and stone-like materials.
- Hardware designs available to make modification and improvement easy.
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SAVE! When you buy a TAZ, contact Lulzbot sales and mention this guide to receive an extra roll of filament and gratis shipping to the US, Canada or the EU (expires at the end of 2014).
Makerbot Replicator 2
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MakerWare software is proprietary, restricting freedom and stifling innovation.
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Recently announced an increasingly proprietary approach, further distancing itself from the free software community.
Ebooks
Project Gutenberg
- All of the ebooks are gratis, including classics like Peter Pan and Huck Finn.
- The original purveyor of eBooks free of DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), inspiring many others.
- Enjoy the freedom to read your ebooks on any device.
Laptops
ThinkPenguin GNU/Linux Notebook
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Comes installed with a free OS, and its Wi-Fi and 3D-accelerated graphics work with any other fully free GNU/Linux distribution.
- While its proprietary boot firmware means it's not fully free, this laptop is one of the most freedom-supporting available. Browse more companies that sell free software-compatible computers.
- SAVE! $5 off any purchase of $50 or more with coupon code FSFGIVING. ThinkPenguin will also donate $5 to the FSF (expires at the end of 2014).
Apple Macbook Pro
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Runs on proprietary software that restricts the user's freedoms.
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Apple's App Store uses DRM to restrict what you can do with your purchases.
- Comes crawling with spyware.
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Planned obsolescence: business model forces you to buy new devices frequently.
Graphic Design
GIMP and Inkscape
- Free software, with thriving developer communities.
- Designed for free formats, but can also open files created in other programs.
- Wide variety of plugins grants limitless features.
- Easy to install on all major operating systems.
Photoshop and Illustrator
- Proprietary software controlled by Adobe.
- Prefers locked-down proprietary formats.
- Requires costly upgrades to stay up to date.
Operating Systems
Trisquel GNU/Linux
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FSF-endorsed completely free operating system: transparent and modifiable.
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Break the cycle of forced upgrades and planned obsolescence.
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Comes with all the software you need and an easy software manager to find more.
- Works great with the Wi-Fi adapters in this guide.
Windows
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Proprietary software that profits from controlling how you use your computer.
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Invades privacy and exposes personal data to Microsoft, the NSA, and other malicious attackers.
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Dependent on mandatory upgrades and devices that don't support older versions of Windows.
Gift Cards
iTunes Card
- DRM
on everything (except music) controls what you can do with your purchases.
- Apple claims (wrongly) that you don't actually own anything you buy from the iTunes store.
- Requires proprietary software to use, even to download DRM-free music.
Mobile OS
Replicant
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Fully free software, based on Android.
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Supported devices
include both phones and tablets.
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Works on used devices, so your dollars won't go to proprietary OS companies. (All commercially
available Android devices ship with some proprietary software.)
Apple iPhone, iPad and Watch
- Comes with no shortage of spyware.
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iOS is a fully proprietary operating system, giving Apple control over the software on the devices.
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Apple uses DRM to block competing software.
Online Storage
Least Authority File System
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Free software system guarantees that you control who sees your data.
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Decentralized infrastructure protects from attacks and give you flexibility in how your data is stored.
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Client side encryption to prevent snooping, unlike Google Drive, Dropbox, Apple iCloud, Microsoft SkyDrive, and Ubuntu One.
Google Drive
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Requires granting Google a virtually unlimited license to any public data, and also having your public and personal data mined for ads.
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Data may be accessed by
intelligence agencies.
Media Hosting
GNU MediaGoblin
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Soon-to-be federated to allow decentralized sharing.
- Supports free video formats and grants the ability to choose a copyleft license.
- Source files can be attached to an upload, making it easy to remix people's work.
YouTube
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Uses proprietary Adobe Flash player and patent-encumbered H.264 codec by default.
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Even the optional HTML5 player requires proprietary JavaScript.
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Implements DRM to control access to videos by device and region.
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Imposes advertising on your uploads and polices copyright harshly.
More devices on h-node
To learn more about which hardware supports free software and which doesn't, explore the community-run h-node database.
Licenses
This page by the Free Software Foundation is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported.
The graphics and photos used on this page have been modified by the Free Software Foundation and are licensed separately under the following terms: