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Are you giving your loved ones tech gifts they can use freely?

Or gifts which put someone else in control?

Electronics are popular gifts, but people often overlook the restrictions that manufacturers slip under the wrapping paper. From remote deletion of files to harsh rules about copying and sharing, some gifts take more than they give.

The good news

The good news is that there are ethical companies making better devices that your loved ones can enjoy with freedom and privacy. This is the Free Software Foundation (FSF) guide to smarter gifts, compared with their restrictive counterparts.

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Help a free software organization in a friend's name.

Smartphones

replicant phone
Galaxy S3 with Replicant
  • Runs the Replicant free operating system, based on Android. Caveat: its modem hardware separately runs a nonfree system.
  • Features F-Droid, the free software catalogue that makes it easy to get all the applications you need without sacrificing control of your phone.
iphone
iPhone
  • Comes with no shortage of spyware.
  • iOS is a fully proprietary operating system, giving Apple control over the software on the devices.
  • Apple uses DRM to block competing software.

Full-sized Laptops

t400
T400 with GNU/Linux

Get it from

Minifree
  • As free as can be: runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel operating system and libreboot firmware on hardware that is certified to Respect Your Freedom.
  • Durable hardware is meant to last and easy to repair.
  • Created by a small business that replaces all restrictive components from a stock laptop.
macbook
Apple Macbook Pro with macOS
  • Runs on proprietary software that restricts the user's freedoms.
  • Apple's App Store uses DRM to restrict what you can do with your purchases.
  • Comes crawling with spyware.

Compact Laptops

x200
X200 with GNU/Linux
  • As free as can be: runs the FSF-endorsed Trisquel operating system and libreboot firmware on hardware that is certified to Respect Your Freedom.
  • Durable hardware is meant to last and easy to repair.
  • Created by a small business that replaces all restrictive components from a stock laptop.
lenovo
Lenovo U31 with Windows
LibreTea Computer Card in Earth-friendly chassis PRE-ORDER
LibreTea computer in modular chassis

3D Printers

lulzbot
Lulzbot Mini

Get it from

Lulzbot

Sale details.

  • Respects Your Freedom-certified by the FSF to run with all free software, making 3D printing more accessible and encouraging innovation.
  • Performance and seamless interface earned it "Editor's Choice" in Tom's Guide's 2016 3D printer comparison.
  • Hardware designs available to make customization easy. Standardized material format allows 3D printing with plastics, wood-, stone-, bamboo-, rubber-, and metal-like materials.
printer
Makerbot Replicator Mini
  • MakerWare software is proprietary, restricting freedom and stifling innovation.
  • MakerBot was founded with a more freedom-respecting philosophy, but has since announced an increasingly proprietary approach and distanced itself from the community that formed around it.
Mini Wi-Fi Adapter
Mini Wi-Fi Adapter
  • Great for all-free-software installations on laptops with incompatible Wi-Fi hardware. If you use a laptop listed in this guide, an adapter like this won't be necessary.
  • Certified to Respect Your Freedom.
Long-range Wi-Fi Adapter
Long-Range Wi-Fi Adapter
  • More powerful than its smaller cousin, and can be further upgraded with a larger antenna.
  • Great for all-free-software installations on laptops with incompatible Wi-Fi hardware. If you use a laptop listed in this guide, an adapter like this won't be necessary.
  • Certified to Respect Your Freedom.

eBooks

gutenberg
Project Gutenberg
DOWNLOAD
  • 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.
amazon
Amazon.com
  • Amazon can remotely block or delete individual ebooks or your entire library with no warning or explanation (they've done it before).
  • Amazon uses DRM to prevent you from sharing your favorite books with friends or moving them between readers.
  • Amazon openly claims you don't actually own or control your ebooks.
  • If you do purchase from Amazon, make sure to use smile.amazon.com to designate a nonprofit like the Free Software Foundation to receive some of the money.

Graphic Design

GIMP and Inskacape
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.
adobe
Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Proprietary software controlled by Adobe.
  • Shuts down when its DRM is unable to verify the costly required subscription, even if it's actually up to date.
  • Prefers locked-down proprietary formats.
VPN Router
VPN Router
  • Designed to complement your existing router by providing an easy-to-set up VPN that enhances privacy and security and circumvents network controls.
  • Certified to Respect Your Freedom.

Gift Cards

fsf card
FSF Membership Card
BUY
itunes
iTunes Cards
  • 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.

Recommended organizations for holiday donations

sfc
eff
cc
wikimedia
sflc
gnome
ceata

Promotion details

  • Libiquity: Receive a 5% rebate off your subtotal price for any items you buy from the Web site. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Claim the rebate by sending the code FSFGIVING and your order number to . Libiquity will then credit the rebate amount to your payment method.
  • Tehnoetical: Receive a 5% discount on any items you buy from the Web site. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Use the coupon code FSFHOLIDAYS at checkout.
  • LulzBot: Receive two gratis, 1 kilogram reels of nGen filament when you buy any 3D printer. Use the coupon code FSF2016. Ends at 00:00 EST on February 1st, 2017. Cannot be combined with other offers.

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: