Graziano Sorbaioli is the man behind the Free Software Computer Campaign. All he wants is summed up in just few words "DELL, we want a free software computer". This post is excerpts from an email conversation with Sorbaioli about the ideas behind this campaign.
What's an ideal free software computer?
Our ideal computer (desktop, laptop, netbook) has:
- an Atheros wireless chip because it uses free (as in freedom) drivers and so it can function perfectly in every GNU/Linux distribution.
- the coreboot free BIOS.
- a fully free GNU/Linux distribution preinstalled like gNewSense
Don't you think some underdog hardware maker like lemote should be encouraged instead of begging Dell to produce a free software computer?
As you can read from my posts on the gNewSense forum, I knew about that machine even before Richard (Stallman) started to endorse it.
The point is that free software activists should make it VERY EASY to all the people don't care yet about freedom, to purchase a free software desktop/laptop.
How many people you know would buy a laptop online from a Chinese unknown company?
Many people I know don't buy things online but in store.Many people buy Dell because Dell makes a great great advertisement campaign on all major newspapers, even on free tube journals and free press.
It's not enough that Lemote will start to ship a free software laptop because nobody knows Lemote.
People know Dell, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Sony and so on.
I chose Dell because they already made a little step selling computers with Ubuntu preloaded. Ubuntu is not a fully free GNU/Linux distribution but this is a lesser evil compared to buying a machine with windows preloaded.
So I decided to convince them to make a little extra step and sell us a free software laptop but I can't do this alone.
I need ALL your help. I need you write all your friends, FSF, FSFE, FSF India, slashdot,boingboing, and your local favourite online newspaper, all your GNU/Linux user groups.
We all need to keep asking Dell EVERY SINGLE DAY for such a machine.
Only if they receive a LOT of requests they will know people are interested in a free software laptop and will surely develop it.
They are a company after all. All they want is to make more money. If they saw a lot of people want it, they will surely do it.
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