Activities/Hardware/Hardware_Vendors

If you are planning to buy new hardware and you wish to use it with Free Software, where do you buy it? Which of any given vendor's models are supported? Where can you buy a laptop without any proprietary software on it? How can you support vendors who are themselves supportive to Free Software?

This page attempts to provide guidance on vendors who already did the hard work of ensuring that their hardware works with Free Software. It also provides some information about Free/Open Hardware projects in each device category. Please submit any info that might help. Thanks!

The content of this page does not constitute a statement by FSFE.

Some pages do not use the terminology we would like to see. Some of the vendors listed do not seem to be aware of the freedoms we pursue, but are merely listed because they sell hardware with no software installed. There are other vendors that do care about Free Software and they should be rewarded. Please join the Hardware_vendors/Discussion how we could establish a kind of ranking mechanism.

Below, vendors of different categories of devices are listed separately. Since interested parties are often looking for a particular kind of device, it makes sense to group them primarily by form factor even if some vendors sell more than one kind of device.

Personal Computer Systems

On this page, personal computer (PC) systems encompass desktop systems, laptops/notebooks and netbooks. Traditionally, complete systems have been sold by vendors with bundled software, which in the vast majority of cases has been the proprietary Microsoft Windows operating system software, typically in combination with additional applications software, trial software, "adware", and so on. This phenomenon of having Windows pre-installed is known as the "Windows Tax", since purchasers typically have no choice as to whether they receive such software when buying a computer and are thus obliged to make a purchase that gives money to Microsoft regardless of their wishes.

Although Microsoft appear to be obliged to offer what is known colloquially as the Windows Tax refund, the experience is less than optimal and may involve the vendor concerned and Microsoft disclaiming responsibility unless pressure is applied, potentially through legal avenues. Thus, by avoiding products with bundled proprietary software, one can hopefully acquire a computer with an appropriate specification without rewarding anticompetitive business practices.

Remember that if you build your own system by selecting cases, motherboards, components, and so on, you can ensure that your system is capable of running your own choice of software and also avoid being sold software you don't want. However, this is usually only possible for desktop, server, "home theatre" or "barebone" systems and not laptops or netbooks which have a tighter level of integration between their parts. Remember also that laptops and netbooks are usually sold with a specific keyboard layout, and whether you can change this when ordering may influence your choice of vendor.

Vendors

Vendor

Desktops

Laptops

Netbooks

Country

Keyboard
(laptops/netbooks)

Comment

Link verified

Brück-Computer.de

(./)

DE

2012-01-10

DiTech

(./)

(./)

(./)

AT

US, DE

If the system includes an OS it can be removed with a refund; OS appears optional on some netbooks

2012-01-10

FOX Elektronix - Fux

(./)

(./)

(./)

CH

Mini-PCs

2012-01-10

GGS-Data

(./)

(./)

SE

SE

Ubuntu 8.04 offered on most systems

2012-01-10

Gnuinos

(./)

ES

2012-01-10

Gnutiken

(./)

(./)

SE

Sells only Free Software related items, including books, routers, distributions and toys, computers on request

2012-01-10

Golden Delicious

(./)

DE

US

Sells the Letux mini-notebook

2012-01-10

Hackable Devices

(./)

FR

Sells the Lemote Fuloong Mini-PC

2012-01-10

InaTux Computers

(./)

US

2012-01-10

it-sreimers.de

(./)

(./)

DE

Shop at Linux-Laptop.de selling pre-installed laptops without "windows tax", sells UMTS-Sticks and WLAN adapters, too

2012-01-10

ixsoft

(./)

(./)

(./)

DE

Offers discount if you buy a computer with only GNU/Linux.

2012-01-10

Kernel Concepts

(./)

DE

US

Sells the Letux mini-notebook

2012-01-10

Koan

(./)

IT

Mini-PCs

2012-01-08

lapworld.de

(./)

DE

most laptops are shipped with no OS per default

2012-01-12

Lincomp

(./)

(./)

CH

Desktops, laptops and netbooks, compatible printers etc.

2012-01-10

Linsoft.de

(./)

DE

2012-01-08

Linutop

(./)

FR

HD-less Mini-PCs

2012-01-08

Linux-Onlineshop

(./)

(./)

(./)

DE

Can buy without OS or with GNU/Linux distribution at no cost

2012-01-10

Linux Solutions

(./)

FI

2012-01-08

loginix.it

(./)

IT

Mini-PCs

2012-01-08

Los Alamos Computers

(./)

(./)

US

Lenovo-based products

2012-01-10

mingos.nl

(./)

(./)

(./)

NL

Mini-server and laptops/netbooks

2012-01-08

mysn.eu

(./)

DE

Various

Sells laptops without OS

2012-01-08

Newthinking

(./)

DE

Webshop seems not to be operational

2012-01-10

one.de

(./)

(./)

(./)

DE

Possible to leave out any software for most desktop models, some laptops with GNU/Linux

2012-01-10

Open-pc.com

(./)

DE

Makes donations to KDE

2012-01-08

Rockiger

(./)

DE

DE

2012-01-10

Shuttle Europe

(./)

EU

In each section of the system configurator, there is a link to "Shuttle Systems without operating system"

2012-01-08

Tekmote Electronics

(./)

NL

Lemote reseller

2012-01-10

Think Penguin

(./)

(./)

(./)

US(worldwide shipping)

Only-freedom compatible Hardware (Printers, Hardware that does not require proprietery software)

2012-01-17

The Linux Emporium

(./)

(./)

UK

Also WLAN cards

2012-01-10

Tuxbrain

(./)

(./)

ES

US, ES

Efika MX Smarttop (Mini-PC) and Smartbook

2012-01-10

Tuxhardware

(./)

(./)

DE

All-in-one Mini-PC and notebooks; FreeDOS at no cost, GNU/Linux at small cost

2012-01-10

ubuntushop.be

(./)

(./)

BE

Ubuntu pre-installed

2012-01-10

yetopen.it

(./)

IT

2012-01-08

Zinside

(./)

FR

Mini-PCs

2012-01-08

Products and Initiatives

Various products are available that support Free Software at many or all levels of their hardware system. Unfortunately, few products are based on genuinely open hardware, where the hardware designs might be adapted and legitimately produced independently of the original vendor.

Vendor

Products

Open Hardware

Genesi

Efika MX Smarttop and Efika MX Smartbook

WikiPedia:Lemote

Desktops (Fuloong) and netbooks (Yeeloong)

Mobile Devices

On this page, mobile devices encompass personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, smartphones and mobile music/media players. Traditionally, mobile devices have employed a range of operating systems, and no single software vendor has been dominant. However, the software provided has often been proprietary, and where Free Software has been used, it has not always been possible to exercise the "four freedoms" and benefit from the use of Free Software as an end-user.

Vendors

Vendor

PDAs

Phones

Country

Comment

Link verified

Golden Delicious

(./)

DE

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner

2012-01-08

Hackable Devices

(./)

FR

Sells the Ben NanoNote

2012-01-08

Kernel Concepts

(./)

(./)

DE

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote

2012-01-08

OpenMobile

(./)

(./)

NL

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote

2012-01-08

Pulster

(./)

(./)

DE

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote

2012-01-08

TrueBox

(./)

UK

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner

2012-01-08

Tuxbrain

(./)

ES

Sells the Ben NanoNote

2012-01-08

Xtops.DE

(./)

(./)

DE

Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and various Sharp Zaurus models

2012-01-08

Products and Initiatives

A substantial amount of attention has been given to producing mobile devices which not only support Free Software but can also be manufactured as genuinely open hardware by those with the facilities to do so.

Vendor

Products

Open Hardware

Golden Delicious

GTA-04 smartphone

(./)

OpenMoko

Neo FreeRunner smartphone

(./)

OpenPandora

Pandora handheld games console

(./)

Qi Hardware

Ben Nanonote PDA/micro-notebook

(./)

Rockbox

supports existing devices by providing Free Software firmware

General Links

Links to other resources are provided here. As always, the quality of such resources may vary in terms of how coherent, recent or comprehensive they are. Thus, links marked with {*} indicate resources that appear to be actively updated and conveniently navigated.

Certified or Supported Hardware

Some hardware may be certified to run Free Software or have Free Software pre-installed and supported on it. The following resources provide information on these topics, similar in some respects to the information presented on this page.

Hardware Compatibility

Various sites exist that attempt to indicate whether devices are compatible with Free Software. Unfortunately, these resources often lag behind the current retail situation because it takes time for people to buy and assess whether such devices are fully compatible with GNU/Linux distributions and other software. Thus, such sites are mostly useful for situations where buyers are presented with special offers from vendors offering generic hardware with no claims about Free Software compatibility (and most likely with pre-installed proprietary software).

Some resources exist to warn buyers away from certain products:

Peripheral Compatibility

Once you have a system running Free Software, it is obviously important that peripheral devices can work with that system. Various sites provide compatibility information on this topic.

Format Compatibility

Campaigns

General Free Software Device Information


CategoryAdvocacy