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.
Hardware Categories
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.
Some hardware categories are not currently included on this page. For example, embedded product categories such as those served by products like the Arduino range of devices are not covered because these typically do not offer "ready to use" solutions for end-users, even though they support Free Software and even though a large number of the available devices are also "open hardware" products.
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 |
Comment |
Link verified |
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DE |
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2012-01-10 |
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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 |
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CH |
de_CH (netbook) |
Mini-PC desktop, Lenovo laptop, Asus netbook |
2012-01-20 |
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SE |
SE |
Ubuntu 8.04 offered on most systems |
2012-01-10 |
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ES |
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2012-01-10 |
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SE |
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Sells only Free Software related items, including books, routers, distributions and toys, computers on request |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
US |
Sells the Letux mini-notebook |
2012-01-10 |
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FR |
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Sells the Lemote Fuloong Mini-PC |
2012-01-10 |
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US |
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2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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Shop at Linux-Laptop.de selling pre-installed laptops without "windows tax", sells UMTS-Sticks and WLAN adapters, too |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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Offers discount if you buy a computer with only GNU/Linux. |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
US |
Sells the Letux mini-notebook |
2012-01-10 |
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IT |
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Mini-PCs |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
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most laptops are shipped with no OS per default |
2012-01-12 |
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CH |
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Desktops, laptops and netbooks, compatible printers etc. |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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2012-01-08 |
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FR |
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HD-less Mini-PCs |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
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Can buy without OS or with GNU/Linux distribution at no cost |
2012-01-10 |
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FI |
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2012-01-08 |
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IT |
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Mini-PCs |
2012-01-08 |
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US |
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Lenovo-based products |
2012-01-10 |
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NL |
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Mini-server and laptops/netbooks without OS or with Ubuntu installed at a cost with support included |
2012-01-23 |
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DE |
Various |
Sells laptops without OS |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
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Webshop seems not to be operational |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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Possible to leave out any software for most desktop models, some laptops with GNU/Linux |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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Makes donations to KDE |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
DE |
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2012-01-10 |
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EU |
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In each section of the system configurator, there is a link to "Shuttle Systems without operating system" |
2012-01-08 |
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NL |
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Lemote reseller |
2012-01-10 |
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UK |
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Also WLAN cards |
2012-01-10 |
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US(worldwide shipping) |
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Only-freedom compatible Hardware (Printers, Hardware that does not require proprietery software) |
2012-01-17 |
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ES |
US, ES |
Efika MX Smarttop (Mini-PC) and Smartbook |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
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All-in-one Mini-PC and notebooks; FreeDOS at no cost, GNU/Linux at small cost |
2012-01-10 |
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BE |
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Ubuntu pre-installed |
2012-01-10 |
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DE |
Various |
Lenovo ThinkPad laptops with Debian/GNU Linux pre-installed |
2012-01-24 |
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IT |
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2012-01-08 |
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FR |
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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 |
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WikiPedia:Lemote |
Desktops (Fuloong) and netbooks (Yeeloong) |
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Mobile Devices
On this page, mobile devices encompass personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, smartphones and mobile music/media players. Although laptops and netbooks are obviously also mobile devices, this category focuses exclusively on "pocketable" devices. 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 |
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DE |
Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner |
2012-01-08 |
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FR |
Sells the Ben NanoNote |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote |
2012-01-08 |
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NL |
Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote |
2012-01-08 |
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DE |
Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner and Ben NanoNote |
2012-01-08 |
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UK |
Sells the OpenMoko FreeRunner |
2012-01-08 |
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ES |
Sells the Ben NanoNote |
2012-01-08 |
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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 |
GTA-04 smartphone |
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Neo FreeRunner smartphone |
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Pandora handheld games console |
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Ben Nanonote PDA/micro-notebook |
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supports existing devices by providing Free Software firmware |
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Single-Board Computers
This category of devices potentially overlaps with the personal computer and mobile categories, in that some products are mostly suited to use with external peripherals that typically make up a desktop system, whereas others could potentially be integrated into mobile solutions.
Products and Initiatives
Since devices in this category are often aimed at software and product developers instead of end-users, a greater focus has been placed on supporting Free Software development as well as making designs that can be manufactured as genuinely open hardware by those with the facilities to do so.
Vendor |
Products |
Open Hardware |
upcoming PCMCIA form factor products |
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Texas Instruments / BeagleBoard community |
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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.
Computer vendors that pre-install Debian - this list should be checked periodically and vendors verified to be offering solutions could be added to this page
linuxpreloaded.com is focused on North America, but since some vendors there ship worldwide, it can be relevant to European buyers. If they list a European vendor who is not listed here, please add it to this page!
Certified hardware for Ubuntu - a mixture of compatibility reports and pre-installation information about systems running (or able to run) Ubuntu GNU/Linux distributions
Linux HCL (hardware compatibility list)
The open computers category on Wikipedia provides information about computers considered to be open hardware
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).
FSF Hardware database, specifically H-Node's hardware section
Tuxmobil, also maintaining a collection of hardware vendors like this page
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.
Printer List (supported by the Linux Foundation) is a database of supported printers
SANE - Supported Devices is a database of supported scanners
Format Compatibility
PortablePlayers, indicating portable music/media players supporting the Xiph family of audio formats such as Ogg Vorbis
Campaigns