Tehnoetic wireless USB adapter now FSF-certified to respect your freedom

Tehnoetic wireless USB adapter now FSF-certified to respect your freedom BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today awarded Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification to the Tehnoetic TET-N150 wireless USB adapter. The RYF certification mark is awarded to products that meet the FSF's standards in regard to users' freedom, control over the product, and privacy. The TET-N150 can be purchased from Tehnoetic's online store. "I founded Tehnoetic in order to give users the means to run fully free systems and to promote ethical businesses that support the work of the free software community. I hope that Tehnoetic will complement and support my work at Fundația Ceata, a Romanian foundation dedicated to defending and promoting digital freedoms and aligned with the philosophy of the GNU Project," stated Tehnoetic's founder, Tiberiu C. Turbureanu. Software certification of the device focused primarily on the firmware for the Atheros AR9271 chip used on the adapter. This firmware is packaged in Linux-libre, the kernel used by several free GNU/Linux distributions. This is the same chipset used by the ThinkPenguin TPE-N150USB USB wireless adapter which was also awarded RYF certification in April 2013. While others may sell wireless USB adapters with this same chipset, if they do not bear the RYF certification mark, the device may be packaged with or recommend the use of nonfree software. This is why FSF endorsement of a hardware product is on a per seller basis rather than a blanket endorsement of a particular hardware model or chipset. "The availability of freedom-respecting wireless networking devices is important because at present, the WiFi devices that ship with nearly all laptops and PCs require proprietary software. This is a major obstacle for users seeking to install a 100% free software GNU/Linux distro, because for most people, WiFi is an essential feature. So, it is exciting that we can now direct any such user from around the globe to two different sellers on two different continents that offer a small and convenient USB WiFi adapter," stated Joshua Gay, FSF Licensing & Compliance Manager. To learn more about the Respects Your Freedom hardware certification, including details on the certification of the TET-N150 wireless USB adapter, as well as information on the driver and firmware for the device, visit https://www.fsf.org/ryf. Hardware sellers interested in applying for certification can consult https://www.fsf.org/resources/hw/endorsement/criteria. Subscribers to the FSF's Free Software Supporter newsletter will receive announcements about future Respects Your Freedom products. About the Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA. About Tehnoetic Tehnoetic is a Romanian technologically ethical online shop targeting the EU market, http://www.tehnoetic.com, and is owned and operated by Turbureanu Tiberiu-Constantin PFA.