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Free Software Foundation adds libreCMC to its list of endorsed distributions

by Free Software Foundation Contributions — Published on Sep 04, 2014 03:16 PM

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, September 4, 2014 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the addition of libreCMC, an embedded GNU/Linux project, to its list of recommended distributions.

The FSF's list consists of ready-to-use fullsystems whose developers have made a commitment to follow theGuidelines for Free System Distributions. This means each distroincludes and steers users toward exclusively free software. Alldistros reject nonfree software, including firmware "blobs," andnonfree documentation.

The wireless network router is a ubiquitous device found in almostevery home or business. Virtually all routers on the market todayship with proprietary operating systems. With libreCMC, users can nowreplace the proprietary operating system on many routers with a 100%free software operating system.

"Today, if you run libreCMC on your home router, you will gain morecontrol over your computing and over the security of yourcommunications. Over time, as a platform designed for and by freesoftware users, we hope libreCMC will make it easy for any user to run their own services, and to remotely access and share files without having to rely upon third-parties," said Joshua Gay, FSF's licensing and compliance manager.

Bob Call, the founder and lead maintainer of libreCMC, said, "The core goals of the libreCMC project are to provide a solidplatform that gives users the freedom to control their computing, bothin the embedded and large application spaces and eventually in thearea of high-performance computing. Right now, libreCMC supports fivedifferent versions of routers, as well as the Ben NanoNote. In thefuture, we hope to expand support to more devices, provide an easysolution for users to host their own services, and pave the way forfree software to expand in the embedded world."

The FSF is currently evaluating routers running libreCMC for itsRespects Your Freedom hardware certification program.

More info about libreCMC and how to get involved can be found out athttp://librecmc.org.

About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated topromoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, andredistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development anduse of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operatingsystem and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for freesoftware. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical andpolitical issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites,located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of informationabout GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made athttps://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

About the GNU Operating System and Linux

Richard Stallman announced in September 1983 the plan to develop afree software Unix-like operating system called GNU. GNU is the onlyoperating system developed specifically for the sake of users'freedom. Seehttps://www.gnu.org/gnu/the-gnu-project.html.

In 1992, the essential components of GNU were complete, except forone, the kernel. When in 1992 the kernel Linux was re-released underthe GNU GPL, making it free software, the combination of GNU and Linuxformed a complete free operating system, which made it possible forthe first time to run a PC without non-free software. This combinationis the GNU/Linux system. For more explanation, seehttps://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html.