Purism Librem Privacy-Respecting Computers Raise $797,000 to Date, Now Among Top 3 Crowdfunded PCs in History
San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 24, 2015 -- The privacy-respecting Librem 13 and Librem 15 laptops have surpassed past their initial crowdfunding goals, on the Open Source crowd funding site, Crowd Supply. Together, the two Librem computers raised more than $797,000 to date. Librem is now the #1 project on Crowd Supply, and among the top three crowd funded PC hardware projects in history, according to ZDNet.
The goal of the Librem is to offer a simple, out of the box, privacy-enhancing LInux kernel-based computing experience for consumers.
The Librem personal computers aim to eliminate vulnerabilities and "backdoors" in the hardware, chip firmware, operating system and applications. Purism's engineering team is also working diligently to build a "free" and open source BIOS, the last remaining hurdle to a 100% freedom-respecting computer.
Crowd Supply is a launchpad for new open hardware projects. It offers crowdfunding, strategy, e-commerce and product fulfillment services to product creators, and was recently endorsed by Dr. Richard Stallman as the crowdfunding platform of choice for adhering to the organization’s Free Javascript Campaign, and for respecting users' and backers' freedoms.
The Librem is the world’s first high-end computer designed chip-by-chip, from the motherboard to the screen, to specifically protect a users' security, while respecting their digital rights. PureOS, the Librem’s operating system, is a simple, consumer-friendly derivative of the Debian Linux distribution, will ship with the laptops in October and is available to all as a free download from the Purism website at: https://puri.sm/pureos.
The Librem's hardware is carefully selected to run using a custom-compiled Linux kernel without “mystery software” or “binary blobs” ensuring that there are no backdoors in the kernel or operating system.
Crowd funding enables rapid market demand evaluation and development:
“Crowd funding has allowed us to determine market demand, and conduct rapid development with our backers, to create a product that the market actually wants — rather than the historic approach of speculating,” says Purism CEO Todd Weaver.
The ease of hardware prototyping, combined with the power of crowd funding, enables an emerging company like Purism to create a computer that is equivalent — and in many ways superior — to other high-end laptops on the market today.
The Librem looks similar to a MacBook Air, and introduces some innovative features not found in any other laptop on the market today, including a Privacy “Kill Switch” that shuts the data connection to the camera and microphone to deter hackers or information thieves.
"In years past, getting hardware product to market required tremendous investment, with minimum order quantities in the hundreds of thousands, and the product wasn't vetted until they all sat on a Best Buy shelf. Crowd funding enables product-market-fit experimentation in a category that has historically been deprived of it,' Weaver added. 'We have been iterating the design and specs for the Librem on a rapid cycle — with some of our most significant features like the Hardware Kill Switch, backlit keyboard and CPU fusing for security and privacy, coming directly from requests made by our backers."
On January 21, 2015 the company achieved its first $250,000 goal for the Librem 15, and in June launched Librem 13, a smaller, lighter, 13” version.
The Librem 13 has a slender, anodized aluminum case similar to a MacBook Air, and comes with optional privacy “kill switches” to shut off the camera, microphone, Bluetooth and WiFi, deterring data thieves, snoops and hackers.
Shipping and ordering information:
Librem 13:
The new Librem 13 with privacy kill switch will ship beginning October 5, 2015. It can still be preordered at http://www.crowdsupply.com/purism/librem-13, for a base price of $1699 US.
LIbrem 15:
Librem 15-inch ver2 will begin shipping October 15, 2015 and can be preordered for a base price of $1899 US, at http://www.crowdsupply.com/purism.
CrowdSupply will accept all forms of International currency including Bitcoin. Currently about 50% of backers are from outside the USA, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Brazil, Sweden, Denmark and Asia.
About Purism:
Purism follows a strict belief in your rights to freedom, privacy, and control of your computing. We believe users should have access to the highest quality computers without compromising these beliefs.
The founder and CEO of Purism, Todd Weaver, created Purism to marry the philosophies of the free/libre and open source software movement with the hardware manufacturing process. Purism is devoted, at its heart and soul, to providing the highest quality hardware available, that ensures the rights of security, privacy, and freedom for all users.
Purism is based in San Francisco, California and its products are assembled locally in the United States from components sourced internationally. Privately held and privately funded, Purism has raised more than $798,000 to date -- solely with crowd funding — making the Librem laptops one of the three most successful crowd funded PC hardware projects in history, according to ZDNet, and the #1 crowd funded Open Source hardware project on Crowd Supply.
Giselle Bisson, Purism, https://puri.sm, +1 (415) 655-1050, [email protected]
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