[Dev] [libreplanet-discuss] Misleading information in EOMA68 news

[Christopher Waid]

On 2016-08-25 07:11 PM, Tiberiu-Cezar Tehnoetic wrote:
> On 26.08.2016 01:33, Paul Kocialkowski wrote:
>> Le vendredi 26 août 2016 à 01:26 +0300, Tiberiu-Cezar Tehnoetic a 
>> écrit :
>>> On 25.08.2016 15:47, Tiberiu-Cezar Tehnoetic wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> On 25.08.2016 15:25, Adonay Felipe Nogueira wrote:
>>>>> 
>>>>> This issue of "you said it is 'libre' but I prove it's not", and 
>>>>> even
>>>>> the issue regarding the older publication on ThinkPenguin's site, 
>>>>> can be
>>>>> easily solved by changing terms/words accordingly there. There's no 
>>>>> need
>>>>> to make everyone mad at each other.
>>>> 
>>>> It's not just about terminology. It's about deliberately 
>>>> misinforming
>>>> the people to back your project because it's been libre hardware and
>>>> libre software "right from the beginning". And also misinforming 
>>>> people
>>>> to think it's OK for their freedom to buy laptops with proprietary 
>>>> BIOS
>>>> rather than with Libreboot.
>>> 
>>> Richard Stallman has just confirmed me that FSF has not received the 
>>> PCB
>>> design sources along with the Libre Tea Computer Card.
>>> 
>>> I hope that now everyone understands that this EOMA68 board is *not*
>>> libre hardware as claimed.
>> 
>> LKCL made it clear already: the EOMA68 circuit board design is not 
>> libre
>> hardware for now, but may be liberated in the future.
>> 
>> Where (except for the Parabola news we just fixed) did you see anyone 
>> claim that
>> it's libre hardware?
> 
> Yes, I've been explaining this separately in the Trisquel-users forum:
> 
> https://trisquel.info/en/forum/re-dev-misleading-information-eoma68-news
> 
> Sadly, I couldn't Cc the other lists while posting directly in the 
> forum
> and I have posted directly in the forum because it takes some time for 
> a
> mail in the Trisquel-users mailing list to be posted automatically in
> the forum as well.
> 
> The claim that it's "libre hardware" originates, of course, in their
> crowdfunding campaign, where they state that "This project has been
> extremely unusual in that it has been a Libre Hardware and Software
> project right from the beginning. [...] A commitment to being fully
> Libre is a critical strategic part of this project."

The project is claiming to be a libre hardware/software project, not 
that everything has been released yet. There is a huge difference. This 
is a crowd funding campaign and not a product for sale. Your making 
mountains out of molehills. More *stuff* has been released with this 
project already than any other I've ever seen. Most crowd funding 
campaigns don't release any of this and those that do don't do it until 
long after the rewards have shipped.

IT CLEARLY sates this all on the crowd funding site:

We are working with the FSF to apply for RYF Certification of the Libre 
Tea Computer Card for example, but are also going way beyond that by 
providing full CAD files, schematics, and datasheets for all the parts 
(without NDAs) as well as having the 3D CAD files for the casework as a 
completely open GPLv3+ licensed project right from its inception. In 
addition, all firmware and kernel sources are GPL-licensed and will 
always remain so, and have been vetted in advance and do not contain any 
copyright violations or proprietary license-violating blobs (an 
extremely common practice nowadays).

The only exception to this rule to release everything in advance is the 
PCB CAD files for the Computer Card. We’re planning to release the PCB 
CAD files for the Computer card once sufficient units are hit that 
ensures any third party manufacturing runs will not undermine the 
project’s development or stability.


> 
> https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop
> 
> Hackerboards article, quoted in the campaign's page:
> 
> "The EOMA68-A20 COM and systems are claimed to be scrupulously “libre”
> in both hardware and software"
> http://hackerboards.com/open-source-com-and-carriers-become-3d-printable-computers/
> 
> Liliputing article, quoted in the campaign's page:
> 
> "Part of what makes the EOMA68 unusual is that all of the software,
> hardware schematics, and even CAD files for the case design are all
> available for free."
> http://liliputing.com/2016/06/crowdfunding-begins-modular-eoma68-pc-system-laptop-desktop-upgradeable-pc-card.html
> 
> Retro-Freedom article, quoted in the campaign's page:
> 
> "we need computers that [...] Are based on libre hardware designs. 
> [...]
> Why the EOMA68 solves our problems"
> http://retro-freedom.nz/blog/2016/06/30/eoma68-my-dream-machine/
> 
> Xataka article, quoted in the campaign's page:
> 
> "Parte de la gracia que tiene el sistema está en la en que todo lo que
> lo rodea es libre y gratuito. Me explico, tanto el software, como los
> esquemas de hardware, además de los ficheros CAD, son de libre acceso"
> http://www.xataka.com/makers/el-cerebro-de-todos-tus-gadgets-puede-caber-en-una-cartera-eoma68
> 
> And other articles quoted in the campaign's page reiterate the same 
> claim.
> 
> Additionally, the discussions have been reiterating the same claim:
> 
> "Open Source" Hardware Association's mailing list:
> 
> http://lists.oshwa.org/pipermail/discuss/2016-August/001865.html
> 
> "Open" Manufacturing Group's mailing list:
> 
> https://groups.google.com/d/msg/openmanufacturing/5Wi1poeK4B4/02CC4uLMAAAJ
> (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!aboutgroup/openmanufacturing)
> 
> Free Software Foundation community mailing list LibrePlanet-discuss:
> 
> Thread #1: EOMA68 - We have to get Free Hardware!
> 
> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/libreplanet-discuss/2016-07/msg00023.html
> 
> Thread #2:  EOMA68 - libre software, libre hardware, and eco-
> 
> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/libreplanet-discuss/2016-07/msg00002.html
> 
> And the list can go on.