Exploring Linux, Chrome OS, and beyond.
    We    dont normally cover crowdfunding campaigns on PCWorld, but    sometimes one comes along thats just begging for a    deeper look. The Purism Librem 15 notebook is one of    those.  
    Purism,    which launched a    drive on Crowd Supply on Wednesday, is seeking at least    $250,000 to make a high-end Linux laptop that only runs free,    or open-source, software. This means no annoying    closed-source driversor binary blobsnecessary to make    the hardware work. Make no mistakethis is a serious, slick    Linux notebook, not a bit of kit for hobbyist hackers.  
    Linux    laptops can be hard to find. Even harder to find are Linux    laptops where the hardware works perfectly well with free    software. Even Linux laptops that look nice and slick might    have closed-source binary blob drivers running in the Linux    kernel.  
    Enter    the Librem 15, which claims to be the first laptop in the    world that ships without mystery software in the kernel,    operating system, or any software applications. This claim may    be a bit overblownwere sureRichard    Stallman and his Leemote    YeeLoong would disagreebut it certainly does look like an    awesome, high-end laptop that blows systems like the Leemote    out of the water.  
    Purism    claims the laptops hardware has been meticulously designed    chip by chip to work with free and open source software,    saying its the first laptop to reinstate your rights to    freedom and privacy. Marketing the privacy angle is probably a    smart move in this post-Snowden world, but this campaign may be    just as exciting for any Linux user or developer looking for a    solid piece of well-supported hardware that doesnt require    potentially unreliable closed-source drivers.  
    The    system will ship with the Purism GNU/Linux Operating System,    a Linux distribution based on Trisquel. Trisquel is Ubuntu-based,    but     includes only free software. If you prefer another Linux    distribution, it should be trivial to switch.  
    Theyre    not lying when they say they want to make high-end hardware,    either. The Librem 15 includes a 15.6-inch 1920x1080 display,    an 8-core 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, NVIDIA graphics, 4 or 8 GB    of RAM, Wi-Fi, a 720p webcam, and all the other goodies youd    expect in a high-end laptopincluding a brushed metal exterior.    The price is high-end too, with the cheapest retail    configuration starting at $1899, or $1499 if you commit to    buying it during the crowdfunding campaign.  
    Price    and configuration options for the Purism Librem 15.  
    Purism    says theyve put together final prototypes, and now theyre    seeking $250,000 to make it a reality.  
Here is the original post:
Purism Librem 15 Linux laptop blends high-end hardware with totally free software