Free Software Foundation Certifies A $99 Mini VPN Router

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Free Software Foundation Certifies A $99 Mini VPN Router

Over the years the Free Software Foundation has certified various devices that to their standards "Respect Your Freedom" from USB to parallel printer cables to re-branded and re-flashed motherboards to the Talos II at the higher-end. They've also certified different network hardware and other devices. The newest that they announced today is backing a $99 mini VPN router that supports WireGuard and other solutions...

https://www.phoronix.com/news/FSF-RYF-TPE-R1400

[elatllat]

28nm from 2016

[walmartshopper]

This just looks like a rebranded NanoPi R2S that you can buy for $40 and install OpenWrt on for all the same features.

[Franco Castillo]

28nm from 2016

It is not the same as the nm of x86 processors.

[andyprough]

This just looks like a rebranded NanoPi R2S that you can buy for $40 and install OpenWrt on for all the same features.

True, except the $40 price tag is not so common, more usually it's selling between $60-$100. This one is already configured and buying it supports an ethical libre software and hardware business, so the price is really fine.

[elatllat]

It is not the same as the nm of x86 processors.

Regardless

The Apple M2 and A16 are 5 nm ARM. And the Odroid N2+ is a 12nm ARM.

... with the amazing progress of Asahi Linux it would be amusing if the M2 became FSF certified.

[Paradigm Shifter]

I guess this won't be for sale in Europe any time soon, where a 90 day warranty for a brand new product was, last I checked, illegal. Despite lots of companies trying to pull a fast one, the legal minimum in the EU is 2 years. To my knowledge this is also the case in the UK, as they have not changed that.

Just companies will tell you otherwise, and most people either a) don't know or b) don't care or c) don't have the time and/or money to fight the legal fight.

[andyprough]

I guess this won't be for sale in Europe any time soon, where a 90 day warranty for a brand new product was, last I checked, illegal.

In what way is this a "brand new product"? I'm pretty certain ThinkPenguin doesn't manufacture anything. They just sell reconditioned or repurposed gadgets. They are like an eBay seller with their own web store. Getting a 90 day warranty from anyone reselling older devices is probably fantastic. And I'm pretty sure they sell to plenty of Europeans.

[Barnacle]

True, except the $40 price tag is not so common, more usually it's selling between $60-$100. This one is already configured and buying it supports an ethical libre software and hardware business, so the price is really fine.

I'm all down for a fully open router, but this one is a hard pass from me.

They are also selling VPN services, which makes me highly suspicious. The technical idea of VPN is sound, the idea that you can trust a random company you know nothing about and cannot audit just because they said things you wanted to hear on a website is laughable at best. Plus they know exactly who you are because you bought it online with a debit/credit card. Some "privacy"...

Plus their model for sellng extras is almost an Apple level money grab, this is going to be a $300+ router most of the time, with a weak, outdated CPU.

[Paradigm Shifter]

In what way is this a "brand new product"? I'm pretty certain ThinkPenguin doesn't manufacture anything. They just sell reconditioned or repurposed gadgets. They are like an eBay seller with their own web store. Getting a 90 day warranty from anyone reselling older devices is probably fantastic. And I'm pretty sure they sell to plenty of Europeans.

I got the impression, obviously incorrectly, that this was being sold as new, not as refurbished.