"Qubes OS, the security-focused operating system that Edward Snowden said in November he was “really excited” about, announced this week that laptop maker Purism will ship their privacy-focused Librem 13 notebook with Qubes pre-installed."

"Purism is the best option for Linux enthusiasts and users who have an increased concern about their identity theft, internet price, security and digital right."

"The Librem laptops are designed around beautiful and effective hardware. They are built chip by chip, application by application for privacy and security."

"Purism is working to give you all the privacy and freedom they can"

"Threats such as spying and stalking to data-mining and ransomware, plus much more can be prevented using a Librem notebook... An all-around different machine, the Librem notebook is a computer everyone should consider owning."

"Right now you are vulnerable to adversaries stealing your personal data for their gain...You can stop them all,” says Purism."

"The Librem 13 is endorsed by notable security and privacy experts, including Jacob Appelbaum, who joined the company this week as a technical advisor."

"Hawked at those concerned with privacy more so than a brand name or a popular OS."

"There may be more threats in the future that could be prevented using a Librem private computer."

"Purism computers are different because every single piece of hardware has been chosen due to its ability to work with free/libre software."

"The new laptop model kicks things up a notch. With a flip of its physical kill switches, the circuits connecting to those features are manually disabled."

"It can be configured with optional hardware “kill switches” that disable the Librem’s built-in Wi-Fi and webcam and microphone to prevent potential snooping from online predators."

"If you do want high-end, current hardware, a Librem laptop offers a better free software experience than a MacBook, a Windows 10 ultrabook, or even Dell’s sleek Linux laptops. ."

Stay in touch with the latest news from Purism by following us on Twitter.

Introducing the Librem 13 by Purism, a 13.3” laptop computer, built chip-by-chip to respect and protect your privacy, security, and freedom.

Right now you are vulnerable to adversaries stealing your personal data for their gain. Thieves stealing your identity, credit cards, and banking logins, scammers taking over your email, criminals watching you through your web cam, marketers profiling your personal data from websites, and, ISPs wholesale gathering of all your insecure communication. You can stop them all.

The Librem laptop keeps you safe.

It marries the best software certified by security, privacy, and freedom experts with a slim and beautiful design, including hardware switches to turn off your microphone and camera.

The instant you open your Librem laptop, you are protected.

Purism’s operating system, PureOS is completely Free and Open Source, with the most popular Mac and Windows compatible software preinstalled, including Browser, Email, Graphics, Drawing, Word Processing, Presentation, Spreadsheet, and Media player.

The Purism Librem 13 is the first high-end laptop computer in the world that protects you. Every other consumer-grade laptop you can purchase comes with an operating system that includes suspect, proprietary software, and there’s no way for you to know what that software does.

The reality is that unless every aspect of your kernel, operating system, and software applications are free/libre and open source, there is no way to know that your computer is truly working in your best interest. Purism is the first to solve this problem.

Philosophy

Purism will only use free/libre and open source software in the kernel, OS, and all software. Purism will design and manufacture hardware that respects users’ rights to privacy, security, and freedom. Purism will prioritize privacy, security, and freedom for our users. Purism will not discriminate against persons nor groups nor fields of endeavor. Purism will source, and manufacture the highest quality hardware.

Purism will donate a portion of proceeds to free software projects on a quarterly basis, according to Purism’s own Free Software for Freedom Margin Share Program.

Hardware Companies, Freedom, and Privacy

Description BIOS Freed Kernel Freed OS Freed Software Freed Promotes Freedom Promotes Privacy† Supports Freedom ACER No No No No No No No AAPLE No No Partial* No No No No DELL No No No No No No No FUJITSU No No No No No No No GOOGLE Almost‡ No No No Partial* No Partial* HP No No No No No No No IBM No No No No No No No MICROSOFT No No No No No No No LENOVO No No No No No No No PURISM Almost‡ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes TOSHIBA No No No No No No No

*Source code is released under free licenses, but other freedom and privacy restricting features exist.

†Promotes privacy by providing source code under a free license, and installing privacy supporting software by default.

‡AMD includes an AGESA binary into the BIOS, Intel includes an FSP binary into the BIOS (Purism is working to have that binary freed).

Software Companies, Freedom, and Privacy

Description BIOS Freed Kernel Freed OS Freed Apps Freed Promotes Freedom Promotes Privacy† Supports Freedom IOS No No No No No No No MACOS No No Partial* No No No No CHROME OS Almost‡ No Partial* No No No Partial* ANDROID No No No No No No No WINDOWS No No No No No No No PURISM OS Almost‡ Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

*Source code is released under free/libre licenses, but other freedom and privacy restricting features exist.

†Promotes privacy by providing source code under a free/libre license, and installing privacy supporting software by default.

‡AMD includes an AGESA binary into the BIOS, Intel includes an FSP binary into the BIOS (Purism is working to have that binary freed).

§Trisquel GNU/Linux based distribution.

Source code is released under free/libre licenses, but other freedom and privacy restricting features exist. Promotes privacy by providing source code under a free/libre license, and installing privacy supporting software by default. AMD includes an AGESA binary into the BIOS, Intel includes an FSP binary into the BIOS (Purism is working to have that binary freed). Trisquel GNU/Linux based distribution.

What Makes the Librem Better?

The Librem 13 ships with PureOS, Purism’s Operating System that leverages the Free Software Foundations certified freedom respecting distribution Trisquel, adding in many security and privacy protecting features, such as Privacy Badger, HTTPS-Everywhere, and strong encryption. Making privacy, security, and freedom installed by default takes the difficulty out of keeping up with best practices for users.

The hardware used in the Librem 13 laptop was specifically selected so that no binary blobs are needed in the kernel that ships with PureOS. All other laptop computers include nasty binary blobs in the kernel.

The Librem 13 is the first concrete step toward changing computer manufacturing in a fundamental way. We believe in users’ rights, and will continue to push upstream to free the lowest level component firmware.

How Can We Make This Change, When Other Companies Have Not?

All other companies, when they sit down at the negotiation table, negotiate first for price, mean time between failure, quality, warranty, availability, then revisit price again. We on the other hand negotiate for users’ rights to free software, privacy, and security, then quality, then price. Most manufacturers just need to be made aware that it matters to users, and then we discuss how best to make that happen. This is where you come in. Your support for Purism gives us the leverage we need to push upstream to the manufacturers of component parts. We are here to fight for your rights - please help us do that by supporting this campaign!

Hardware Specifications

The Librem 13 is the first high-end laptop where you are in control and have complete visibility into the kernel, the operating system, and all software. Meticulously designed chip by chip to work with free/libre and open source software, the Librem reinstates your rights to privacy, security, and freedom. We hand selected the best hardware that still honors our strict beliefs:

13.3" display 1920x1080

2 Core (4 Threads) Intel i5

Intel HD Graphics 5500

4GB Mem (up to 16GB)

250GB SSD (up to 1TB SSD)

48 Wh lithium polymer battery

45W power adapter

Up to 8 hours usage

One USB 3.0 port

One USB 2.0 port

One HDMI port

One Pop-Down RJ45 Network port (r8169)

802.11n WiFi (ath9k)

720p camera

Hardware Kill Switches for wireless and camera/mic

HD Audio

Headphone jack

Full-size keyboard in a variety of languages

Aluminum enclosure body

SDXC card slot

Purism PureOS 64-bit Operating System (Trisquel based)

325mm x 219mm x 18mm (12.75" x 8.62" x .70")

1.4Kg (3.0lbs)

Hardware kill switches for wireless and camera/mic

Hardware kill switches for wireless and camera/mic.

Manufacturing Versus Sourcing

Purism is manufacturing the motherboard, and screen printing the keyboard. Purism is sourcing the case, daughter cards, memory, drives, battery, camera, and screen.

Replacement and Upgrade Parts

Once we are shipping the Librem 13, we will also offer replacement and upgrade parts for sale.

Upgradable

The SSD, RAM, wireless chipset, and battery are all accessible after unscrewing the bottom of the case. All these components are easily replaceable or upgradable.

Keyboard

The Librem 13 keyboard comes in a wide variety of language layouts. See the “keyboard” drop-down menu in any of the pledge levels to the right for a full listing of the available languages.

Power Adapter

The Librem 13 laptop comes with the power adapter pictured below. As input, the power adapter takes up to 1.6A at 100-240V and 50-60Hz. As output, the power adapter provides up to 3.4A at 19V. The power adapter plug is available in EU, UK, and US styles and can be easily swapped out by the end user.

Other Models

The Librem 13 is the second in the Librem line of products. The first was the Librem 15, which has already started shipping. If the Librem 13 campaign is successful, our third product will be the Librem Tablet, followed by the Librem Phone.

Warranty

Every Librem 13 laptop comes with a company-backed, two-year parts and labor warranty. We currently have one warranty facility in South San Francisco, however we are also considering and pursuing distribution and warranty repair within certain other countries.

Software Specifications

Bundled with our fully free/libre and open source operating system PureOS, including preinstalled free/libre professional quality web browser, email, graphics, drawing, word processing, presentation, spreadsheet, and media player, users can easily replace their existing computer. Users can add hundreds of thousands of free/libre and open source applications easily.

Painstakingly selecting every single component that goes into the Librem 13 laptop, Purism ensures they all will operate with free/libre and open source software within the kernel, the operating system, and all software applications.

What About Installing a Different OS?

Since we are installing PureOS, which is based on the strictest of distributions and strips all binary blobs from the kernel, you can easily install anything less strict, such as Debian and Ubuntu. We have not certified any non-GNU/Linux-based operating system.

What About the BIOS and firmware?

Though the bootloader, kernel, OS, and all software applications are completely free/libre software without any binary blobs, the BIOS which does use free/libre and open source coreboot, does include a binary from Intel, called FSP. Here is a diagram that summarizes which components are free/libre and which aren’t.

While the BIOS is not yet free, the Librem will be the first laptop ever manufactured to ship a modern Intel CPU fused to run unsigned BIOS code, allowing for a future where free software can replace the proprietary, digitally signed BIOS binaries. This marks one of the largest hurdles to a BIOS that runs 100% free software and firmware. Recognizing the importance of this critical step toward consumer freedom, Dr. Richard M. Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), states:

“Getting rid of the signature checking is an important step. While it doesn’t give us free code for the firmware, it means that users will really have control of the firmware once we get free code for it.” - Dr. Richard M. Stallman

There are also hardware components, like the HD or SSD, that are flashable, and therefore upgradeable, but that currently run firmware that is not yet freed. We are working to get freed versions of this firmware! Being the first manufacturer to care about privacy, security, and freedom, we are pushing this message upstream.

Manufacturing Plan

Purism has the final prototypes, and with your help can begin production at full scale in our South San Francisco facility.

When Will I Get My Laptop?

The first batch will be ready August 2015. This date allows us to finalize our design, manufacture a small run, then order the components, assemble, load the software and ship to you.

Shipping Costs

All laptops include free US domestic shipping. We also ship outside the US anywhere in the world for a flat $80 international shipping surcharge. Any applicable international customs and duties are not included in the price and are the responsibility of the recipient.

About This Crowdfunding Campaign

This is an all-or-nothing scenario - either we make our funding goal and move forward or we miss our funding goal, no credit cards are charged, and the project halts.

Pricing

There are three tiers of pricing available as a special offer only during this crowdfunding campaign - earliest bird, early bird, and retail pricing. The tiers are designed to offer a greater discount to the earliest adopters (earliest bird) so the price and quantity available is the only difference between the tiers: once the tier is filled, the next tier of pricing and quantity is used. These pricing tiers offer a significant discount over the planned retail pricing, which is also available as part of the campaign in case the early tiers fill up completely.

Plans After Successfully Funding

We have very big plans, we believe in free software and our goal is to make free software the default for users. We want average computer users to consider the Librem line an easy alternative to proprietary systems that do not respect their freedoms. After the Librem 13, we want to produce a Librem Tablet, then longer term move into phones, where there are no viable free software alternatives for users.

Sales After the Crowdfunding Campaign Succeeds

Once we have placed our Minimum Order Quantity (MOQ) order, which is what our funding goal is for, we will be offering the Librem 13 for sale, with a standard turnaround to users of about 1 to 2 weeks.

What Happens If the Funding Goal is Not Met?

It will show that there is not enough user support to want a company to fight for freedom, security, and privacy. Therefore, we would not be able to manufacture the Librem 13, and therefore will not receive any funds from any backers. Let’s not make that happen, help us reach our goal, so we can do great things with hardware.

Alternative Payment

We understand that credit cards aren’t for everyone. If you cannot or do not want to pay by credit card, contact support@crowdsupply.com to make arrangements for alternative forms of payment. Crowd Supply accepts bitcoin payments via manually generated Coinbase USD invoices! Get in touch.

About Purism

Purism is devoted, at its heart and soul, to providing the highest quality hardware available, that utilizes free/libre software, ensuring the rights of freedom, privacy, and control of your computing. Purism was founded by Todd Weaver, a free/libre software advocate since 1994, formerly the CTO of Impart Media Group, and CEO of ivi, Inc. Todd has more than 20 years of entrepreneurial experience, using, installing, and promoting free/libre and open source software.

Compare Models

See how the Librem 13 compares to the Librem 15