[Freedombox-discuss] Please help mass-spreading Freedombox in Romania

[Răzvan Sandu]

Hello, Freedombox list,


Being my first post here, I am glad to salute the whole community from 
*Bucharest, Romania* .

I would like to let the other members know that, around here, we have an 
increased *concern* about online privacy. Unfortunately, the free, true 
*solution* offered by the FreedomBox Project and the more general idea 
of decentralizing networks are less well-known, locally. More correct 
information is needed, for the general public.

One thing we truly miss is the possibility (for the end-user) to *see* 
the stock FreedomBox hardware (not online, but physically), while being 
explained the necessity of it and *before* buying.

So, I am personally interested in a more "industrial way" of promoting 
the FreedomBox concept on the Romanian local market.

Something like:

1. A way to buy certified, stock FreedomBox *hardware* , with 
preinstalled software (as offered by Olimex or other vendors), on the 
*local* market (without needing international shipment)

2. Having access to both small (for evaluation) or larger *quantities* 
(for mass deployment)

3. While I'm perfectly able to download the FreedomBox software and 
install it myself on general hardware like the Raspberry Pi, this is not 
the idea. We explicitly want to *help* (financially and in other ways) 
the FreedomBox Foundation's effort via every device sale, so we need 
stock devices.

4. More *powerful* hardware (such as 4 GB RAM devices, not 1 GB; or 
faster processors) would be certainly more sought by the local public (a 
precondition for the success of any mass distribution on the Romanian 
market, as I know it now)

5. *Hacking* (for the end-user) should not be implied. What we intend is 
having consumer-like devices (like common wireless routers) that 
*non-technical* public may purchase and immediately use for publishing 
content on the Web, in a decentralized manner

6. The ability to create *mesh* networks (both via wireless and 
Ethernet) is a very sought-of feature (for small communities like 
villages, please see the ideas of VillageTelco)

7. Good *Dynamic DNS* software (already included at shipment) is 
critical, since most of the users have residential Internet connections 
(fiber, CATV, cellular)

8. Locally, we may *contribute* with detailed, high quality 
*translations* of any user documentation (mostly in Romanian, but also 
other languages)


Can you please *offer some advice* for building a more active and 
tightly integrated *local* "market" for FreedomBoxes (for obvious 
"political" reasons related to privacy and decentralization), especially 
regarding suitable *hardware* distribution?


Thank you!


Best regards,

Răzvan






-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: OpenPGP_0xC2B8B57AAAFC29CE.asc
Type: application/pgp-keys
Size: 164770 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://alioth-lists.debian.net/pipermail/freedombox-discuss/attachments/20210213/e312c6f9/attachment-0001.key>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: OpenPGP_signature
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 840 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://alioth-lists.debian.net/pipermail/freedombox-discuss/attachments/20210213/e312c6f9/attachment-0001.sig>