1. The FreedomBox Foundation and its Relationship with Debian
Freedom: Out of the Box!
The FreedomBox Foundation and its Relationship with Debian
Bdale Garbee

2. Freedombox Vision
A FreedomBox is a personal server running a free software operating system and applications designed to create and preserve personal privacy.
Running on cheap, power-efficient plug computer servers that individuals can install in their own homes.
Contribute to building privacy-respecting federated alternatives to contemporary social networks
Mesh networking to augment or replace existing infrastructure.
Will facilitate collaborating safely and securely with others in building social networks supporting protest, demonstration, and mobilization for political change.

3. Why Debian for Freedombox?
An association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system
Completely open volunteer organization, with an intense focus on freedom
Very strong technical infrastructure
Root of a very rich ecosystem of derivatives
Is quite international
Runs on all relevant hardware architectures
“All Free Software gets packaged for Debian”

4. Why FreedomBox for Debian?
Objectives align well with Debian's own
Immense and growing public interest
Demonstrate the values of Debian

5. The Foundation

6. FreedomBox Foundation
Founded by Eben Moglen
Board of Directors
Eben Moglen
Bdale Garbee
Yochai Benkler
Executive Director - James Vasile
Technical Advisory Committee
Working Groups 6

7. Work of the Foundation Technology User Experience
Publicity and Fund-Raising
Industry Relations 7

8. Technical Advisory Committee
Bdale Garbee, chair
Jacob Applebaum
Sam Hartman
Sascha Meinrath
Rob Savoye
Matt Zimmerman 8

9. Working Groups
Teams that will design elements of our FreedomBox reference implementation .. forming now on the freedombox-discuss list
Early list of possible working groups includes:
Promotion and Visual Identity
UI / UX / HID
Network Protocols
Peer Model
Configuration
Social and Applications
Security
Documentation
Platform 9

10. Behind the Scenes : Hardware
Evaluated plug servers, selected DreamPlug as initial reference implementation platform
Identified and have now largely resolved source availability issues
Marvell uAP user-space utilities
GlobalScale modifications to u-boot
Kernel patch set
Only real remaining frustration is the uAP driver 10

11. Example: Establishing Trust
OpenPGP keys are great, but how do we establish initial trust relationships?
Among many ideas, one of the most promising is to take advantage of smart phone technology to facilitate initial key exchange
Stefano Maffulli leading work on ManusVexo
Creates QR code from fingerprint
Uses camera to capture data for initial connection 11

12. Hardware

13. Initial Hardware Target
DreamPlug from GlobalScale Technologies
Marvell 1.2Ghz
512 MB RAM and 2 MB SPI NOR Flash for bootloader
2 GB internal microSD for kernel, root filesystem
2 x Gigabit Ethernet
WIFI b/g using Marvell uAP
Bluetooth EDR
2 x USB 2.0, 1 x eSATA 2.0, 1 x SD socket
Audio Interfaces 13

14. 14

15. “Hackfest” in Banja Luka!

16. Debcamp Objectives
Focused time to work collaboratively on several parallel paths, each a necessary condition for delivering a reference software implementation
Assemble an initial development image
Identify and integrate at least one “application” we can deliver 16

17. Accomplished in Banja Luka
Many talks, meetings relevant to FreedomBox!
User-space tools for Marvell uAP packaged
Tools for building reference implementation
U-boot work for the DreamPlug
Work towards usable packaged kernels
Discussion about and work towards selecting applications for initial images 17

18. Going Forward Document and communicate our work here
Release initial developer images for the DreamPlug and x86 virtualization
Bring together core elements of an “identity management layer” based on OpenPGP keys
Select and integrate specific applications that deliver the functionality implied by our vision
Periodic “releases” until we achieve “1.0” 18

19. How to Help?
Be conscious about privacy and other freedoms in all that you do, particularly for Debian!
Experiment with software and help refine the list of alternatives to cloud services referenced at
Join a working group!
Help us select Debian packages and determine configuration specifics to deliver on our vision
Financial contributions to the Foundation are always welcome! 19

20. Questions? http://freedomboxfoundation.org