Tehnoetic wireless USB adapter awarded with FSF's RYF certificate

29 replies [Last post]
tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011
lembas
Offline
Joined: 05/13/2010

Great news, congratulations and thank you!

gobusto

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 02/07/2010

I tried to order a couple of these, but I couldn't make payments because no recipient bank address details were provided on the order form.

I tried to ask for help via the contact form, but I don't think that it worked - clicking the "Continue" button did nothing...

tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011

Hey!

Thank you for finding a way to reach Tehnoetic if everything else didn't
work. :-)

În 2014-05-25 12:15, name at domain a scris:
> I tried to order a couple of these, but I couldn't make payments
> because no recipient bank address details were provided on the order
> form.

I found your order in the not-completed order list and wrote to you
yesterday. I don't know why your order was not completed, maybe you
didn't press the last blue button, too.

Maybe my e-mail (from name at domain) got into your spam folder.
Please let me know and let's continue the order-related discussion in
private.

> I tried to ask for help via the contact form, but I don't think that
> it worked - clicking the "Continue" button did nothing...

There must be something wrong with those buttons. I will check it out.

Once again, thank you for finding a way to report this and a big thank
you to the Trisquel forum for allowing me to sort this out.

Tiberiu, on behalf of Tehnoetic

lammi87

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 07/27/2012

The thing is that the bank transfer details are given to the customers via e-mail AFTER they have completed their order. People don't expect this. They get the impression they should get the details before completing the order. This is how most online shops work. People are hesitant to complite an order without paying it first. I think that this needs to be fixed.

I just ordered my adapter a couple of days ago and I was wondering how to pay for it too. However, I did receive the bank tranfer details and the communication with Tehnoetic was smoot and answers to my emails came quickly.

Michał Masłowski

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Offline
Joined: 05/15/2010

Many shops in Poland do this, often with order-specific account numbers.
I think it's ok, especially if it means paying only when it's certain
that the order can be fulfilled. Payment when receiving a package is
common here too.

(I haven't ordered the adapter discussed here, while it makes me unsure
if I should replace the big TP-Link device that I use for one of my
laptops.)

tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011

On 25.05.2014 14:17, name at domain wrote:
> The thing is that the bank transfer details are given to the customers
> via e-mail AFTER they have completed their order. People don't expect
> this. They get the impression they should get the details before
> completing the order. This is how most online shops work. People are
> hesitant to complite an order without paying it first. I think that this
> needs to be fixed.

Thank you for the feedback, Matti. I followed your advice and I fixed
this just after your order was processed and now I am working on
implementing a free software module for OpenCart to be able to provide
credit card payment through the RomCard gateway in Romania.

The credit card payment will probably be live in two weeks, after RMS'
tour of Fundația Ceata's local teams.

https://www.fsf.org/@@search?Subject%3Alist=Funda%C8%9Bia%20Ceata

gobusto

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 02/07/2010

Hi,

Just saw your emails now - they were hiding in the spam folder.

Cheers for helping me sort this out - I'll have another go at getting my bank to set up an international transfer shortly. (I didn't want to confirm the order until I was sure that I'd be able to get the money transferred.)

It seems that their online transfer form only accepts basic latin characters, so I hope you don't mind if "Mostiștea" becomes "Mostistea" somewhere along the line...

tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011

On 26.05.2014 12:36, name at domain wrote:
> Just saw your emails now - they were hiding in the spam folder.

Sorry about that, it's not the first report of this nature. Google has a
problem with my foundation server, even though we have set up SPF and DKIM.

> Cheers for helping me sort this out - I'll have another go at getting my
> bank to set up an international transfer shortly. (I didn't want to
> confirm the order until I was sure that I'd be able to get the money
> transferred.)
>
> It seems that their online transfer form only accepts basic latin
> characters, so I hope you don't mind if "Mostiștea" becomes "Mostistea"
> somewhere along the line...

It's all right. ;-) Thank you. Let's try moving the order-related
discussion in private, and please regularly check your spam folder for
updates until you finally receive the device. :-)

Tiberiu

lammi87

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 07/27/2012

I just got my new Tehnoetic TET-N150 wireless USB adapter today. I tested it with my Trisquel GNU/Linux friendly laptop by removing the internal wifi chip. I'm glad to report that the adapter worked right out of the box without any problems. I'm writing this message while using the adapter.

(I'm using Trisquel 6 with 3.14.5-gnu Linux-Libre kernel)

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

This adapter is a rebranded version of some chinese adapter, with free software enabled. Such adapters could be bought from AliExpress/any other chinese online store, for like $5. I am excited to hear about second fully free wireless adapter, but would be searching for exact model in chinese stores - and then would just install Tehnoetic firmware

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

Also, why the best free WiFi adapter is just 150Mbps Draft-N ?
The fact that all the free hardware (wi-fi adapters, coreboot-supported
motherboards, etc) are a few years old, makes me really sad :(

Legimet
Offline
Joined: 12/10/2013

The chip fully supports 802.11n. However, 802.11ac is another issue, and I don't know of anything that doesn't require nonfree firmware (pci or usb).

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

"The chip fully supports 802.11n"

This is Draft-N specification, not Final-N.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009#Wi-Fi_Alliance

In short, manufacturers have rushed to release WiFi 802.11n devices
before the specification was finalized - and, as result, compatibility
between Draft-N and Final-N wireless devices is not ideal.

There are lots of Final-N WiFi USB adapters, which could also achieve 300Mbps - 450 Mbps . Would be nice to see free WiFi adapter with such parameters

I am not interested in 802.11ac devices, because there is the same story (all current 802.11ac devices are Draft-AC, final specification is not ready yet)

Legimet
Offline
Joined: 12/10/2013

You're thinking about the wrong chip, probably AR9170. This adapter uses AR9271. As you can see on this page, AR9170 is draft-n, but AR9271 isn't.

EDIT: BTW, before March 2013, the best USB n chipset was AR9170. But then free firmware was released for the final-n AR9271 and AR7010.

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

I apologize, seems I confused the chip model number...

still, cannot afford paying €25 while could get 300Mbps USB adapter for under $7. I like free hardware, but not that much :P

Legimet
Offline
Joined: 12/10/2013

The ThinkPenguin one is cheaper, you can get it from http://libre.thinkpenguin.com (the 24.97 USD one)

lembas
Offline
Joined: 05/13/2010

>The fact that all the free hardware (wi-fi adapters, coreboot-supported motherboards, etc) are a few years old, makes me really sad :(

Me too and here's the reason:

>I like free hardware, but not that much :P

People are apparently for now not willing to pay for free hardware. I expect this to change in this post Snowden world.

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

Free hardware should also be competitive! Well, it could cost about 10%-15% higher, but not in three times ;)

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

That means, I could buy AR9271 or AR7010 based device,
and just install free firmware onto it? Or this process is more complicated (need to rewrite the code) ?

Legimet
Offline
Joined: 12/10/2013

The firmware isn't installed onto the device. Instead, a firmware file is loaded by the driver into the RAM of the device. The driver is part of Linux-libre, as long as you keep your kernel updated (if you have an old kernel, it might be deblobbed), and the firmware file just has to be in a specific location so the driver can find it. In Trisquel, you need the package open-ath9k-htc-firmware, and you probably already have it if you keep your system updated.

So, you should be able to use AR9271/AR7010 devices by just plugging them in.

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

Thank you for detailed answer, Legimet :)

tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011

On 05.06.2014 21:41, name at domain wrote:
> This adapter is a rebranded version of some chinese adapter, with free
> software enabled.

Actually, it is a Taiwanese manufacturer, Unex. There is no secret about
it, I acknowledge the manufacturer on the product page.

> Such adapters could be bought from AliExpress/any
> other chinese online store, for like $5.

I made a research in December and this is new for me, please provide
some links. The price I got the adapters was as high as someone expects
a 150Mbs to be available from resellers, not manufacturer.

> I am excited to hear about
> second fully free wireless adapter, but would be searching for exact
> model in chinese stores

However, I am proud that thanks to Tehnoetic, free software users can
now purchase freedom-respecting wifi adapters at 50% of the price last year.

> - and then would just install Tehnoetic firmware

It's not the firmware I wrote, it's the generic firmware for AR9271
chipsets.

Thank you for your feedback!

Tiberiu

Pyraman
Offline
Joined: 06/05/2014

The problem with Unex DNUA-93F adapter is that it is available only from Unex - and, currently, the minimum order quantity is 2000 pcs. Therefore, I am going to search for chinese wifi adapter that is compatible with free firmware yet has a lower price.

*** not an advertisement ***
www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=300mbps+usb+wifi+adapter

lots of 300Mbps USB adapters under $7 dollars with free shipping

I admire what you did, Tiberiu, but sadly I cannot afford paying €25

Chris

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 04/23/2011

These are not free software friendly and would not work in Trisquel. Not to mention they have poor support in GNU/Linux in general should you install the non-free components. The quality is also extremely poor on these cheap adapters.

Honestly the best choice for a wifi adapter is not this mini adapter anyway.

The best choice is one of three adapters in our catalog is:

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-usb-adapter-w-external-antenna-gnu-linux-tpe-n150usbl

Or if you have a dual band router:

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-n-dual-band-usb-adapter-gnu-linux-tpe-nusbdb

If you don't mind a USB G wifi adapter I'd also highly recommend this (even over the USB N mini adapter in many cases):

https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-wireless-g-usb-adapter

While USB G is getting older it still is a better solution for most people. Most people have a bottleneck at the internet access point and as such the USB G adapter is a better choice. They gain nothing from going with N and the penalty for such a small adapter is limited range. The USB G adapter above has a better range. Another reason I love this adapter is pretty much everything derived from the mainline Linux kernel without exception will work out of the box and it almost doesn't matter how old the distribution is either as support goes back several years. The reason for this adapter having better support is that distributions don't have to deal with firmware (even when it is free it has to be included in the distribution) related issues in the few remaining instances where that is still a problem. There is no other adapter that is better supported by free software systems for basic internet access purposes than the USB G adapter above. The next best option is the TPE-N150USBL.

Chris

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 04/23/2011

This isn't factually correct. Unex didn't design or manufacture the adapter. It was designed and manufactured by another company. Unex is just a middleman in the chain. Companies as big as Sony have also utilized this adapter, but I'm apparently the only one who knows about it. I haven't seen any records online of it that is. However I've spoken with the manufacturer and can pretty confidently state this. The adapter from my understanding was included in an Sony entertainment product. It was never available on the retail market. Where this product was sold I don't know.

* What is weird about the above is this isn't the best adapter for such a use case. Unsure what the entertainment device was that they sold though... I've always assumed it was a "Smart TV", but am probably wrong.

Uros09
Offline
Joined: 07/09/2011

Hello Tiberiu,

I like free software that much and can afford to pay you 25 euro for that wireless adapter, but it seems I can't via wire transfer. Is there any other option paypal, moneybookers, credit card ? Bank told me they can do money transfer but want to skin me for 10 euro for that and need invoice from you. I am not to keen to pay that much to the bank.

Thank you,
Uros

quiliro@congresolibre.org
Offline
Joined: 10/28/2010

El 17/07/14 a las 03:14, name at domain escibió:
> Hello Tiberiu,
>
> I like free software that much and can afford to pay you 25 euro for
> that wireless adapter, but it seems I can't via wire transfer. Is
> there any other option paypal, moneybookers, credit card ? Bank told
> me they can do money transfer but want to skin me for 10 euro for that
> and need invoice from you. I am not to keen to pay that much to the bank.

I don't know if they offer bitcoins. It might be an option.

--
Saludos libres,
Quiliro Ordóñez
600 8579

Uros09
Offline
Joined: 07/09/2011

Noone answers despite I wrote here and to web site support. I guess it is dead or not responding web site. I am not buying this.

tct
tct

I am a member!

Offline
Joined: 10/23/2011

On 05.08.2014 15:36, name at domain wrote:
> No one answers despite I wrote here and to web site support.

I am terribly sorry for what happened. It seems you have tried to reach
me on this mailing list when I was in a camp with my nonprofit (Ceata).
The Internet connection was bad and although I marked your e-mail so I
remember to answer you after the camp weekend, IMAP probably didn't work
at the moment so your e-mail didn't actually get marked.

Thank you for coming back on this communication problem.

I have looked into why users report the contact form doesn't work and I
have found that OpenCart doesn't enforce SSL for the form action as
well. When submitting the form, browsers complain it is not encrypted,
and OpenCart doesn't recover after that (probably it loses the POST
arguments). It seems it is a common problem in OpenCart and now that I
fixed it in my instance, I will try to get my changes accepted upstream.

I am close to finish implementing other payment methods, including
Bitcoin and credit card.

--
Tiberiu C. Turbureanu
Președinte, Fundația Ceata
Telefon: +40-761-810-100
GPG: 8B51 53CB 354E 3049 FAE9 3260 F033 8452 4154 1967

Susții libertatea artelor și tehnologiilor?
Înscrie-te ca membru! (http://ceata.org/%C3%AEnscrieri)