Greetings from the GNU Press shop! My name is Davis Remmel, and I
am excited to introduce myself as the new operations assistant at
the Free Software Foundation (FSF). These past few weeks I've
been working through our backlog of orders, and I'm pleased to
say that we are just about caught up and processing new orders on
our normal timeline.
If you were thinking about getting a gift for that GNU-loving friend
or family member, now is the time to place that order! If you're in
the US, and if you place your order by Friday, December 17,
there's a good chance that package will arrive on, or before, December
24.
Although I've been an FSF member for years, and a free software
supporter for longer, I never truly understood just how much the FSF
does in its day-to-day operations. Every day, our campaigns, licensing,
technical, and operations teams work to consistently promote free
software, with the vision that one day (and with your support!) we'll
live in a society that treats free software as the norm, valuing its
ethical rules of distribution which ensure software users aren't at
the beck and call of proprietary software companies.
If you become an FSF associate member, you can enjoy a 20%
discount on all merchandise. Plus, you'll help us reach our goal of
500 new members before December 31st. This means, for
instance, if you are starting a free software manual book club and tea
drinking society, the fifth member of your club can be outfitted with
books and mug gratis.
It's been eye-opening seeing the mechanics of the organization,
and now that I'm in it, I've developed a greater appreciation of
the FSF. We need your support to promote free software,
and one of the easiest ways of doing that is wearing it on the
outside.
Now, about this time of year--at least, in the northern
hemisphere--the outside is cold! Our cozy GNU scarf and GNU
beanie are just the things to keep toasty, and their maroon
colors pair with almost anything. The scarf is double-layered
woven acrylic, and measures 7" by 56" and is over 1/4" thick.
Already warm? We have an excellent selection of t-shirts that will
keep you cool in both temperature and style. Their all-cotton
construction is extremely comfortable. We only have a few 35th
anniversary shirts left, so get them before they're gone!
If you're unsure what to get that special someone, or just want
to treat yourself, consider our Emacs de Luxe Bundle: it has
manuals, tutorials, references, mugs, shirts, and just like Emacs
it includes the kitchen sink stickers.
For privacy lovers (or those who have ever uttered the word,
"cryptography"), we have a NeuG USB True Random Number
Generator (RNG). Your cryptographic keys will be stronger than an
ox, without any need to trust your CPU's definition
of "random." I recommend this RNG in conjunction with our
anti-surveillance webcam stickers, which don't leave
residue and can also cover microphone holes.
I'm excited to be the one filling these orders, and hope that
each customer is satisfied. Please let me know at [email protected]
if you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback. I'll be happy
to assist.
