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Freedom is an application that disables networking on an Apple computer for up to eight hours at a time. Freedom will free you from the distractions of the internet, allowing you time to code, write, or create. At the end of your selected offline period, Freedom re-enables your network, restoring everything as normal.

Freedom enforces freedom; a reboot is the only circumvention of the Freedom time limit you specify. The hassle of rebooting means you're less likely to cheat, and you'll enjoy enhanced productivity. Freedom is free, but if you find Freedom useful, please consider a donation of ten dollars to fund continuing development.

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Freedom Tip: Short Bursts

In the earliest version of Freedom, the program had a set time limit – an hour or less, if I recall correctly.  None of this 8 hours business that ya’ll demanded.  I am a believer in focused short bursts of work – 55 minutes of writing/thinking, followed by 5 minutes of email/Facebook/etc.

Lately, I’ve discovered that micro-bursts – 10- or 15-minute Freedom sessions – are a great way to beat procrastination, writer’s block, or simple inertia.  If you are used to running Freedom for longer times, try a micro-burst when you need to break an unproductive streak.  If it helps, you can start chaining micro-bursts together – Freedom allows you to re-enter a session with the same time parameters when your Freedom session expires.

It is amazing how different 5 or 6 10-minute Freedom sessions chained together can feel, as opposed to an hour long session.  So next time you need a boost, give a shorter session a try.

Freedom Custom Builds

Many people have written me with requests like: “I love Freedom, but I need access to Wikipedia and e-mail (etc.) to do my work.”  If this sounds like you, I have good news: I will create custom builds of Freedom to your specified access needs.  If you need access to Wikipedia and email, but want to block everything else – a custom build of Freedom can do just that.

Freedom’s design philosophy centers around the “complete block,” so the main program will remain that way.  The custom build is a unique, individual modification of the program for your needs.  Freedom, of course, remains free – but a custom build requires programming effort, which costs $250 US.  In return, you’ll get your own version of Freedom and a 5-seat license you can share with friends.

If you are interested in a custom build, please email me – fred at fredstutzman.com – and describe your needs.

Freedom in the press

Last week, Freedom was featured in a New York Times article on productivity tools. Farhad Manjoo writes:

“One Mac app that has found a way to solve this problem is called Freedom, which blocks all of your computer’s networking functions for a pre-determined number of minutes. In other words, once you set it, you’ve got no Web, no instant messaging, no e-mail — and the only way to undo Freedom’s block before the time runs out is to restart your machine.”

Freedom also garnered a mention on Mashable, in a post on 20 productivity tools for Mac users:

“Sometimes the Internet is more of a distraction than it is a productivity aid. For those times, the best solution is just to unplug. Freedom will turn off your Mac’s networking card for up to 8 hours, so you can get what you need to get done done, without the distraction of Facebook, Twitter and the latest viral videos.

Obviously, as a web writer, this doesn’t really work for me during the work week, but it’s great for when I’m on a deadline — like trying to finish an article of 20+ Mac productivity tools!”

Download Freedom

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Current Version: 0.5.1


Freedom is free to use. Download and open Freedom.dmg, then drag Freedom.app to your Applications folder. Mac OS X only, tested through 10.6.1.

Support Freedom

Your secure donation of ten dollars will fund continuing development of Freedom.

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Writers on Freedom

Jason Snell, legendary Mac journalist and editorial director, Mac Publishing (publisher of MacWorld): "There may be no bigger boon to Mac productivity.."


Rebecca Traister, writer, Salon and New York Magazine: "I have gotten an immense amount of work done.."


David Sirota, author of New York Times Bestsellers Hostile Takeover (Three Rivers) and The Uprising (Crown): "The greatest tool for work efficiency in Apple programming history."


Dennis Cass, journalist and author of Head Case (HarperCollins): "To say that it’s changed my life is an understatement."


Doree Shafrir, author of Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home (Hyperion) and writer/editor New York Observer, Gawker, Philadelphia Weekly: "45 minutes of Freedom=844 words written. It's a miracle, I tell you!."


Leo Babauta, editor of Zen Habits and author of The Power of Less (Hyperion): "When I need to do serious work, I try to remove distractions by closing the browser to do actual work. If I find myself opening the browser too much, I’ll use a utility (such as Freedom) to shut off the Internet altogether."


All quotes unsolicited, and sourced from content posted to the web. No endorsement implied.