Ubuntu re-distribution

[manu456]

I am thinking of opening an online computer store in India which will sell customized PCs and hardware components. I love ubuntu and would like to promote it.

I want to know if we can distribute Ubuntu with machines sold on the site. And can we give the users a choice of pre-installing the OS before delivering the machines? And what if the machines require some propreity drivers like say for wireless cards can we install them too before distributing?

[Tomosaur]

Yes you can redistribute Ubuntu. Yes you can charge for it, but for a reasonable cost (the general rule is 'no more than it cost you to download, burn, and install it'). That means no 60% price hike to maximise your profits :P

The propietary drivers are your choice. I'm a little fuzzy on how it works in India, but most of the legal issues seem to affect America only, at this point in time. The best thing to do would be to only sell hardware which is known to work out of the box, surely?

[v8YKxgHe]

You can do what ever you want with it. For things like Codecs though (mp3) I'm not sure about any legal issues with that. But installing things like Flash or other closed-source apps like Opera is perfectly fine.

[manu456]

This is just great! I was not thinking of charging people for installing ubuntu, I think the whole purpose of FOSS goes away then. I will try to restrict to hardware that is compatible with linux. Thanks for your replies and suggestions.

[az]

I want to know if we can distribute Ubuntu with machines sold on the site. And can we give the users a choice of pre-installing the OS before delivering the machines? And what if the machines require some propreity drivers like say for wireless cards can we install them too before distributing?

You are encouraged to install and distribute Ubuntu. In regards to prorietary software (including drivers) that you would want to also install along with Ubuntu, you would have to read the licence agreement for each piece of software. For example, some dialup modem drivers do not allow you to distribute the software, while others restrict you from using it unless you are using a specific brand (not chipset) of modem.

FLOSS licencing is much easier to deal with that proprietary licencing!

You would have to check up on the status of redistributing the most current version of the flash browser plugin. I am unaware of the terms under which they can be redistributed (distributed by you, a third-party).



Yes you can redistribute Ubuntu. Yes you can charge for it, but for a reasonable cost (the general rule is 'no more than it cost you to download, burn, and install it'). That means no 60% price hike to maximise your profits :P


What?

You can charge whatever you want. Usually, you will charge for the service of installing and supporting it. You can charge 1000 dollars per seat, if you want.


You can do what ever you want with it. For things like Codecs though (mp3) I'm not sure about any legal issues with that. But installing things like Flash or other closed-source apps like Opera is perfectly fine.

Again, check with the software vendor. I am not sure you are allowed to redistribute Opera. Read the licence.