Some FUD busting over at distrowatch

[poofyhairguy]

I like this:

http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20050711#3



And while covering this ambitious move and a radical event affecting the Linux distribution scene, it is perhaps appropriate to comment on some of the increasing amount of anti-Ubuntu propaganda that has started to appear on some Linux forums and web sites. We don't know who is behind some of these comments which go as far as accuse Mark Shuttleworth of being a rich and ruthless businessman whose only interest is to make money out of Linux, and that much of the positive coverage of Ubuntu Linux in the media is due to the generous disposition of his millions, rather than the quality of the Ubuntu distribution.

Firstly, Mark Shuttleworth is not a businessman - he is, in fact, a programmer and a hacker who had a right idea at a right time and who benefited tremendously from open source software. Secondly, Ubuntu and Canonical have never, to our knowledge, advertised their Linux distribution on any web site. They certainly haven't sponsored DistroWatch in any way and the only reason that Ubuntu tops our popularity charts is through having thousands of satisfied customers and through good old-fashioned word of mouth. Naturally, there is no such thing as "perfect distribution" and Ubuntu Linux is not a panacea either, but it has certainly found the right vibe among many computer users. Whether you like it or not, we will be hearing much more about Ubuntu in the coming years.

Its kinda wrong- Mark is a businessman and a hacker- but I get the point. He cares more about OSS than money. He has said that before.

[Leif]

I can understand how people using other distros can get upset that all everyone wants to hear about is ubuntu, which is, of course, not so very different from their distro in the end. It's like football fans who get too obsessed with their club and will never admit another team playing the game well. I guess it hurts more because unlike football, users can have a direct influence on the distro itself by contributing.

While there's a good chance that ubuntu will stick around as a big player for a long time in the linux world, eventually another distro will be the buzzword of the day. And then I guess we can join in on bashing the new boy with the rest of the forums :)

[aysiu]

Well--I have to confess--a few months ago, I thought Ubuntu was all hype. Mepis appealed to me because I liked KDE better than Gnome, and Mepis was all point-and-click. For Windows users who are afraid of the command-line, I think Mepis is a great migrating distro.

After a while, though, I began to like Gnome better. It seemed smoother, more stable. It was easier to install themes in. Also, once I found the Ubuntu Guide, I realized that command-lines were nothing to be afraid of. You just cut and paste them in, and you're good.

I think Ubuntu is amazing and will continue to grow.

[virgule]

This is a testimony from a fellow Linux user.
Im running Ubuntu for two months. Came from YellowDog after ~3 years. YellowDog made me love linux and gave a new life to this old Macintosh minitower. Without YDL, It would have be gone to recycling...I was feeling attached to YDL. I saw them comming from a distance. Often overconfident, sometimes even presuring people to switch to Ubuntu because of how wonderfull it is.. I have seen some posts on other distribution's forum and mailling lists telling to switch to Ubuntu. This offended me in the first place. Similiar to this new guy in town trying to set the rules.. How dare it is to recruit people directly from the 'competitor's' realm? This bad behavior and overall 'cockyness' kept me away from installing and using Ubuntu at all for quite a while. Things settled, fine. I eventually got bored of YDL being the same-old-same-old days after days. i felt for a change and went for Fedora4 which installed perfectly but refused to boot thereafter <shrugs> So lets go Ubuntu. So many people love it and 'it just work - no fuss no muss' reputation being very persistent won me. here I am now and I feel fine about that. I understand building a distribution is bloody hard work. There is just soooo much variables and puzzles and problems to overcome before even getting close to any current top-distributions its paramount to bow and show respect even if they have a so-called 'inferior' product.

A Linux distribution is a gathering of packages more or less preconfigured to fit a particular purpose and/or target audience.

[maruchan]

Is it any wonder that we find other members of the linux community being such snobs? That's the whole reason some people have installed linux - it makes them feel elite. Then there are the paranoiacs. They will sling their fair share of mud.

One of the reasons I enjoy using Ubuntu is that it is so socially inclusive, and has a good sense of morals behind it. That's a winning attitude, as far as I'm concerned. It's only under circumstances like these that people *really* understand what free software is about.

I'm sure Ubuntu will be around for a long time, whether in name or in spirit.

[Spoofhound]

It's like football fans who get too obsessed with their club and will never admit another team playing the game well. I guess it hurts more because unlike football, users can have a direct influence on the distro itself by contributing.


This unfortunately seems to be true. Distrowatch seems to miss the fact that it is part of the "problem" - if that's what you want to call it.

The article refers to "topping the popularity charts" which I think gives rise to some of the anti-ubuntu feeling. It wouldn't matter which distro was at the top - that would be the one taking the stick. It's human nature and this time around Ubuntu is the bad guy

[RJARRRPCGP]

We don't know who is behind some of these comments which go as far as accuse Mark Shuttleworth of being a rich and ruthless businessman whose only interest is to make money out of Linux

LOL! That sounds like SCO!!!

[super]

I too thought that the Ubuntu buzz was all hype paid for by Canonical. Then I decided to check out Warty, man was i surprised!

My first experience with linux was Redhat 6.0 back in 1998. Since then I have used Corel Linux, Mandrake, Debian. SuSe, Yoper, Xandros, Gentoo, Fedora along with aprox. 1 million LiveCds. What can I say, Ubuntu is the only one that has stayed on my computer for more than a month.

Not that i'll never change distros again, but with Ubuntu it's looking less likely every day, :grin:

[Gnobody]

I too thought that the Ubuntu buzz was all hype paid for by Canonical. Then I decided to check out Warty, man was i surprised!

My first experience with linux was Redhat 6.0 back in 1998. Since then I have used Corel Linux, Mandrake, Debian. SuSe, Yoper, Xandros, Gentoo, Fedora along with aprox. 1 million LiveCds. What can I say, Ubuntu is the only one that has stayed on my computer for more than a month.

Not that i'll never change distros again, but with Ubuntu it's looking less likely every day, :grin:
I understand all the FUD now, Shuttleworth is really Darrel McBride wearing a mask! No joke! He is trying to win support for SCO. Tinfoil hats!