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gn2
September 5th, 2007, 08:49 AM
Should Ubuntu offer two versions, a Free version for the purists, and a Non-Free for the bulk of users who want all the useful bits pre-installed?
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Other Distros do this, so isn't it high time Ubuntu did?
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misfitpierce
September 5th, 2007, 08:50 AM
I don't believe so. Ubuntu is not like other distro's entirely. I believe the strive for Ubuntu is to donate if you would like to support but other than that it strives to be a FREE alternative to open source software and to the community. I think it is fine as is.
SlayerMan
September 5th, 2007, 08:56 AM
There's Ubuntu and there's Gobuntu. So where's your point?
Shoot3r101
September 5th, 2007, 09:24 AM
The Ubuntu Promise

Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.

Read it out of the envelope that came in the mail that holds the Ubuntu disc.
slimdog360
September 5th, 2007, 09:27 AM
Other Distros do this, so isn't it high time Ubuntu did?
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Other distros offer support for a price but the OS is free. Canonical do offer this.
az
September 5th, 2007, 11:07 AM
Read it out of the envelope that came in the mail that holds the Ubuntu disc.

The OP means free as in software freedom, and not free as in free lunch.


My answer is yes, of course, since there is not a black-and-white answer to what is "free enough" and what is not. For example, some would think that firmware blobs don't interact with your computer, so they shouldn't count, while others would say that since the (firmware) program is on their disk, it should...
DoctorMO
September 5th, 2007, 12:15 PM
The worry is that we become complacent as developers because the solution today is 'good enough' but what we are really doing is patching the problem today so users can do interesting things but breaking it tomorrow. Fortunately there are still developpers out there that understand why free software _is_ important on a technical and practical level; which I think most users seem to forget, although ubuntu users seem well educated in the issues.
adewale
September 5th, 2007, 07:29 PM
@gn2 u try ubuntu ultimate. it comes with all the useful stuff.
www.ubuntusoftware.info/ultimate
gn2
September 5th, 2007, 07:33 PM
@gn2 u try ubuntu ultimate. it comes with all the useful stuff.

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I'm OK with Xubuntu, but new users would benefit from multimedia codecs, NTFS read/write, flash, MS fonts and the like being included.
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That's why I recommend new Linux users to start with Linux Mint.
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