how free is your ubuntu?

[ssam]

Do you keep your ubuntu completely free of proprietary and patent encumbered software? or do you follow ubuntuguide to the word?

[greenway]

So far I am doing a pretty good job keeping the system in our company free of licensed software. This offcourse also because the boss doesn't want to risk getting a visit from the autorities one day and having to pay huge fines because our pc's are loaded with illegal copies.

[Brunellus]

codecs, flash, & java.

I'm as free as I can be while still being able to operate with most of the world.

I consider my nonfree software use to be a legacy issue; all new content I generate is in free formats (sxw/odf, ogg, and so forth)

[23meg]

I'm not sure if this is the intended meaning but option #2 can be read as if MP3 were an open source codec; it shouldn't be. Maybe you should edit it as "Just the open source codecs + MP3, DeCSS etc".

[ssam]

I'm not sure if this is the intended meaning but option #2 can be read as if MP3 were an open source codec; it shouldn't be. Maybe you should edit it as "Just the open source codecs + MP3, DeCSS etc".

as far as i understand there is opensource (gpl) code to encode and decode mp3 files. but in some counties there are laws would require you to pay a licence fee to use them. the code for DeCSS is free and open, but using it breaks the DMCA if you are in the US.

i know the legal issues are very complex.

i just wanted to make a distinction between mad (http://www.underbit.com/products/mad/) which is gpl, and the flash plug in which is very not gpl.

[Kvark]

I use whatever drivers the hardware manufacturers release no matter what licence they have. It's not like I have a choice with hardware I already have, but next time I buy a new computer I'll factor in the drivers. I also use MP3 codec and a couple others for backwards comaptibility with legacy formats.

And like ssam said, the Lame MP3 encoder is gpl so it is completely free and legal in countries that have not issued a patent on the algorithm MP3 encoding uses. While DeCSS is free and legal in countries where it is legal to crack encryption and copy protection.

[uberlinux]

F opera, dumbest program ever, anyway.
Flash
Java
Codecs.

[Slugger]

Um Ubuntu is completely free

[ssam]

Um Ubuntu is completely free
a joke? could be read as offensive.

read this http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html .

although the ubuntu base is free, many people (everybody but 1, at the moment) install nonfree software on top of ubuntu.

update:
have a read of some of his other posts, http://www.ubuntuforums.org/search.php?do=finduser&u=34873 looks like hes having a bad day.

update:
thanks moderators

[erikpiper]

Free when it comes. You add things..
Mine has a ton off codecs.. Anything coming out of it is free.


And slugger- do you have an attitude problem? Clean up your act or I would reccomend to block you from the forums. Insults are not really welcome here.

[allans]

a joke? could be read as offensive.

read this http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html .

although the ubuntu base is free, many people (everybody but 1, at the moment) install nonfree software on top of ubuntu.

Yep that would be me, all my music is in .ogg format, I have no need to watch video or dvds on my computer and have an integrated intel card so no binary drivers either!

Allan

[djlosch]

mine is littered with codecs and what not. who needs a comp that cant read anything?

kvark, you duris cheater! we found you!

[ssam]

Yep that would be me, all my music is in .ogg format, I have no need to watch video or dvds on my computer and have an integrated intel card so no binary drivers either!

Allan

thats cool. you ought to get a gold star.

i just have a couple of open source codecs but i dont use them much. i reripped all my music collection to ogg.

[qalimas]

A couple of programs and pluggins, Flash, Java, Skype, Opera, etc. (and/or above)

[jc87]

codecs , java , flash , trying to use 3d ATI drivers , and some copyrighted stuff (movies , etc...).

Unfortunally i cant say my ubuntu is free as in free speech , but i hope same day it will :KS

[poofyhairguy]

Cool poll, I have wondered this for a while. I messed up though because I should have voted for the last option when I voted for the second to last one. I use emulated IE and I forgot that (don't shoot me, I could not register for classes at school otherwise).

[xequence]

Most of my software is not open source. Then again, I am windows only now, so its not saying much ;)

You really use alot more open source if you use linux.

[Clazzy]

Mine isn't as free as I'd like. I have w32codecs, my (currently non-working) fglrx drivers, and my Firefox plugins. Chances are it'll stay like this for a while, especially since I don't have an mp3 player that can read .ogg. I'm proudly sticking to Linux-native games, however.

[az]

I have to use linux-wlan-ng for wireless and the prism2 firmware is unlicenced.

On my daughter's/wife's computer, she uses the another wireless card with proprietary firmware as well as flash and java for playing games like Dora the exporer and the Teletubbies.

[dolson]

a joke? could be read as offensive.

read this http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html .

although the ubuntu base is free, many people (everybody but 1, at the moment) install nonfree software on top of ubuntu.

update:
have a read of some of his other posts, http://www.ubuntuforums.org/search.php?do=finduser&u=34873 looks like hes having a bad day.

update:
thanks moderators
You're measuring something very large by a measuring stick as small as one egotistical country.

[chimera]

I've got mp3 codecs and win32 codecs installed, as well as several gb of "free" music and movies.

[darrenrxm]

I care more about it working with internet sites.

[DigitalDuality]

I have all the restricted codecs and formats installed.. MS fonts, Java, Flash, mp3 codec, w32 codecs, etc etc

Other than that, not a damn thing.

[bored2k]

"A couple of programs and pluggins, Flash, Java, Skype, Opera, etc. (and/or above)"

I have nothing against non-free software.

[JAwuku]

I fall in the final category: I run mp3 codecs and DVDs. I also run some free commercial software such as Opera. I also have recently bought Parallels Workstation (http://www.parallels.com) so to run various operating systems.

I personally don't see any problem with running non-free software. Other Linux distibutions, such as Linspire, Mandriva, Xandros etc. can be purchased with a number of non-free applications and codecs already installed. Essentially it is a trade-off between price and ease of setting up.

I am happy that Ubuntu gives me the best of both worlds; freedom on the one hand, to learn how Linux works by setting this up myself (thanks to the excellent forums and guides on the web :) ), and convenience paid for by money on the other hand.

At the end of the day it is about personal choice.

[stoffe]

codecs, flash, & java.

I'm as free as I can be while still being able to operate with most of the world.

I consider my nonfree software use to be a legacy issue; all new content I generate is in free formats (sxw/odf, ogg, and so forth)
What you said, plus that I don't install anything nonfree until I actually need it, and I look actively for ways to replace or obsolete them. For instance, I don't ever keep RAR packages, I unpack or convert them, and I keep my eye on projects like GCJ and GPLFlash in the hope that they grow good enough to replace.

[mstlyevil]

An invocation of vrms has been added to the set of cron jobs run on a
monthly basis, so that you will get a periodic reminder of non-free
packages which are installed on your system. Here is the current list:

Non-free packages installed on Dapper

acroread Adobe Acrobat Reader: Portable Document Format file viacroread-plugins Plugins for Adobe Acrobat(R) Reader
linux-386 Complete Linux kernel on 386.
linux-k7 Complete Linux kernel on AMD K7.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on 386
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on 386
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on AMD K7
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules on 386.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules on AMD K7.
mozilla-acroread Adobe Acrobat(R) Reader plugin for mozilla / konquerornvidia-glx NVIDIA binary XFree86 4.x/X.Org driver
Reason: Proprietary license
sun-j2re1.5 Java(TM) 2 RE, Standard Edition, Sun Microsystems(TM)
Reason: Proprietary licence, no source available

13 non-free packages, 1.1% of 1151 installed packages.

pantera@Dapper:~$



Here you go. This is how non-free I am according to virtual RMS.

[Buffalo Soldier]

I limit my software to the main, restricted, universe and multiverse Ubuntu repositories. I do have some non-free software or codec. But I try to stay aware from hardcore proprietory codec such as w32codec.


firdaus@ubuntu04:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on ubuntu04

linux-686 Complete Linux kernel on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules helper script

4 non-free packages, 0.3% of 1151 installed packages.

mstylevil,
thanks for letting me know about vrms :)

[mstlyevil]

I limit my software to the main, restricted, universe and multiverse Ubuntu repositories. I do have some non-free software or codec. But I try to stay aware from hardcore proprietory codec such as w32codec.


firdaus@ubuntu04:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on ubuntu04

linux-686 Complete Linux kernel on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules helper script

4 non-free packages, 0.3% of 1151 installed packages.

mstylevil,
thanks for letting me know about vrms :)

No problemo. :mrgreen:

[htinn]

My system is free in the one way that really matters: free from Windows and Office.

[bored2k]

$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on noir

acroread
linux-686
linux-restricted-modules
mozilla-acroread
mpg123-esd
rar
sun-j2re1.5
unrar

10 non-free packages, 0.8% of 1319 installed packages.:D

[FISHERMAN]

-Codecs(MP3,W32, DVD)
-Rar, Java, Flash, MS-Fonts,Skype...
-IE under Wine(Yes, there are still sites that only work with IE and Yes, I have tried the User Agent-extension for Ff. If I don't have IE I can't read my e-mails from work.:( )

[DoeRayMe]

just the basic stuff i need, i only listen to ogg :)


Non-free packages installed on kubuntu

linux-686 Complete Linux kernel on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII/PIV.
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules helper script

4 non-free packages, 0.9% of 457 installed packages.

[halitech]

I was expecting more with having shoutcast server installed with the music I have so guess this isn't bad. Lot better then what I had when I was using windows (everything cost except FF, not that I actually paid for any of it :| )

daryl@ubuntu:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on ubuntu

acroread Adobe Acrobat Reader: Portable Document Format file vi
dvdrtools DVD writing program
mozilla-acroread Adobe Acrobat(R) Reader plugin for mozilla / konquerorrealplay Supports RealAudio, RealVideo 10, MP3, Ogg Vorbis and
sun-j2re1.5 Java(TM) 2 RE, Standard Edition, Sun Microsystems(TM)
unrar-nonfree Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)

6 non-free packages, 0.4% of 1400 installed packages.

[paul cooke]

I also have recently bought Parallels Workstation (http://www.parallels.com) so to run various operating systems.

technical question... obviously it's cheaper than VMware Workstation but does it run as well? can it run existing VMware created virtual machines? is there a free player like Vmware player?

My brother runs Ubuntu on his XP computer at home using VMware player and a virtual image I created for him with VMware workstation at work... this, if it's faster, might be nice, but would require both of us stumping up $50 each to be "legal"

ps, the reason he uses a virtual machine is because he's absolutely terrified of messing with his partitions having had a bad experience a couple of years ago. There's nothing I can say that will convince him otherwise...

plus there's the bonus of not actually having to shut down his XP session to boot into Ubuntu...

[zubrug]

wow, I am in the majority!

[derjames]

I´ve got two LINUX flavorsÑ UBUNTU and Puppy If I am Using Ubuntu I do still use proprietary software... however if I am using Puppy I just use the default config i.e. only open source

[flange]

I try to run free. All new music is encoded in ogg, and I'm replacing mp3s with ogg as quickly as practical. I do run flash, java, and non-free codecs just so I'm not cut off from the world.

I also run WinXP on top of WMWare. One of my classes requires work be done in MS Office 2K3 (since the class itself is teaching MS Office 2K3). So either I run WMWare on Ubuntu, or I reboot to the WinXP partition.

[drizek]

not too bad actually. only non-OSS i have is flash and w32.



I also have vmware, but i dont use it much.

[deanlinkous]

take a guess......

[Rhapsody]

I've got the codecs, binary drivers (though I'd pay extra for hardware with free drivers), and some non-free software (Opera and IE, for testing my site). I try to avoid non-free software where possible though.

[Artemis3]

This poll should have been multiple choice.

There are 3 sources of problems, in order of gravity:

1) Blobs: nVidia trash, ndiswrapper, firmware, other binary modules in kernel, etc.
2) Proprietary apps according to the FSF (non GPL/BSD, etc): Flash, Opera, Java, etc.
3) Patents, cryptography, etc. Only in opressed countries: Mp3, mp4, dvd, etc.

Number 3 can actually be handled with free software, such as lame and mplayer. It should not be considered non free, and it only applies to certain countries opressed by the US corporations, using the WTO, us gov threats, etc.

Ubuntu derivate Linux Mint does away with number 3, gnewsense with all three. Ubuntu users should be given an option to install them or not. Ubuntu asks for 2, omits 3, but includes and enables 1 without asking by default.

Ubuntu is not free software as long as it includes 1 and 2. But users don't get a choice. They will have to manually deinstall 1, not an easy task. Number 2 is easy to install/uninstall, maybe too easy, and number 3 is a bit trickier but it makes you fully aware.

In short, Ubuntu is quick to obey US laws while backstabs with ease the free software community with the inclusion and default/enabling of blobs, and a neutral stance for proprietary apps.

[BrokeBody]

2) Just the open source codecs, MP3, DeCSS etc.
3) Few binary drivers, Nvidia, ATI, ndiswrapper etc.
4) A couple of programs and pluggins, Flash, Java, Skype, Opera, etc.

Not to good, but I kinda can't live without it. :neutral: :-? :-k

[utabintarbo]

Why is this important? Why should anybody else care what software I have on my PC? Is this yet another thread about being "more catholic than the pope"? :rolleyes:

[dbbolton]

free enough to work.

[BarfBag]

I'm a *****.

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8421/vrmsik6.th.png (http://img107.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vrmsik6.png)

On a serious note, I don't have a problem with closed-source software. I'll always pick open-source over it if the alternative is equal (or better), though.

[jpkotta]

[jpkotta@euler tmp](0)$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on euler

latex2html LaTeX to HTML translator
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules on PPro/Celeron/PII/PIII
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.15 modules helper script
nvidia-glx NVIDIA binary XFree86 4.x/X.Org driver
Reason: Proprietary license
opera The Opera Web Browser
sun-java5-bin Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0
sun-java5-jre Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0
ttf-gentium Gentium TrueType font
unrar-nonfree Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
xsnow Brings Christmas to your desktop

Non-free packages with status other than installed on euler

j2re1.4 ( dei) Blackdown Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment, Stan
linux-restricted-modules- ( dei) Non-free Linux 2.6.10 modules on 386
linux-restricted-modules- ( dei) Non-free Linux 2.6.10 modules on PPro/Celeron/
linux-restricted-modules- ( dei) Non-free Linux 2.6.12 modules on PPro/Celeron/
linux-restricted-modules- ( dei) Non-free Linux 2.6.12 modules on 386
linux-restricted-modules- ( dei) Non-free Linux 2.6.12 modules on PPro/Celeron/
nvidia-glx-dev ( dei) NVIDIA binary XFree86 4.x/X.Org driver develop
Reason: Proprietary license
opera-static ( ins) The Opera Web Browser

18 non-free packages, 0.9% of 2002 installed packages.


LaTeX2HTML?!

Also, VMware server and Mathematica.

[neighborlee]

Do you keep your ubuntu completely free of proprietary and patent encumbered software? or do you follow ubuntuguide to the word?

There are many things in society that we wished were free..heatlh care is the biggest one that comes to mind for me since atm I dont have any ( lucky canadians ,hehe ) ..so this free software is hard for me to get real worked up about...I understand the why, but frankly I find it misplaced...

In windows when I goto a website I know its going to just work..and if something doesn't work, I know it will be EASY to install...I dont need to waste precious time I could better allocate somewhere else to accomplish things that SHOULD not require a degree in astrometrics to deal with.

I wish we lived in a all free world..where everyone worked together for common goals and where basic needs , shelter and heatlh were all provided for and war had to hold on humanity.

That day isn't here yet , neither is competely free software due to no small part the way our societal systems work...I therefore dont mind using a commercial nvidia driver to do 3d things nor using win32codecs ( isn't there a free package for this somewhere.although googling isn't finding much atm ) or flashplayer since most websites USE these things to function properly.

Free is good..but lets not be delussional and call those that dont mind using non-free stuff as hypocritical or in anyway odd. Extremes aren't good for anyone, and until someone comes up with 'as good' replacements for my nvidia driver and other things like flash etc.etc..im not BUDGING ;-)

While I'm speaking of that..why are there so many friggin distros ? ..can't we all work intelligently and cooperatively and unifed like on ONE..can't ONE rule them all ! ( if you caught reference you might smile , otherwise you might think im being arrogant.) Is it not possible to have just one lived/installer one one distro with modules representing differenet needs, or is this insane desire to make ones OWN distro so strongs that it gives M$ that one edge that is outdoing is atm, which is consistency across any household running it and any apps doing the exact same ?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200&q=google+tech+talk < gander on that one a little and you may enlighten yourself into why so much choice isn't necessarily a good thing..heck I can show you even another one that might shock you..

http://www.thenetworkadministrator.c...20Torvalds.htm

Linus says that he constantly switches between distros. He mentions SUSE, yellowdog, Fedora... (no mention of Ubuntu!)..maybe he finds it fun, but I find it a waste of resources that could be spent better on making ONE thing amazing..windows might be virus prone ( vista maybe not so easily im not sure but hey...) and non-free but at least all these years its had that one thing going for it. People need a reason to switch and a non-unifed base Im willing to bet aint one of em. ;)

One last thing..would it not be kewl to have the benefits of all the distros in one place ..thats the windows methodology and I dont undestand why the linux world can't see that and adopt it for the betterment of all user OSS users...I love ubuntu's livecd/installer and now the crash handler which no other distro has atm faik..fedora has SElinux which you might claim is unnecessary but its dain handy and offers security enhancements which can't be all bad..suse yes has similar things which maybe should be looked at more closely and yast ( although admittedly broken lately is it fixed now ??), xandros has as a very slick FM imo which blows away most everything else, freespire well whats to say there it has CNR which is nice and tightly integrated giving it apperance its literally part of the OS ( which it is ) and with mandriva I always appreciated urpmf for being there out of the box to allow me to find things easily for develoment whether im online or off and well its contrrol panel is superb, although somehow they managed to partially borke their package manager system like opensuse did..whats going on here people IMO is a need to rush out the next best release and on time and before the next guy,,and that rush mentality is showing up.

cheers
g.leej

[lyceum]

As free as I can get away with.

[bluenova]

I would use ogg's instead of mp3's but I have 2 devices that can play ogg's (2 computers with Linux installed) and 9 devices that can play mp3's (phones, GPS, flash players, games console). It's silly that hardware devices don't support more formats. There is a program on the radio station 'BBC World' called 'Digital Planet', where they talk about upcoming technology (Ubuntu has been mentioned a few times), but people always complain that they are biased towards proprietary software. Somebody said once that the BBC website is full of proprietary formats, and the shows hosts response was 'all the programs on the BBC website are available to download in mp3 format which is as free as you can get!'.

[kuja]

While I'm speaking of that..why are there so many friggin distros ? ..can't we all work intelligently and cooperatively and unifed like on ONE..can't ONE rule them all ! ( if you caught reference you might smile , otherwise you might think im being arrogant.) Is it not possible to have just one lived/installer one one distro with modules representing differenet needs, or is this insane desire to make ones OWN distro so strongs that it gives M$ that one edge that is outdoing is atm, which is consistency across any household running it and any apps doing the exact same ?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200&q=google+tech+talk < gander on that one a little and you may enlighten yourself into why so much choice isn't necessarily a good thing..heck I can show you even another one that might shock you..

http://www.thenetworkadministrator.c...20Torvalds.htm

Linus says that he constantly switches between distros. He mentions SUSE, yellowdog, Fedora... (no mention of Ubuntu!)..maybe he finds it fun, but I find it a waste of resources that could be spent better on making ONE thing amazing..windows might be virus prone ( vista maybe not so easily im not sure but hey...) and non-free but at least all these years its had that one thing going for it. People need a reason to switch and a non-unifed base Im willing to bet aint one of em. ;)

One last thing..would it not be kewl to have the benefits of all the distros in one place ..thats the windows methodology and I dont undestand why the linux world can't see that and adopt it for the betterment of all user OSS users...I love ubuntu's livecd/installer and now the crash handler which no other distro has atm faik..fedora has SElinux which you might claim is unnecessary but its dain handy and offers security enhancements which can't be all bad..suse yes has similar things which maybe should be looked at more closely and yast ( although admittedly broken lately is it fixed now ??), xandros has as a very slick FM imo which blows away most everything else, freespire well whats to say there it has CNR which is nice and tightly integrated giving it apperance its literally part of the OS ( which it is ) and with mandriva I always appreciated urpmf for being there out of the box to allow me to find things easily for develoment whether im online or off and well its contrrol panel is superb, although somehow they managed to partially borke their package manager system like opensuse did..whats going on here people IMO is a need to rush out the next best release and on time and before the next guy,,and that rush mentality is showing up.

cheers
g.leej
There are a variety of problems with it really. The main one is that not everyone agrees ... on much of anything. The most unified approach I can think of that would work against that problem would be a uniform package format, with a unified repository. To take care of the argument of which packages should be 'defaults', there could be a variety of metapackages. (kind of like the kubuntu/ubuntu relationship, just on a much, much more massive scale)

Of course, this would still leave plenty of people unhappy. The compile-from-source thinkers(ie: gentoo), the folks who need it to run on really old systems (DSL, etc), the medium it gets delivered on (mini, cd, dvd?, flash drive?)... There are just so many possibilities that not everybody could be made happy. I do think though, that this, could be made to work. I also think; however, that it probably won't anytime soon at all. It would be a massive effort, but it'd be neat if it happened, oh well. I'm dreaming.

[RAV TUX]

my Ubuntu is so free I let it take walks in the park without a leash.

[shining]

my Ubuntu is so free I let it take walks in the park without a leash.

Well, I did that too, and it didn't come back..

[housam]

My ubuntu is also free.

[jerrylamos]

"Free" in the sense that none of the providers request any money.

Not "open source" in that I download Real Player and Adobe Flash Player from their websites.

If there were "open source" that played videos in the real world such as BBC and NYTimes and You Tube, fine. At the moment Real Player and Flash Player work for many sites, not all.

As it is, I haven't found anything on Ubuntu to play ActiveX as in ABC News.

Therefore I keep XP to do the videos on ABC internet network news because as far as I can tell, Ubunto won't do it.

I also keep Windows to clean the head and change cartridges on my Epson Stylus Photo 820 printer. As far as I can tell, Ubunto won't do these functions. I tried Wine, but the setup for the Epson utility program called for a function that Wine does not implement.

Maybe someday there will be enough linux users out there to convince manufacturers to supply printer support programs, and public internet sites to use freely available video players. Ubuntu is a long long step forwards for this. Of course, Microsoft gives computer manufacturers a discount on their programs if the manufacturer agrees to buy a set for every pc they make, and install. Anyone heard anything different?

Cheers, Jerry

[Guitar John]

I must confess to falling into category 4. I have one pdf file that will not open properly with "Document Viewer" so I had to install "Adobe Reader".

My church (http://www3.calvarychapel.com/ccy/ccyorkindex.html) archives their sermons in mp3 format so I need that.

I have Real Player but I haven't found a real (pardon the pun) use for it yet.

Cheers,
-John

[malfist]

Hey now, JAVA has went OSS with the new GNU license so it should be removed from the list.
I've got codecs, Flash, java, and ndiswrapper

I've got WINE but I don't use it. I had it to install StarCraft (the greatest game out there, minus the Civ games) but I'm running on a PIII and it's too slow.

[Fribble]

Other than nVidia drivers for me card, Flash for Firefox, and DVD codecs, it's as free as an Open Source McDonalds baby! Oh, I did run a game on here with Wine too.

[fuscia]

i use what i want, open or closed. as far as i know, i haven't stolen much.

[SunnyRabbiera]

I have some propriteary software on here, I even have Microsoft word and IE.
I also have codecs, flash, DVD and opera.

[rabid emu]

kevin@EMU2:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on EMU2

linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.17 modules on x86_64 generic
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.17 modules helper script
rar Archiver for .rar files
sun-java5-bin Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0
sun-java5-jre Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0
sun-java5-plugin The Java(TM) Plug-in, Java SE 5.0
xorg-driver-fglrx Video driver for ATI graphics accelerators

7 non-free packages, 0.5% of 1423 installed packages.
Not too shabby I guess. Yeah I don't care much about free vs non-free as long as it works. However I just don't need much that is non-free at the moment.

It's weird, I can listen to MP3s and watch DVDs, but codecs aren't mentioned in the vrms report. *shrug*

Java should be taken off the list soon, since it's being GPL'd. With that I'm down to 4 :)

[macogw]

Flash, Java, etc. Can't wait for GPL'd Java.

[sloggerkhan]

Try to keep it free, but use Java, Flash, ndiswrapper. And play an old game or 2 under wine. (As in classic games. Like WarCraft II, Starcraft, and such.

[awakatanka]

This poll should have been multiple choice.

There are 3 sources of problems, in order of gravity:

1) Blobs: nVidia trash, ndiswrapper, firmware, other binary modules in kernel, etc.
2) Proprietary apps according to the FSF (non GPL/BSD, etc): Flash, Opera, Java, etc.
3) Patents, cryptography, etc. Only in opressed countries: Mp3, mp4, dvd, etc.

Number 3 can actually be handled with free software, such as lame and mplayer. It should not be considered non free, and it only applies to certain countries opressed by the US corporations, using the WTO, us gov threats, etc.

Ubuntu derivate Linux Mint does away with number 3, gnewsense with all three. Ubuntu users should be given an option to install them or not. Ubuntu asks for 2, omits 3, but includes and enables 1 without asking by default.

Ubuntu is not free software as long as it includes 1 and 2. But users don't get a choice. They will have to manually deinstall 1, not an easy task. Number 2 is easy to install/uninstall, maybe too easy, and number 3 is a bit trickier but it makes you fully aware.

In short, Ubuntu is quick to obey US laws while backstabs with ease the free software community with the inclusion and default/enabling of blobs, and a neutral stance for proprietary apps.
So if the people that have choosen option 1 use ubuntu RMS wouldn´t be so proud? ( Hope RMS uses PC hardware that is made opensources and the bios/firmware is opensource to )

I use what ever i need to use if its open our not, it doesn bother me. If there is a free alt i will use it but it doesn´t have to be opensource. If there is no alt and i have to pay i will pay.

Pure opensource will not work atm and probably it will never work for the majorty of people.

[Sunnz]

Got a freshly installed ubuntu-server...

vrms listed linux-server the kernel as non-free?

Anyone know where get I get the source for it so I can check it by hand?

[ronacc]

I confess I run propriatary software/drivers . I support the FOSS philosophy but not to the extent of rendering my system useless or undesireable. Some "closed" prgs I just prefer (opera for one) some I need (java although hasn't sun open sourced java ?) . If I want to play my dvd's or other MM would you rather I logged out of linux and booted into XP ? sorry I don't intend to do that . I have to read a lot of PDF's in my buisness , does using the acrobat reader make me a traitor ? I don't think so.

[pay]

I read somewhere that Ubuntu has some non-free wireless drivers installed as default and it has some non-free fonts aswell and thats why they made gNewSense. If that's true, then technically anyone that runs Ubuntu isn't 100% free. Oh and the bios aren't free either (unless if you use those linux bios things).

I may be wrong with that I've said though. Actually I'd prefer to be proved wrong :)

[aktiwers]

1.5% non-free packages..

[Titus A Duxass]

Who cares? My system works and that's all I require.

[pay]

Who cares? My system works and that's all I require.If you don't care then that is your prerogative, but some people care about their freedoms :)

[Brunellus]

update: my "old" lappy, (hostname: hooptie) is completely Free Software...except for the IBM recovery partition, which I set up with their (nonfree) boot disk.

Unfortunately, if feisty doesn't fix a long-standing bug in the drivers for my orinoco card, I may be compelled to buy a new wireless network adaptor which will bring non-free firmware into the picture.

[-grubby]

NVIDIA drivers, plugins, and a couple programs (google earth and alien-arena)

[fulgencio]

Only thing I use wine for is for guitar tuning .

[zmjjmz]

Opera, Skype, Flash, Java (Open Source now, but not when I installed it), Steam (along with Portal), LDD, Narbacular Drop, some random essential kernel thingiemajigs, codecs, .rar Unarchiver (and I don't bother converting most of my manga to .zip as opposed to .rar) and the Human and Tango themes (AFAIK the artwork isn't GPL'd) POTC online, and EVE.

[Christmas]

Here's the output of 'vrms':

TTY3 $ vrms
Non-free packages installed on debian

rar Archiver for .rar files
skype Skype - Take a deep breath
unace-nonfree extract, test and view .ace archives (non-free version
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

4 non-free packages, 0.3% of 1280 installed packages.
TTY3 $
Along with these I have some closed source games (UT2004, ET: Quake Wars, Quake 4 Demo). nVIDIA binary driver too.

[eljoeb]

My computer is the fascist scum of Linux computers. Mostly for games.

[frup]

This is the my grandparents machine:

$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on Octrev

human-icon-theme Human Icon theme
linux-generic Complete Generic Linux kernel
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.22 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.22 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
sun-java6-bin Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-jre Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-plugin The Java(TM) Plug-in, Java SE 6
tangerine-icon-theme Tangerine Icon theme
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

10 non-free packages, 0.8% of 1190 installed packages.

I could probably remove the icons and unrar. I think it's pretty sad that the icons are flagged.

[doorknob60]

Everything! I use Flash, Java, Nvidia driver, ndiswrapper (on my broadcom laptop), codecs, and I use Wine for games. I don't hate closed source software, as long as it's good :)


austin@derek:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on derek

opera The Opera Web Browser
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

Contrib packages installed on derek

msttcorefonts Installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts

2 non-free packages, 0.1% of 1670 installed packages.
1 contrib packages, 0.1% of 1670 installed packages.
austin@derek:~$

FTW! Except I installed Nvidia, Flash, and Java manually :P

EDIT: Actually, I could live without both Opera and Unrar, but I won't bother uninstalling because it certainly wouldn't make my computer 100% open source.

[bufsabre666]

nvidia drivers, propreitary codecs, and mvp baseball 2005 under wine

other than that i use gnash ((on x64 systems flash doesnt compare)) i use icedtea for java, i hate opera so i use swiftweasel which doesnt even have non free artwork from mozilla

[OutOfReach]

My vrms output:


Non-free packages installed on sgxm

human-icon-theme Human Icon theme
linux-generic Complete Generic Linux kernel
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
tangerine-icon-theme Tangerine Icon theme
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

8 non-free packages, 0.7% of 1176 installed packages.


Not too bad right? :razz:

[jrusso2]

Do you keep your ubuntu completely free of proprietary and patent encumbered software? or do you follow ubuntuguide to the word?

I use what works, I could care less if its Open Source, Freeware or commercial.

[Canis familiaris]

My vrms output:

Non-free packages installed on amita-pc

fglrx-amdcccle Catalyst Control Center for the ATI graphics accelerat
fglrx-kernel-source Kernel module source for the ATI graphics accelerators
human-icon-theme Human Icon theme
linux-generic Complete Generic Linux kernel
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
opera The Opera Web Browser
tangerine-icon-theme Tangerine Icon theme
unace-nonfree extract, test and view .ace archives (non-free version
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic
xorg-driver-fglrx Video driver for the ATI graphics accelerators
xorg-driver-fglrx-dev Video driver for the ATI graphics accelerators (devel

14 non-free packages, 0.9% of 1540 installed packages.

I use Flash and Java too. But then Java is GPLed and Flash is on the way too.
Strangely it did not detect that I use the closed-source version of Virtualbox.

And there is Windows VM which I wont count (I only keep it for learning purpose)

[dmsynck]

Non-free packages installed on OurBuntu

human-icon-theme Human Icon theme
linux-generic Complete Generic Linux kernel
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules on x86/x86_64
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.24 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
tangerine-icon-theme Tangerine Icon theme

7 non-free packages, 0.6% of 1196 installed packages.


Also flashplugin-nonfree, which for some reason, vrms did not pick up.

[picpak]

[code]kim@ubuntu:~$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on ubuntu

dgen Sega Genesis/MegaDrive emulator
sun-java6-bin Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-jre Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-plugin The Java(TM) Plug-in, Java SE 6
unrar Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

5 non-free packages, 0.5% of 1026 installed packages.[/quote]

and there you have it.

[Yuki_Nagato]

I use "free" software entirely if "free" means that the program is "free of charge."

[geogur]

i have been useing free software at home since 1997 .i did purchase slackware to get the book the disks came with it all 5 disks . and i puchased red hat for the book when i took a junior linux course. i run zandros on my eeepc (embeded) and ubuntu on my pc .at work i deal with many different os flavors not to my liking.
linux is why i have a pc. it`s free