Should Linspire Offer CNR for Ubuntu Users?

[mstlyevil]

Porting CNR to Ubuntu was being discussed in another thread with Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony. Here are some quotes from that conversation.

Kevin, would your company consider selling a multimedia pack for distros like Ubuntu to provide a legal way to obtain codecs and other proprietary multimedia software. One of my major concerns is the fact I may be breaking the law just to have multimedia support under Ubuntu and I have been waiting for some one to step up and offer these at a reasonable price. Since your company already has contracts with the makers of these codecs and software it would be in the perfect position to offer this to the end users of the free distros who share my concerns. It could also help your company's bottom line and open source in general. What are your thoughts on doing something like this and is it feasible?

somewhat off topic, but have you ever considered porting cnr to other distros?

Here is Kevin's reply

Absolutely. And guess which distro is top on our list? =)

I've talked to Mark about it. We both like the idea a great deal. We'd just make a way to apt-get the CNR client for free, then Ubuntu users could choose to simply use apt, OR, for those who want the one-click convenience of CNR, they could try CNR for free for 15 days, and if they like it, pay for the service ($20 per year).

You can use apt or CNR with Linspire today. I think that would be a great choice for Ubuntu users as well. Having more choices is always a good thing.

Yes, I don't want to get off topic here with more about this here in this thread, so I'll make a separate post and get input from you all about this idea there. So, save any comments, and look for that post.

Kevin

So here is the question posed to you Ubuntuers. Do you want something like this as a option to download and legally install codecs and other non-free software? As it stands now in some countries it may be illegal to do so on your own without permission or paying the royalties. This would provide an economical and easy way to aquire these codecs legally. There are other benefits that can be discussed of course and this thread is not just limited to just the codecs. People can also voice their concerns and questions for such a move but please do so with respect.

Edit: BTW it is a multiple choice poll because some people that might support such a move still may not use the service.