[BadVista Advocate] Ubuntu?

[Don Hensley]

Hi Kevin,

You are correct about market share. The goal is, of course, to have Free 
Software, rather then proprietary software, that does those things you 
mention. 

And I wouldn't be too bothered about Ubuntu either. They actually stay 
reasonably close within the lines, yes there are some binary blobs in the 
distro, but most of the real problem stuff is just on mirrors, and not 
directly distributed with the distro.

I could roll up my own blob and offer it if I choose, and the end user could 
load it on his gNewSense system, if they choose to do so. No problem in so 
far as the GPL is concerned (my blob could not be GPL'd though, if I will not 
release the source and the right to modify, etc.).

The only GPL issue is with distribution, not what the end user does on their 
own computer.

But then there is the philosophical side... which is where some people come 
from --There is a difference between the GNU Project and the GPL, one is the 
philosophy and the other is a Copyright License (Copy Left).

So that is the only place I might take a slightly different tack then you. 
When you say; " in order to affect change you need to have some kind of 
power", I would agree.

I would not agree that an idea, by it's self has no power. As a matter of fact 
they (ideas) are about the only thing that ever has affected change, often 
they have changed the world.

That's one of the reasons the list here is actually supposed to be about the 
problems that Vista imposes --ideas like DRM, Treacherous Computing. The loss 
of freedom to use something you own (your computer).

It is natural for people to get a bit sidetracked, and I generally just try to 
bring things back in focus, as best I can.

But I also rarely ever (or try not to) feed the OT parts of the list. Often 
people have some very valuable things to offer, even if along with that comes 
a particular viewpoint, often strongly held. So strongly hat it can bleed 
over into another topic.

As the Ubuntu (or discussion of any distro other then Vista, and it's 
problems).

Why not hop over to http://wiki.binaryfreedom.info/index.php/BadVista_Advocacy 
and lend a had getting this on track?

Thanks,
Don.
 ************************************************
 On Monday 30 April 2007 06:38 am, Kevin Dwyer wrote:
I don't intend on really participating in this debate, but in order to
affect change you need to have some kind of power.  If you can't draw
accelerated 3D graphics, and you can't use the little gadgets that
makes everyone's life easier, you won't gain significant market share
to defeat the closed alternatives.  I wouldn't hate on Ubuntu too
hard.

-kpd

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