[clug] Free Ubuntu?

[Robin Shannon]

Personally, I think it is great that ubuntu has non-free drivers and
codecs in it. Far less than one percent of the computer-using
population abstaining from using anything which is not free is great,
but it does nothing to force ATI and nVidia to make thier drivers
open. Trying to force others to not use closed drivers and codecs by
trying to get ubuntu and other newbie friendly distros to not include
them is extremely counter productive.

I've used linux for about 3 years and installed it on several
machienes and for several of them have had to go looking to find what
closed driver it is that i need cause it isn't automatically
installed. If i find this process annoying and difficult, what chances
has a newebie got who has never even heard of a driver before? Who has
no idea what a codec is. If a reasonable number of people actually
used FOSS (and i mean desktop rather than server users) then ATI and
nVidia (and others) would open thier drivers becuase there would be an
ecconomic incentive for them to do so.

paz,
-rjs.

-- 
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