Hello. I'm usually a lurker on the list, but I feel a bit compelled to jump into the fray here.
On Wed, 2010-06-09 at 16:49 -0400, John King wrote: > Ubuntu is targeted at a more mainstream user; that user more than likely > wants his computer to > just work, even if that means proprietary software and/or binary blobs. One > of those driver > blobs could mean the difference between 'Happy Ubuntu Convert' and 'Failed > Ubuntu Convert'. > Trisquel is aimed at a user who is uncompromising in his/her pursuit of > complete software > freedom; IMO a great goal and one that we should all work towards, but not > one that really > encompasses the average computer user at this point. I'm the guy he's talking about here. Although I've now been using Linux long enough that I feel myself to be somewhere on the low side of intermediate in terms of what goes on under the hood, I feel that I'm a bit rare in that I didn't come to Linux because it was "open source software," but rather because it was "free as in beer." And actually, believe it or not, it wasn't technically free from a wallet perspective. I bought a copy of Mandrake from the clearance rack at Walmart for, I want to say, US$10 for something like that. In fact, I didn't even know (or care at the time) about open source software, GPL, Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, or anything else about the open source or Linux world. But what I did know was the Windows ME on the machine I had bought was an epic fail, and I couldn't find Windows 98 anywhere. So, to be blunt, I said "what the hell," grabbed the box with the penguin on it, and the rest is history. UNTIL I found Ubuntu, I had a love/hate relationship with Linux, where I would use it, go back to Windows, back to another distro, back to Windows, lather, rinse, and repeat. Ninety percent of the time, each of these iterations in the cycle was caused by something that just didn't work. Graphics didn't work right. Network card wouldn't be seen. And it wouldn't play mp3s. Now, I understand that for many, "wouldn't play mp3s" is considered a feature, not a bug. But ... for the mainstream user just coming over from the Windows world, not being able to play mp3s, or not being able to play DVDs equals *broke*. After all, they worked in Windows, but not Linux. To them, it is not a matter of free vs. proprietary, nor is it a matter of closed source vs. open source. It's a matter of works vs. broke. And as a mainstream user, I went through a ton of "broke" distros. I was even more frustrated with SuSE, when, in order to listen to mp3s, I had to add another independently maintained repo to yast, which completely hosed yast. And so, I went back to Windows. Now then. Having been involved in the Linux society and culture, I understand why closed-source software is shunned. However, I also see that, at this juncture, it is often necessary to make things work. Right now, I've got a wireless driver and a graphics driver that are proprietary. I know this because the Device Manager told me. I also have the restricted extras package installed. But Ubuntu works, and I've stuck with it ever since. It works. I can't repeat that enough. IT. WORKS. In my experience with Linux, I've noticed that over time, open source solutions to close sourced problems pop up, given enough eyeballs. Perhaps those are eyeballs like mine, the folks that see Ubuntu as a shining star because it works, and are coaxed into realizing the advantages of open source software. I believe you attract a lot more people if you give them something that works, but say "We believe this is a problem because it works, but it's closed source. Can you help?" It's better to walk along the fence line with folks who are new to Linux, as opposed to pelting them with rocks from fifty feet away and saying "If you want this to work, throw rocks with us." And honestly, I think one of the greatest issues that Linux, as an operating system, is struggling with right now is not the proprietary developers in front of it, but the wild fanatics behind it shooting it in the back of the head, yelling "Give me free or give me death." So, yes, I am committed to free software. But I also know the carrot works better than the stick, and the better it works out of the gate, the more eyeballs you have to open things up even more. Just my twelve cents. Your mileage may vary. And so forth. - Travis. -- Ubuntu-devel-discuss mailing list Ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel-discuss
