Is Ubuntu an Operating System?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 5th Oct 2006 20:49 UTC, submitted by Eugenia
Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu "Is Ubuntu an operating system? Last week at EuroOSCON, Mark Shuttleworth gave the closing keynote outlining what he believes are the major struggles faced by the open-source/free-software community. During his talk, it became clear that Ubuntu is trying to achieve a radical shift in the software world. Ubuntu isn't trying to be a platform for mass-market application software: it is trying to be the primary provider of both the operating system and all the application software that a typical user would want to run on his machine. Most Linux distributions are like this, and I think it is a dangerous trend that will stifle innovation and usability."
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sbergman27
Member since:
2005-07-24

"""The statements were directly taken from the Ubuntu website under the section "software installed by default" . It has been confirmed my Mark Shuttleworth in a recent interview itself that Ubuntu installs proprietary drivers by default."""


Ok. I see where the confusion is being introduced.

Yes, there is a package called linux-restricted-modules which does get installed on some machines.

The thing is... it's not used in the configurations.

NVidia's module may be sitting on the disk. But it is not loaded because Xorg is set up to use the free xorg driver.

If the user chooses to use the proprietary driver, he can. He will have to download the other piece of the puzzle: the nvidia-glx package. The situation is the same in the ATI case.

Does that clarify matters?

Edited 2006-10-05 21:38

Reply Parent Score: 5

manmist Member since:
2005-12-18

It doesnt clarify anything to me. Go read http://www.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/licensing. Read the section titled "Software installed by default". Note that it says that "binary only" hardware drivers are installed by default even though they are marked as restricted.

So again, proprietary drivers are in a different restricted repository but installed by default. It might not be used in the configuration. I make no claims about that. It is a fact that proprietary stuff gets installed by default without a choice.

Edited 2006-10-05 21:45

Reply Parent Score: 2

sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24

"""So again, proprietary drivers are in a different restricted repository but installed by default."""

Installed but not used. Unless you have a concrete example of proprietary software being used without the user's consent, I simply have to declare this argument as one not worth having.

Does proprietary software sitting on a disk, unused, make the user "dirty"? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, is there a sound? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Edited 2006-10-05 21:52

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pinky Member since:
2005-07-15

>The thing is... it's not used in the configurations.

Wrong, i have installed Ubutnu on my Notebook and it installed and used/configured by default the non-free ati driver and the non-free driver for my wireless card.

Reply Parent Score: 1

sbergman27 Member since:
2005-07-24

pinky,

What video chipset? And what wireless card?

I have an ati express 200M in my notebook, and it most certainly gets configured with the OSS driver. Same with my broadcom 43xx and the Nvidia card in my desktop box.

Edited 2006-10-05 21:59

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BluenoseJake Member since:
2005-08-11

I have a ATI 9200 in my Ubuntu box, it originally was installed using the OSS Driver and mesa 3d, I had to install the drivers myself. This is using Dapper. It's been that way on every box I have installed, probably about 50 in total, so I don't know why yours would be like that, but I think it may be the exception, not the rule

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