You picked a fully free distro. You're free to pick a different distro.
> I have to use Adobe Flash and the ATI drivers to get Trisquel to work
Well, you don't. Since switching to Trisquel full-time (with a gnewsense box
on the side), I've found numerous ways of continuing to use the Internet and
my computer as I always had. I will admit that many of my computer habits
have changed, but it is for the best.
For example, why do you *need* to use Adobe Flash? If swfdec and gnash aren't
working for watching YouTube videos, you've got options. For the flash videos
I would really like to watch, I use the service TinyOGG: http://tinyogg.com/
and it's wonderful. It converts YouTube (and other!) videos into
theora/vorbis oggs for download. For the most part, though, I've stopped
using YouTube. The Internet existed before flash video, and it will continue
to exist after its (long overdue) demise.
In general, though, I've stopped using Flash as much as possible. If somebody
recommends a website, and I go to it to find that the entire page is flash, I
tell them that I'm having great difficulty viewing the website, and then I
don't go to the website.
That's right, I just don't go to the website.
I find myself less distracted by all the total crap on the Internet. If I
feel like I really need something, for research or entertainment or whatnot,
there are ways to do so. Flash is tricky, though, so I try to avoid YouTube
and other flash-based video distribution sites. There is also the matter of
sites like Pandora, which use flash to stream music. People say they use it
to discover music, but I'm finding that without such an option, I'm finding
other ways to listen to music. Borrowing CDs from friends, digging through
old albums my dad has, listening to the radio! There's also an ENORMOUS
library of Creative Commons music out there for you to download, hear, and
share. So go get 'em!
I also can't really play 3D games or anything, since I have an nVidia card
but will not use their driver. Is that a problem? No, I get more work done. I
can program. There are plenty of games out there that don't require 3D
acceleration.
My computer habits may have changed, but I'm learning more about my computer,
and I feel like I'm doing the right thing. Cheers!
