Hi Suraj N. Kurapati wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >> there is a persistent issue of Ubuntu not being totally open source and >> that it includes components (codecs etc ) that are propreitory and that >> basically go against the GNU/Linux core FLOSS philosophy > > Incorrect. If what you claim were indeed true, then I would be able > to play MP3 files and watch DVD movies "out of the box". Obviously, > that is certainly not the case.
Am not so sure - its not only about Audio Codecs - was at a lecture given by RMS who asked what distro the majority of us use - when he heard Ubuntu he said that too is not totally GNU/Linux compliant was not able to get any specifics from him though. > > Quoted from <https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats>: > > "Ubuntu strives to make every piece of software available under the > licensing terms laid out in the [WWW] Ubuntu License Policy. Patent > and copyright restrictions complicate free operating systems > distributing software to support proprietary formats. > > Ubuntu's commitment to only include completely free software by > default means that proprietary media formats are not configured 'out > of the box'." > This is what Ubuntu says again its not only about media formats This is what FSF has to say about it (Ubuntu and Debian both) http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7506163557.html Nov. 02, 2006 The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has unveiled a new Linux distribution, free of the proprietary software contained in most Linuxes. gNewSense is based on Ubuntu and Debian, and offers users "the stability of Ubuntu with the addition of freedom," developers Brian Brazil and Paul O'Malley said. "From a philosophical perspective we wanted to create a GNU/Linux distribution where the user has access to all the sources for all software on the system. This includes everything from the heart of the kernel through to the everyday desktop applications," Brazil and O'Malley stated. Both Debian and Ubuntu, however, already try to avoid the use of proprietary software. Indeed, the Debian Project recently decided to rename and rebrand Firefox to IceWeasel on the grounds that the official Firefox logo was proprietary. At this time, Debian still does contain some proprietary software, in both the current Sarge distribution and in the upcoming Etch distribution. The Debian developers felt that they had no choice but to do this, because there is no open-source replacement for some proprietary device firmware contained within the Debian kernel packages. Without these binary "blobs," many WiFi and graphic drivers will not n the case of Ubuntu, the developers use the Debian code, but have divided software into four different components. "Main" primarily consists of supported open-source software, but also includes proprietary firmware and fonts. This is roughly equivalent to Debian's code. The proprietary programs, however, must be governed by a license that makes them free to distribute. Ubuntu also supports some proprietary software that is not part of the kernel in a component called "Restricted." This is software, like the NVIDA and ATI graphics card drivers, that can not be freely distributed. The Ubuntu developers have also made special arrangements in a subset of Restricted known as "Commercial." These are proprietary programs, such as the Opera web browser and the RealPlayer media player, which Ubuntu has received permission to distribute to Ubuntu users. Finally, Ubuntu includes the "Universe" and "Multiverse" categories. These contain non-supported open-source software, and non-supported proprietary programs, respectively. *** So the question is there a Ubuntu user who has not apt-got (or however installed) the various media codecs and hence has a partially pirated (non free etc ) linux running. If so what was the work around *** Also my point is there is a very big grey area between - piracy / free / non free / propreitory. It is also dependent of who pirates - in the larger context - not just software - the people who pay the biggest price to adhere to the laws are those who have the least (get my drift i hope) the reasons for using pirated stuff vary from being unaware to it being a conscious choice ram -- ubuntu-in mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-in
