XGL-Ubuntu

John,In the server marekt I will give it to Red Hat hands down, but in the desktop marekt, I wouldn't even consider it for my newbie users who I am constantly converting from Windows to Ubuntu. With Ubuntu, they can do the install themselves. With Red Hat, Fedora Core in this instance, I have had problems with hardware that was non-free. How professional would it be of me to tell my client, hey, this operating system I am trying to get you to use because it isn't evil, doesn't like your evil hardware, so now we need to go and un-evil (bushism right there!) they system and try and locate the hardware. My client will look at me and more than likely demand Windows 98 be put back on his system. I want the Free Hardware and Free Software world so bad, but we have to be honest with ourselves, in the desktop marekt, Free Software isn't ready. That is why Ubuntu simply provides the non-free solution because it is better than any available free solution. Now when a free solution comes around, then Ubuntu will switch to it if it's better. Ubuntu supports free software, but it also supports a users freedom to choose. To me, the user's freedom to do as he/she wishes is far more important to me. Because if they aren't happy, then they will just go back to Windows or Mac, which we are trying to prevent. I think it is unfair to go after Ubuntu just because they provide a user the freedom to choose what is best for them. It is great for the Linux community as well, because many Ubuntu users will become better Linux users and some day will end up switching to other distributions, but staying in the Linux community, and possibly supporting or developing free software and hardware. We need to stop denying the fact that free software and free hardware isn't ready for mainstream, and I am sure that RMS doesn't want to go mainstream either, seeing as he is about as eclectic as one could be. People are just way to spoiled to make them change their ways, a majority of Windows users have been so now for 10 years or more, and the are stuck in their Windows ways. If installing a non-free solution is their only solution for happiness, then let it be, and lets work towards creating a free solution that can accurately replace these non-free solutions. The reason Red Hat is wonderful in a server environment, is because companies like IBM, HP, and Dell have worked closely to create free hardware. Why? Because Linux rules the server marekt. Maybe once they see that Linux is a serious player in the desktop world, more and more free hardware will come out of it, until then, all we have is a philosophy, a movement, and a handful of serious free hacker hippies trying to push something below the standards that a majority of computer users (not enthusiasts or hacker) are used to.