Fear and loathing and open core

Mandrake/Mandriva was basically open core, it was the subscription that gave you access to software and services that weren't available from the free versions.

Mandriva wasn't and isn't open core. The subscription was to pay for commercial, proprietary add ons. Mandriva did not have any proprietary software of their own. Caldera/SCO, on the other hand, were.

I don't know if Canonical LTD is planning Open Core stuff and the rebuttal is right in pointing out that there aren't any factual grounds to claim Canonical is planning to do this.

What I do know is that the Ubuntu project, under the reign of Canonical, is turning into an isolated codebase, diverging from upstream. Canonical in their quest to find a business model, apart from dipping into Mark S.'s bank account, is turning Ubuntu more and more into a freebie OS with hooks to get you on their Cloud Services. Then (IMNSHO) Mark S. has a horrible "vision" on desktop design. It makes "pure" Ubuntu less and less desirable.

Combine it all with the fact that Ubuntu is still above 90% Debian, and the question, for me, becomes why anyone would want to get a freebie OS from a Cloud Services Vendor, who forks code for no good reason.

To make one thing absolutely clear, I do think that Canonical has every right to do what they are doing from a legal standpoint. Nothing in FOSS licenses or copyright compells people to decency. It still doesn't mean that I have to accept their current course as gospel for the future of Linux Distributions and it certainly doesn't mean I have to lend support to it.

I'm personally glad that Linux Mint exists. It gives me some degree of separation from Canonical. I find the development of Linux Mint Debian Edition an exiting proposition. Certainly in light of Debian's own plans to create a "Rolling" branch from Testing.