FOSS: time to stop the navel-gazing

If you're going to write inflammatory pieces, it's a bit silly to be surprised when readers get inflamed.

Sam's article refers to another article he wrote where Ubuntu have decided to make proprietary CODECs available on a paid for basis. No big deal really, the Free CODECS are still available, I know because I installed them on my media machine, which, as it happens, is Ubuntu 8.04 (MythUbuntu).

Mandriva has been doing this for some time, providing a link to the Fluendo site to pay for and download the proprietary CODECs, or optionally download and install the Free CODECs.

Personally I can't see what the big deal about it all is, the Mandriva users didn't get their knickers in a knot about it, Mandriva makes no money from making the Fluendo service available and neither does Canonical. If people want to pay for the CODECs, that their choice, they can still download and install the Free CODECs, or none at all, if they want, even in the US.

The article that Sam is so unhappy at being flamed for was pretty much non-stop flamebait:

Quoting: "Let me say it again - Shuttleworth will come to rue this move.

It may end up being an experience that only the rich among the Ubuntu users can access.

Ubuntu is no longer free. It is a commercial distribution.

Ubuntu still faces the same claims - a distribution that takes more than it gives.

Ubuntu has lost its innocence or what was claimed as its innocence and gone commercial.

Though some may see it as masochism, that exercise in getting things to work, at times over days, is part of the fun of using Linux."

etc... if you don't want to get flamed, don't publish flamebait.

Well Sam is wrong, and he deserves to be flamed.

Heh yeah, I thought it was worthy of an Enderle award. Which is a brand-new award I just invented :).

What does it look like?

a Richard.

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to the first annual Carla Schroder not yet,and, one hopes, not for many years to come, Memorial Foundation Enderle awards ceremony.

The buzz today is all about the unveiling of the award itself. The original design was to have been a jackass cavorting in a sea of crap. While that concept certainly captured Enderle's dim-witted audacity and willingness to relieve himself all over anything that might be mistaken for principle, it failed to fully grasp the breadth and depth of the man.

His willingness to make a monkey of himself for money. To bury his head in the sand like an ostrich if free software looks better than that of his clients. To be blind as a bat about...well, just about everything. And face it, if this guy thinks he adds value, he's crazy as a loon.

So, today's ceremoney will reveal the Osbatjackalooney.

Still cavorting in a sea of crap. Some things never change.

LOL dino. And the awards presenters will be attired in stylish, yet fully-functional hazmat suits.

Why?

Quoting: ... fully-functional hazmat suits.

Sounds like it's nearly 100% organic, albeit with a few fringe features thrown in for a good cause (I am sure).

Quoting:Osbatjackalooney

I don't see the monkey! Where's the monkey!!

Sorry you don't see the monkey. It's the "ey" at the end. I just didn't like the sound of osbatjackaloonkey.

Oh, there's the monkey. Crisis averted.

> Crisis averted.

Whew!!

Between Wall Street and Washington, I didn't want to be responsible for throwing one more crisis into the mix.