Ubuntu; apparently, a Linux apart from Linux

They've been trying to divorce Ubuntu from the Linux name for a while now...

personally I don't have a problem with that.

There have been numerous brand name distro's that have come and gone but ubuntu looks to be here to stay. I see it as a good thing. Canonical has made a brand that is catching on, hopefully they will have continued success.

I might agree with you if they ever had a release that wasn't a bug-ridden mess. I might agree with you if they ever fixed bugs within a release cycle. I'd like a quality product.

A reasonable inference would be that, despite Ubuntu's problems, it's still better than Windows? (Scary thought).

Yes, it's better than Windows. Of course, comparing to Windows is setting the bar pretty low.

Quoting:A reasonable inference would be that, despite Ubuntu's problems, it's still better than Windows?

You couldn't find a lower bar, could you :) I wish to perpetrate violent acts upon Ubuntu because of Unity, but don't forget all the other excellent Ubuntu flavors. And because of the brilliance of an integrated base system and sharing the exact same repos, you can have Ubuntu Server or Lubuntu or Xubuntu or Edubuntu or whateverbuntu from a single installation. You don't have to download bigass ISO images for every one.

Canonical does downplay Ubuntu's Linux and Debian heritage. They're not alone in that; remember Ken Stark's classic poo in the punchbowl question at the Linux User Summit in 2008? I ranted about it:

Who Are The Real Friends of Linux and Free Software? Or, Linux Is Still a Dirty Word http://blog.linuxtoday.com/blog/2008/10/who-are-the-rea.html

And Ken's original blog post is still there, complete with the classic video of a lil ole Texas lad making an entire panel of Corporate Linux Luminaries squirm:

Leave It To The Little Guys... http://linuxlock.blogspot.com/2008/10/leave-it-to-little-guy...

Quoting: We offer solutions, not systems.

Um. Yeah. Kthx, suits-people =P