Ubuntu loses its virginity, turns commercial
From the time the Ubuntu distribution was first released nearly four years ago, the people behind it have tried to never put a foot wrong. Every single decision about the distribution has been geared to try and satisfy both their own brand of users and the general FOSS community.
Last week, however, Mark Shuttleworth, the head of Canonical, the firm that runs the Ubuntu project, made a decision that he will come to regret: to sell proprietary codecs for the distribution. Let me say it again - Shuttleworth will come to rue this move.
Under this plan, anyone who either buys an Ubuntu pack or downloads and installs it can go to the Ubuntu store and buy the codecs needed for a complete multimedia experience. The marketing manager of Canonical, Gerry Carr, put his own bit of spin on the announcement by saying that, "It is important to us that no matter how you choose to access Ubuntu, pre-installed or as a free download, that you can have a similarly rich experience."
