Freespire's Google ads: "What is Ubuntu Missing?"

[Peter Garrett]

On Sun, 1 Oct 2006 13:31:39 +0100
"Freddie Ruddick" <frederific at googlemail.com> wrote:

> 
> On 23/09/06, Conrad Knauer <atheoi at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I note that in Gmail one of my Sounder messages had a targeted ad on the side:
> >
> > ---
> > What is Ubuntu Missing?
> > Need your desktop Linux to legally play mp3, Windows Media, DVD, etc.?
> > freespire.org
> > ---
> >
> > With the first question linked to
> > http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/The_Perfect_Desktop_Linux_OS
> 
> Just so you all know, the following ad is now circulating the "Web
> Clips" adroll at the top of my gmail:
> 
> +++
> Is Ubuntu Special? - freespire.org - 15 things that might be missing
> from your desktop Linux system.
> +++
> 
> Linked to: http://wiki.freespire.org/index.php/What_Makes_Freespire_Special%3F

*Sigh* if any proof were needed that Linspire do not understand Free and
Open Source Software, here it is.

In my opinion, this is extremely disrespectful and unhelpful to the
community. It is essentially treating all the work done by others,
which Linspire uses extensively,  and from which Linspire seeks to profit,
as inferior.

The mere idea of making these kinds of distro comparisons is distasteful,
and it encourages the attitude that Debian, Fedora/Red Hat, Novell/SUSE
and Ubuntu "just got it wrong", without so much as a mention of the legal
and philosophical issues.

Frankly I find the campaign despicable.

Peter