Idea for expanded support of some non-free software

[thully at umich.edu]

(I filed a bug on this, and was told the best forum for this is here)
There are some non-free software applications and file formats for which no
viable free alternative exists, or the free alternative is severely crippled. 
Also, there is a lot of software that is free - but has patent or other legal
issues.

Some examples are:
Flash - no good free player, but used on many web sites - non-free in multiverse
MP3 support - patent issues - decoder in universe, encoder on third-party
archives
DVD support - CSS issues - all players in main archive, but DeCSS in third-party
archive

  Currently, this software is available only in universe/multiverse (at the
best) or third-party archives (in the worst case).  While it is ideal to use
free and unencumbered alternatives to these packages, often this isn't a viable
option.  For instance, iPods and many other music players can't use OGG files,
so people want to use MP3 to maintain compatibility with their device.  Also,
there is no free alternative for viewing Flash - you use Macromedia's player or
you can't use Flash.

  I feel that some of the above packages should be supported more than they are
currently - as I had some problems with Flash etc and there seems to be no
interest in fixing the issues since the packages are "non-free, thus
unsupported".  I realize that not having the source code makes it hard to
support these packages, but it still can be done to a greater extent than
currently.  Ubuntu is intended to be a Desktop OS, and people will be
disappointed if they can't view their favorite Flash-using website or make MP3s
to transfer to their iPod.

For these issues, I propose the following:


Add packages to restricted when there is software in common use that has no
viable free alternative (like Flash)

Create a new archive, encumbered, that is semi-official and contains
encumbered packages built to work w/Ubuntu, rather than hoping Debian packages
work.

If there is any significant non-encumbered code in a package, build the
encumbered packages in a way that the encumbered packages can be separated into
their encumbered and non-encumbered portions - and include the non-encumbered
parts in main or restricted.

Accept bug reports via Bugzilla on non-encumbered portions of encumbered
packages and packages newly moved into restricted.

I know Ubuntu's mission is to support free software, but there are some
instances when non-free software is the only option.

Comments are welcome on this (no flames, please)