Ubuntu changes get worse: Now Digital Rights Management is under discussion

[Kaj Ailomaa]

On Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:25:50 +0100, <lukefromdc at hushmail.com> wrote:

> For me to stay with Ubuntu, the packages I use, in clean versions,
> need to stay in repo and never depend on packages I am not willing to  
> install. Since
> I regard my installed OS as a fork, it's what's in repo and what they  
> depend on that counts,
> not the default installation which now has little bearing on my own.
>
> I draw the line at any attempt to restrict my power over my own machine,  
> or
> connects to the Internet without my explicit authorization. For my uses,  
> even
> automated bug reporting in things like Firefox is deemed unsafe and  
> disabled. I
> would switch to rekonq if not for the "browser fingerprintng" menace.
>
<snip>

Let me first state that while I do develop Ubuntu Studio, these are my  
personal thoughts on the issue, and I'm not speaking on behalf of the  
entire Ubuntu Studio team.

I think what you are saying is an important issue to deal with, absolutely.
Can't say I know much about the drm stuff. But, if it is true that it  
would be forced on the user somehow, I would agree that would be a bad  
thing. If it only happens on Unity, that would put a shadow over Unity -  
make it stand out as a non-community friendly project, sort of like many  
non-free applications that you can install on your desktop today. I don't  
use Unity, so I haven't been keeping up with the problems around it (all  
though, I of course think it's important, as that also touches the  
community in some ways).

AFAIK, nothing of the kind is happening, but if I'm wrong, do please  
correct me. Adding support for something is not the same as forcing you to  
use it.

I'm not taking Canonicals side here. I'm not interested in taking a side  
at all. I just want to be clear about what is what, and lately, I think  
many people have been overreacting over sudden changes, or perhaps  
latently reacting to things that already were issues before.

It's absolutely important to bring these issues up. And if there are  
problems around Ubuntu, those should be discussed. But, let's first make  
sure there is a problem.

 From what I saw on the article at Phoronix, there's talk about adding  
support for DRM in gstreamer. I'd assume that could result in some kind of  
installable module.

If ones' aim is to use a distro that is absolutely free, and has the  
strictest policies on issues around free software, I don't feel like  
Ubuntu is the best distro to use in that case.

Since Ubuntu Studio (and other community flavors) is not run by Canonical,  
we have the freedom to customize our OS anyway we (the Ubuntu Studio  
community) want - as long as we're using free software. We're not on the  
same boat as Ubuntu, which needs to be focused towards something quite  
different.
That said, we want to be the biggest multimedia focused linux distro, and  
we want to be easy to use for users who migrate from proprietary OSs.
Seasoned Linux users might choose other platforms, or they might not. It  
doesn't really matter. We're not leading the crusade on free software for  
multimedia enthusiasts in the strictest sense, but perhaps we are in a  
much more broader sense.

I for one don't want to make compromises for no reason, and AFAIK, the  
biggest non-free portion of a Ubuntu Studio install is a few kernel blobs.  
I guess one alternative would be to add a free kernel to the repo, and  
have to installation medias. One that is fully free, and the other that  
has non-free wifi drivers. Sounds quite reasonable to me.

I'm not seeing anything changing the nature of how free Ubuntu Studio is  
free.