Hacking password

[bikebitsnbobs]

Yes, last time I downloaded it on a 2meg connection it took 45mins.

I suppose that is not good if you find waiting frustrating.

[bikebitsnbobs]

Indeed.

I understand that some people are willing to pay to do things the way they are comfortable, in which case it is probably a good way to get the product to people that would not otherwise use it. I will admit it is not a lot to pay if you are unable or unwilling to download/burn it.

And there is the fact you may have to wait up to 10 weeks from request to get your free disk from Ubuntu.

[Idealproductsales]

Yes ubuntu is free- the source code and software itself is free. but there is no way anyone can reasonably expect to get the media and the postage free if they buy it on a CD.. And also, There is a huge, massive mis conception about Free Software of this sort - under the GPL license - It is free as in freedom.. Not Free as in Beer. Meaning, the source code is open to anyone who wants to tinker around with it, HOWEVER, there is nothing to prevent someone from packaging and selling it as pay-for software. In fact, some companies DO. Also, Dell for example currently offers computers (or they did, last I knew of) with Ubuntu installed, instead of Windows. They sell the computer, hardware, installation ,support.. the software itself remains free and open source..


If I was on a slower connection, I very likely WOULD buy the CD-ROM, or if it was, for example, someone without a CD Burner (or someone logging on from library to order cause their old windows computer gave up and they are building another from parts but cant afford to buy a windows license, etc) - Lots of reasons people will BUY the software . not the least is the reason of supporting the project..

Matter of fact, you can buy yourself a stack of CD's or DVD's and burn copies of Ubuntu , or any other GPL/LGPL licensed software, and sell it right here on Ebid. Legally, without breaking any laws, *provided* that every copy goes unmodified, contains all the appropriate licensing information, etc, as described in the GPL license. Would it sell? Maybe once in a while.. See, the problem is so many places else to go to that provide it as a free download at no charge, it would be tough to be able to really sell it , other than as a provided service of "I downloaded it and burned it to CD-ROM which saves you time and bandwidth, I'll ship it to you for XX amount of money, if you think that is a fair deal."

It can also be a viable product if you can find obscure software that people might be looking for, and you know where to find it, you can sell that as well. - Problem is, some people might buy it , and then look a little closer at the license, and then get mad and feel like they had been ripped off because they could have downloaded it for free.. LOL

[bikebitsnbobs]

Yes ubuntu is free- the source code and software itself is free. but there is no way anyone can reasonably expect to get the media and the postage free if they buy it on a CD.. And also, There is a huge, massive mis conception about Free Software of this sort - under the GPL license - It is free as in freedom.. Not Free as in Beer. Meaning, the source code is open to anyone who wants to tinker around with it, HOWEVER, there is nothing to prevent someone from packaging and selling it as pay-for software. In fact, some companies DO. Also, Dell for example currently offers computers (or they did, last I knew of) with Ubuntu installed, instead of Windows. They sell the computer, hardware, installation ,support.. the software itself remains free and open source..


If I was on a slower connection, I very likely WOULD buy the CD-ROM, or if it was, for example, someone without a CD Burner (or someone logging on from library to order cause their old windows computer gave up and they are building another from parts but cant afford to buy a windows license, etc) - Lots of reasons people will BUY the software . not the least is the reason of supporting the project..

Matter of fact, you can buy yourself a stack of CD's or DVD's and burn copies of Ubuntu , or any other GPL/LGPL licensed software, and sell it right here on Ebid. Legally, without breaking any laws, *provided* that every copy goes unmodified, contains all the appropriate licensing information, etc, as described in the GPL license. Would it sell? Maybe once in a while.. See, the problem is so many places else to go to that provide it as a free download at no charge, it would be tough to be able to really sell it , other than as a provided service of "I downloaded it and burned it to CD-ROM which saves you time and bandwidth, I'll ship it to you for XX amount of money, if you think that is a fair deal."

It can also be a viable product if you can find obscure software that people might be looking for, and you know where to find it, you can sell that as well. - Problem is, some people might buy it , and then look a little closer at the license, and then get mad and feel like they had been ripped off because they could have downloaded it for free.. LOL

I was not questioning the legality of it at all.

I was just a little surprised to see that people are selling/buying it. Call me naive.

Yes ubuntu is free- the source code and software itself is free. but there is no way anyone can reasonably expect to get the media and the postage free if they buy it on a CD..

Ubuntu say they will send you a disc absolutely free of charge, no postage to pay. But, and it is a big but, it may take 6 - 10 weeks...

And, as said before, I can now see how it may be advantageous to some to simply pay a couple of quid for the convenience of having it drop through their letterbox already burned onto a CD within a few days. If I was unable to download or burn I would probably rather do that that than wait 10 weeks for a free disc in the post from Ubuntu.


Regarding the supporting of the project, I conceded previously “it is probably a good way to get the product to people that would not otherwise use it”

Having looked it seems Dell is currently supplying Microsoft Operating Systems with their hardware here in the UK.

Anyhow, having checked out the Ubuntu forums, and others, distribution appears to be a very well discussed subject. I don’t wish to inadvertently offend anyone or tread on any toes so I will humbly withdraw from what it would seem can be a hot topic in some circles.

[Idealproductsales]

Anyhow, having checked out the Ubuntu forums, and others, distribution appears to be a very well discussed subject. I don’t wish to inadvertently offend anyone or tread on any toes so I will humbly withdraw from what it would seem can be a hot topic in some circles.

LOL no worries. it isn't exactly a hot topic or touchy subject.. As far as I go, I'm a strong supporter of open source software (Note I try to take care not to say "free" lol ) and sometimes get a little verbose when discussing it..

I've been involved in Open Source software for years, myself, and try , at every opportunity, to express to people that it is "free as in freedom, not free as in beer" - There are many superb projects that people can download free (and even some are becoming mainstream- several government agencies are moving to linux, and using OpenOffice rather than M$ Office, for example) - Very often people see "free" and think "amateurs!"

Having worked with hundreds of Open Source software projects either as a user, installer, or developer, I do have to admit that there's a lot of trash to wade through (many many pieces of software written in php are simply horrible, written by programmers that do not have a clue how to write proper code..) - So it is rather a bit of an uphill battle for the really good projects to stand out from the crowd and shake off that "aura" of "it's free, so it's probably crap" point of view..

OpenOffice, The Gimp, Firefox, Thunderbird are 4 projects that immediately spring to mind as projects that have actually been able to break away from that label.. Ubuntu is coming along nicely.. and It's always pleasing to me to see their growth in user base and market share.. it isn't just us geeks using open source anymore