I wish I could get more information before throwing in my two cents, but here goes:
I tend to agree with most of the comments here. I like working with Debian and think that the package managmenent tool is the best of the distributions that I've worked with. I also like the fact that as things now stand if I'm missing something, all I have to do is pop in the url or ftp address and the distro does the rest. I also have a lot of respect for the convictions of the the creators of Debian and their steadfast belief that (forgive my grievous oversimplification. My only rationale is that I'm trying to address the one issue) good code is something everyone should share. But it does cost money to put the non-free stuff on servers and as useful as these apps are, I can see the developer's point that these packages go against the unique niche/mission that this distribution is trying to fulfill. But I can't help thinking that there must be some room for compromise here. If the Debian developers don't want to support non-free software, I'm inclined to agree that that is their prerogative. Nonetheless, I don't see why the carrying of non-free files is an issue with respect to package management. If a 19 year old (no offense to the 19 year old) can come up with a program like the Napster that is currently turning the music industry and the judicial system upside down trying to figure out what to do, why can't the best and brightest of the Open Source Development community put something like this to better use and code an apt-search function into dpkg that uses similar technology to give end users access to the non-free apps they are used to having? If Debian went to some kind of file-sharing system like the Napster, they would only have to carry library header information on non-free files instead, no? --- Randy Edwards <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > A typical newbie won't start with Debian > > While that is probably true, I don't think that > should be the basis for > Debian's mode of operation. Debian needs new users > and it needs to be > designed to appeal to new users while still > maintaining the qualities that > separate it from the other GNU/Linux distributions. > > -- > Regards, | Debian GNU/Linux - http://www.debian.org > - More software than > . | *any* distribution, rock solid > reliability, quality control, > Randy | seamless upgrades via ftp or CD-ROM, > strict filesystem layout, > | adherence to standards, and militantly > 100% FREE GNU/Linux! > > > -- > Unsubscribe? mail -s unsubscribe > [EMAIL PROTECTED] < /dev/null > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos -- now, 100 FREE prints! http://photos.yahoo.com
