Ubuntu is Driving Me Away

I have used Ubuntu exclusively since Feisty and have tested each new release from alpha on. I have always been a big booster of Ubuntu and am active on several help forums. Yet, despite all of this history together I am thinking seriously of leaving Planet Ubuntu. Here’s why Ubuntu is driving me away.

If there is anything that I feel is more important than any individual distribution, it is software freedom. It is what brought me to Linux in the first place. Ubuntu has managed to straddle a line that allows me to use what I want, putting the user in full command. In other words, I have had to add things to break with FOSS ideals, the so-called restricted extras. Except that is now a lie and I am really struggling with it.

You see, each time I install Ubuntu I have to strip out some things that I do not agree with and that should not be the case. If Canonical is to be consistent, I should not have to a a hypocrite about some things and not others. It is this inconsistency that is causing me to re-think Ubuntu.

The bone of contention for me is Mono. I remove it. I don’t like it. I refuse to use it. It rubs me the wrong way. Anything that starts with Microsoft and goes via the sellout, Novell, cannot be good.

I know that Microsoft is opposed to the existence of Linux. That have said so, often and stridently. I know that Novell caved in and did not stand up for FOSS when they had the chance. They have since apologized, sort of, but the damage is done. Other companies did not follow suit, including Red Hat and Canonical. I respect them for this as much as I detest Novell for selling us down the drain.

Mono is not only a reminder of that sellout, but its legal status is far from settled. Novell and Microsoft can’t agree on who can distribute it. Microsoft takes the position that their agreement only covers Novell and not other distributions. Novell thinks otherwise. I do not care. Nothing that comes from Microsoft can be for our good and benefit. They are dedicated to our destruction and downfall.

Mono has infected Gnome. Ubuntu uses Gnome. I switched to Kubuntu and am happy with it. Now Moonlight is infecting Linux. Canonical is compromising its principles in the use of them and in my using their products I am forced to compromise my own values.

Yes, I can strip out Mono. In fact, doing so gives me a thrill. But should I have to? If Canonical is to be consistent they should have Mono as an option, as they do with the restricted extras. I should not have to feel sullied after installing Ubuntu.

I can continue to use Kubuntu, but I am not sure where Canonical is taking me with that. Will Mono infect KDE or will Moonlight become a future issue that I will have to deal with? At this point, I have no confidence that they will continue to take a principled decision in supporting FOSS. That is the question that I keep running over in my mind.

The question for me is where to go? Fedora is dumping Mono. Debian is too. Kudos for them.

I am not keen on Fedora as a distribution. I have used it since Core 2 and have issues with it. It is hard for me to like. RPM is not for me, either. I have used it since Mandrake 7 and it has always let me down. It is just a question of when it breaks. Besides Fedora and every other RPM distro does not have the package selection that comes with Debian-based distros.

My problem with Debian is more complex. It will never become popular due to its philosophy and approach which is exclusive rather than inclusive. I have frequented their forums and I don’t like their take it or leave it attitude. It hardly encourages newcomers. It is too fascist for my taste. No flexiblity at all.

I do not like the rolling release model, either. Rolling releases mean that when you install you are installing knowing that it is already stale on the installation medium. You will have to do massive updates, post installation. You could do a net installation, but that isn’t good for newbies. The installer alone is daunting for a newbie. That means that I will have to give up much of what I do in help forums. I use Ubuntu because it is popular not for myself, but for others, so that I can help people get a start in Linux.

My third issue with Debian is that I have long held the view that “stable is for sissies”. I love trying the newest and the latest of everything. I don’t mind troubleshooting problems and doing a full re-installation if necessary. However, I don’t much like the idea of starting from scratch and doing tons of updates each time. With Ubuntu I have a new disk each six months to work from. Updating is modest since I am working from a new system that is at worst six months old. I could change to Sid and that is an option, if I can get past my other objections. I have used Sidux and that is an option, as is SimplyMEPIS.

At this point I would like to have Canonical see the light and distance itself from Mono and Moonlight. I don’t see that happening and time is running out for me. I will stick with Ubuntu or Kubuntu through Karmic Koala, but I don’t see much hope as things stand. Right now Canonical and Novell are too close to each other philosophically for my comfort. Gnome is a lost cause, IMO.

There are many alternatives to Mono. There is absolutely no need to use it. There are alternatives to every Mono application that for the most part are better. There are alternative programming environments as well. Most applications are written without resorting to .Net or Mono. It is sheer laziness, IMO. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if Mono did not exist then there would still be plenty of open source programmes. We have never needed short cuts before nor help from Microsoft.

I will never use Mono, just as I would never use Windows. Why use anything that is tainted when I can use something that is not? Mono and Novell are tainted and will be forever in my eyes. They are reminders that I don’t need on my computer that Microsoft is opposed to me and my way of thinking. They have never cared about me. They never will. I don’t want to entertain for a microsecond the idea that they do. If you do then you are only fooling yourself and Canonical is too if they do not see such an obvious threat to open source.  Microsoft always acts out of self interest and nothing they do should be taken at face value.