gNewSense Distro Frees Ubuntu

Linux.com (who shares corporate overlords with Slashdot) is reporting that gNewSense has gone 2.0. For the uninitiated gNewSense is a stripped down version of Ubuntu's Hardy Heron for the free software purist. Removing over 100 pieces of proprietary code and firmware, gNewSense offers a user the ability to run an OS where everything is able to be studied, changed, and redistributed. "gNewSense is a great alternative to Gobuntu, the Canonical-sponsored free derivative of Ubuntu. According to its wiki page, the 8.04 version of Gobuntu hasn't been released due to a less-than-optimal reaction from the community. Gobuntu used the same repositories as Ubuntu, and the Ubuntu live CD can achieve the same installation as Gobuntu by merely selecting the free-software-only option in the installer (press F6 twice at the boot menu). Also, Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu, has indicated that he would rather focus on gNewSense because the work on that distribution can help the Ubuntu community as a whole. "

Comments

OK, fine...

[jamstar7]

Now there's a Ubuntu knockoff that developers will like because of the totally free software basis of this distro. But as the article says, it's not for everybody. Who wants to give up their wireless networking capability on a notebook? Not me. Who wants to give up 3D capability in X? Not me.

Re:the name?

[UncleTogie]

If your sales/marketing department can't find a way to sell something that's free, then you're in trouble...

We do quite a number of Ubuntu installs per month. If I wanted, I could substitute gNewSense and the users wouldn't really notice the difference in most cases.

We get paid for these installs, too. It supports my family quite nicely... so try pulling someone else's leg...

Re:the name?

[el americano]

First of all, this is a dupe: http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/01/1153204

Secondly, there is already a free version of Ubuntu, called Gobuntu. gNewSense exists because "pure" isn't good enough for some people. Some of the issues were:

-Gobuntu uses the Ubuntu repositories, so you could, if you wanted, install non-free software.
-The binaries had non-free removed, but the source packages, if you downloaded them, would not.
-Some Ubuntu OS "enhancements" encouraged the downloading of proprietary software.
-Gobuntu/Ubuntu development uses Launchpad, which is a non-open-source server application. (Nevermind that it's not runnning on your computer. Nevermind that you couldn't modify Canonical's version even if it was OSS. Nevermind that these same people use Google, etc.)

So, if any of these reasons make any sense to you, or if you'd just like a pat on the back from RMS, then gNS might be for you.