In the past few days we have seen a debate explode over the inclusion of a EULA in the version of Firefox to be included in future Ubuntu releases. Some argue that Ubuntu should just leave the EULA in, while others argue that something like IceWeasel, an unbranded version of Firefox, should be included. I am not prepared to take a side in this argument, but I do think that this argument is important.

In the rest of the software world, no one would blink an eye at this change. In the free software world, though, it spurs a major argument? While this might seem a little crazy to an outsider, it is important that we not simply give in to the way the rest of the world works.

I see this as similar to the way Microsoft treats increasing computer resources. They view it as an excuse to let more bloat into their operating system. The most recent version of Ubuntu with Compiz set to “Extra,” on the other hand, still runs (fast) on my Dimension 2400 from 4 years ago or so that has 512MB of RAM and a Pentium 4 processor. Ubuntu could simply give in to the “norm” of computers (to use more and more resources), but it has not. As a result, this otherwise-junk computer that I am typing on now is more than usable.

Just like the hardware situation, Ubuntu could simply give in and let the user deal with EULAs popping up everywhere, but they don’t.

If Firefox has to have a EULA pop up once, it won’t be the end of the world. I am just glad to see that this argument is happening, instead of everyone ignoring it and passing it off as “normal.”

This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 10:47 pm and is filed under Ubuntu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.