Hi all. wasim, here fellow linux fan but no longer a linux zealot. I think there are 2 sides to the "Open Source Buisiness Model". Side 1: Closed + open = choice and profit Eg: Xandros Xandros, Suse, Companies Like these have had great market growth, Great innovation, And have grown up with reality: That is, Closed source + Open Source = innovation, market growth, and better computing. Look at the continuing inclusion of Nvidia and ATI drivers, sound Eg, Etc, in Opensuse, SLED, and Xandros. Even Linus himself has come around and supported this business model. Closed + open does not eqaul evil, or lack of progress. Side 2: Redhat/Debian etc RedHat is thne ONLY company to have made a profit + exposure, in the IT business from "pure" Open Source. I think it's still debatable how pure it is, but anyway, it shows that You CAN make profit from "pur5e" OS Business. Side 3 : Ubuntu/Canonical: Ubuntu to me, is the best OS Linux hands down. Sure, Debain is in here too, but I have PPPoe internet at my place, DHCP internet, at my mum's. I have not been able to get PPPOe gpoing on Ubuntu yet. And yes , I have tired older and newer versions, + ubuntu/linux mint etc. I found the option "PPPoe Internetr" under Network section of admin menu. But, I tried, i could not get a connection. Sure, You might say ":what about checking cables , etc?'. But I did it under Windows Fine, Ansd opensuse as well. I don't think it is a lack of knowledge on my part, could just be a technicality that i have not noticed. So, 1) I would LOVE all above business models tpo be accepted as kosher, and any others, eg as well as mixed licensing would be great. I have never found a distro, that I could take and say" Hey I'm going to take this one, run it on all my machines, and forget the upgrade, crossgrade, and standardising nightmare. I REALLY want to have a distro that I can standardise on for purely practical purposes(I can use just 1 version as well, wait until the updates reun out), so I acn run say quanta, on all desktops(eg for standarised web devel needs), or maybe eclipse on all of them for sytandarised devel, etc. I have not found one that does. Suse does not include quanta anymore. On Opoensuse, there is no eclipse, But that's less of a worry I wish there was one and ONLY one codebase, for packages eg, ( everyone come to ubuntu and Redhat based combined repository_, and any package you need , our distors are preconfigured for all the packges under the sun. No more sources.listX8 hell, and no more yum lists x 8 hell. This is my major gripe. The progblem is not no buisiness model, prob is no standard way of creating a proper distro. business wise, linux has all the hype it needs, but we need good standrds too my 2 cents »

Hi mark! yes kudos and MANY MANY great thanks for ubuntu!. Love It. I dual boot it with xp. Still looking for a way to run a tv card on it. I guess i would have to get a linux compatible chipset. I LOVE the effects of beryl eyc that i have on 8.04! I don't have the money for vista either so it is great! Thank god for ubuntu and fireofx!. We just need a ubuntu or ff in the gaming world to conquer our desktop!t Congratulations and god speed on the open source future! wasim »