
Ubuntu's Bug #1 is fixed - daker
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1/comments/1834
======
cs702
Shuttleworth's well-articulated comment and decision to close bug #1 show the
kind of open-minded, flexible thinking I wish I would see more frequently from
other project leaders in the free/open source ecosystem.

The decision to close the bug reminds me of a quote attributed to John Maynard
Keynes. During the Great Depression, he was accused of changing his position
on monetary policy, to which he responded, _"When the facts change, I change
my mind. What do you do, sir?"_

As an Ubuntu user, I'm happy to see the project shifting its long-term goal
from "dethroning Microsoft on the desktop" to "delivering the best possible
experience for developers and regular people across all devices."

\--

Edits: added "on the desktop" to "dethroning Microsoft."

~~~
ealexhudson
The bug wasn't ever about dethroning Microsoft, though. The first few lines:

"Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace. This
is a bug which Ubuntu and other projects are meant to fix."

This bug hasn't been solved. Mark's comment is really saying that he doesn't
think it's a relevant bug any more - that desktop is no longer important.

I actually find that a particularly sad comment, and I'm not even sure it's
true.

Edit: I want to add (given your edit ;) that just because this was bug #1, it
doesn't mean it was the raison d'etre of the project. Maybe this bug is less
important now than in 2004; I disagree that it's "fixed" or that it's so
unimportant it should be closed. #1 being open doesn't mean Ubuntu is a
failure, far from it.

~~~
prawks
> he doesn't think it's a relevant bug any more - that desktop is no longer
> important.

I don't think the former implies the latter. The desktop can be (and is) still
important, it's just that such a narrow view isn't healthy for such a large
project.

~~~
zanny
> t's just that such a narrow view

I'd argue its focus and specialization, something Ubuntu lacks. The TV and
Ubuntu-on-Android products have not yet seen anything noteworthy happen, the
phone might do something but they are jumping in a big pond. Their lack of
focus on the desktop and the resulting obsolescence of their software (the
software center, from 2008, mainly, but also compiz and upstart) is hurting
the primary product people engage with them for, and it is for a grander
scheme that isn't playing out.

Yet, at least. I would never write Canonical off from eventually having one OS
and thematic style to run on everything from phones to tvs to pcs to cars etc.
It just doesn't look like it is coming soon, and their core product suffers
for it. (I've switched my relatives to openSuse just because systemd + yast +
software.opensuse.org is much nicer than searching launchpad).

~~~
prawks
> something Ubuntu lacks

If Ubuntu lacks a solid base from which to build the rest of its empire off
of, then that's likely worth its own defect. That prerequisite is just kind of
common sense in most business models.

I don't use Ubuntu or know enough about it to say for sure, but I don't think
probing other spaces for opportunities is a bad idea. It's not difficult to
understand the desire to not be a one-trick pony. However if those probes
distract from their main offering (which has been the desktop, though this
sort of discussion makes it seem like it may not be for long) then they are
obviously a bad idea.

------
venomsnake
So the company that created vast, stable, open and insanely backwards
compatible ecosystem is now dethroned. The majority of what displaced it is
locked bootloaders, no root and censorship enabled app stores.

Everything is open except the end user access to computing resources. Pyrrhic
victory if I had ever seen one.

~~~
ebbv
Oh my god I am so tired of seeing comments like this one on the internet.

1) Most users do not need or want root access to their mobile phones or even
_any_ of their devices. There's a reason that in UNIX land users and root are
separate things.

2) If you really want root, you CAN get it. Yes some manufacturers make it
harder than others, but that's again because 99.99...% of users have no need
or desire for it, and making it easier for the tiny, tiny number of people who
want it is not a worthwhile investment.

Now you can argue that their efforts to make it even harder to get root access
are shitty, and I won't disagree with you, but nobody's forcing you to buy
these devices.

3) DOS/Windows 95/etc. are not awesome. Pretending it's awesome just because
it was "open" (no permission system) and "backwards compatible" (debatable in
many cases) is stupid. You're letting nostalgia or your hatred for "closed"
systems bias you. Just because thing A isn't perfect doesn't make thing B
great. Both thing A and thing B can be shitty, or they can both be good.

4) Linux is fucking everywhere in 2013. It owns the web. It is on most mobile
phones. Even Apple devices are running a fork of BSD. So, how is this a
Pyrrhic victory? Just because it's not _exactly_ what _you_ want? I'm so
sorry.

There's a, frankly, revolting tendency in geek culture to be absolutist. That
if something is not 100%, exactly, totally, purely aligned to your personal
vision it's fucking garbage, or worse, _evil_ and _bad_. This is childish and
it's time to grow up.

~~~
venomsnake
1) When the user owns the device it is up to him to decide what to do with it
and not the manufacturer. So while they may not have the need for it, they
definitely have the right to it if they so desire.

2) No you cant. You must use exploits/vulnerabilities usually. The only vendor
that I know of that just sends you unlock code on request is HTC.

3) Yesterday I played Diablo 1 on my windows 8 machine. 3 months before that -
Lotus (the game). That is measured in decades. How backwards capability is
debatable.

4) Yes linux is everywhere. But invisible - moving the servers, or hidden
below deep layers of customized software in the consumer devices. The linux
ideology - nowhere to be seen.

Having the ability to run simple firewall to control what processes use your
data plan is hardly absolutism. Or editing memory value of a running process.

Edit: Do you support the Chinese Great Firewall - because there is no
difference in restricting access to internet and to software in principle?

~~~
ebbv
1) Your response has nothing at all to do with my original point.

2) I didn't say you can do it easily, I said you CAN do it.

3) Yes and I can run decades old UNIX software on OS X or Ubuntu. So what?

My point about debatable backwards compatibility is that some old DOS software
does NOT work well in modern Windows. Some does, some doesn't. If you haven't
experienced problems, lucky you.

4) You made my point for me here.

I'm not arguing any further, you're clearly a zealot, and have exactly the
kind of attitude I was talking about.

~~~
raylu
> That if something is not 100%, exactly, totally, purely aligned to your
> personal vision it's fucking garbage, or worse, evil and bad.

> I'm not arguing any further, you're clearly a zealot

------
tantaman
"Non-free software leaves users at the mercy of the software owner and
concentrates control over the technology which powers our society into the
hands of a few."

Does anyone else think that things have gotten worse since bug #1, not better?
I feel more trapped and locked in by today's platforms than I ever did in an
MS world. E.g. app store, google play, amazon whatever, cloud-hosted
applications that all charge monthly fees, hosts of applications changing
their terms and locking you out of your data or randomly shutting down their
services entirely... r.i.p. google notebook, reader, knoll, etc. r.i.p. sims,
jet-set-secrets

~~~
nullc
Indeed. It doesn't surprise me that the actual freedom available to users
wouldn't be important to them, but it surprises me that the Bug#1 would have
spoken so clearly about it if they didn't understand the issue.

------
tlarkworthy
Bug #1

"Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace. This
is a bug which Ubuntu and other projects are meant to fix. As the philosophy
of the Ubuntu Project states, "Our work is driven by a belief that software
should be free and accessible to all."

"Ubuntu software is free. Always was, always will be. Free software gives
everyone the freedom to use it however they want and share with whoever they
like. This freedom has huge benefits. At one end of the spectrum it enables
the Ubuntu community to grow and share its collective experience and expertise
to continually improve all things Ubuntu. At the other, we are able to give
access to essential software for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it – an
advantage that’s keenly felt by individuals and organisations all over the
world." * <http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/our-philosophy>

Non-free software leaves users at the mercy of the software owner and
concentrates control over the technology which powers our society into the
hands of a few. Additionally, proprietary software stifles innovation,
maintains artificial scarcities, and enables malicious anti-features such as
DRM, surveillance, and other monopolistic practices.

... etc ...

A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software.

    
    
         * http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
         * http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines
         * http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd

~~~
reedlaw

      What should happen:
    
      A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software.
    

This bug is still far from fixed by this measure. There seem to be only a tiny
handful of PCs that only include free software.[1][2] Only a single laptop
includes a free BIOS!

1\. <http://www.gnewsense.org/Main/LaptopGuide>

2\. <http://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:Hardware/Freest>

~~~
raylu
My real beef is how readily Ubuntu installs proprietary software (like binary
drivers) while having this "bug" in its tracker.

Yes, yes, if you want to get anything done _now_ , you need those drivers. And
a lot of users wouldn't use Linux at all if they couldn't get what they wanted
_now_.

But the long-term implications of giving into hardware manufacturers is you
will _never_ get an open driver. Ubuntu does not care about free software at
all (whether or not for good reason) and it annoys me that they pretend to.

------
veidr
I agree that the bug should be closed, but it should be closed as INVALID, or
perhaps WONTFIX (since Ubuntu certainly won't be the one to fix this 'bug').

Closing it as "Fix Released" doesn't make sense.

~~~
B-Con
The fix has happened, it's just that most of the lifting came from other
people and a change in circumstances. I think it makes sense.

~~~
ivanca
From the bug:

> What should happen:

> A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software.

So exactly what definition of "free" are you using to believe this bug is now
fixed?

~~~
etha
Do you always follow the suggested resolution 100%?

------
denzil_correa
Two very important snippets from comment #1834 on Bug#1.

[1] : But it's better for us to focus our intent on excellence in our own
right, rather than our impact on someone else's product.

I can't help but remembering a similar move by Steve Jobs once he took over
Apple in 1997. Ubuntu doesn't mean "anti-Microsoft" it means (or should rather
mean) "great Ubuntu". Now, whether they are able to do that in practice is a
different thing but intent is a good place to start with.

[2] : For Ubuntu, our goal remains to deliver fantastic experiences: for
developers, for people building out production infrastructure, and for end-
users on a range of devices. We are doing all of that in an environment that
changes completely every decade. So we have to be willing to make big changes
ourselves - in our processes, our practices, our tools, and our relationships.
Change this bug status is but a tiny example.

The key phrase here for me is the one where he lists changes - __in our
processes, our practices, our tools, and our relationships __. This shows
aversion to rigidity and adapting to times. I also think the little change
there titled "relationships" means a lot. I don't think as an organization you
want to be particularly hostile towards your competitors (in particular in
words). I always feel that if one needs to be hostile (and/or aggressive); one
needs to do that in deeds and not in words i.e. build the best product
possible out there using your skills and beat your competitors fair and
square. I would assume, nothing is (or hope so) more satisfying than that.

~~~
YokoZar
I edited the bug itself to include a direct link to Mark's comment:
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1/comments/1834>

Somehow I felt like I was disturbing the universe doing such a thing.

------
Fuxy
Anybody feel like taking a shower after reading that or is it just me?

I mean the bug was basically the inability of customers to purchase a computer
with the software/OS of their choice.

As far as i can tell i still can't purchase a system without windows unless i
build it myself.

So what is the reason for closing the bug? Some marketing speech about
changing goals etc. I'm sure that's inspirational and all and I'm glad they
found a better goal but that doesn't fix this problem.

~~~
lexy0202
Umm.. Macs?

~~~
raylu
Well, specifically running only free software. While Ubuntu falls short of
that goal, OS X is not even in the same league.

------
SeanDav
I guess it is also time to put that old joke to bed as well:

"Question: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: None, they just change the standard to darkness."

~~~
dietrichepp
I always heard the joke as:

Answer: More.

I thought of this as less of a jab at Microsoft software quality and more of a
jab at Microsoft's attitude towards software complexity. If we keep using the
lightbulb as a metaphor, we keep the old on/off API and add a dimmer switch
which can be controlled over the network, an access control list, and a
structure which can define the light bulb's color, direction, luminosity, et
cetera. With enough engineers, you can design the last light bulb you'll ever
need.

The Open Source way is to have seventeen different teams design seventeen
different lightbulbs, including one that can scale to 5000W and cause
immediate retina damage, and a 1/4W red LED barely bright enough to read by
which light bulb users on forums swear by because it's not bloated, and a
Gnome light bulb which removed the dimmer in version 3 because only 5% of the
user base was even aware that the dimmer existed. It still takes tons of
engineers, only now they're all working on different light bulbs.

The Apple light bulb is a plain white CFL, with a CRI of 96, a 6500K
temperature, and a proprietary on/off switch with no moving parts. It is
available as both 14W and 24W. The light bulb has not been updated in a while
now that Apple focuses on the flashlight business.

~~~
SeanDav
My version is from the days when Microsoft software was completely bug free.
It had no bugs, only "features". True arrogance.

I think I prefer your version though!

~~~
chimeracoder
So, ironically, your version of the joke would apply perfectly well to Apple
today.

My how the tables have turned - everything old is new again!

------
josteink
Watching this thread shows us exactly why Linux never made it on the desktop:

Instead of acknowledging all the change which has happened since this bug was
filed, you have endless bickering about details and a "Linux"-community full
of people unable to agree about anything, not even their own victory.

Only when these people were removed from the equation and replaced with market
and user-oriented people (ref the creation of Android), was Linux able to
garnish a majority share.

It's sad in itself, and sadly enough, it's even predictable.

------
rgbrenner
It's kind of a silly bug report (IMO).. so I don't oppose it being closed..
but the first line of the report is "Microsoft has a majority market share in
the new desktop PC marketplace."

That's still true.

<https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1>

------
motter
"...it's better for us to focus our intent on excellence in our own right,
rather than our impact on someone else's product."

This, in my view, is the salient point for startups when faced with
competition. It's too easy to get distracted by zero-sum thinking.

------
dave1010uk
The problem reported by the issue is

    
    
        "A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software."
    

This may have been "resolved" but I don't think this has been "fixed".
Shuttleworth's comment makes it sound like this issue is either invalid or a
won't fix.

Even Chrome and Android devices that are available in local PC stores almost
always include proprietary software. Perhaps I am missing something but is
Shuttleworth now saying that non-free software isn't a problem?

~~~
cbhl
A valid concern, but x86/x86_64-based Chromebooks have a F/OSS BIOS and
drivers -- for example, Google went out of their way to contribute the
relevant bits to coreboot.

Installing GNU/Linux on such systems is straightforward and well-documented
(flip the physical or virtual developer switch; enable USB boot from a shell;
boot installer or OS from USB) too.

Proprietary firmware means dealing with stupid things like hard-coded checks
for "Windows Boot Manager" or "Red Hat Enterprise Linux" in UEFI firmware
(<http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/20187.html>).

~~~
dave1010uk
That's good to know. So are we now saying that proprietary software on a
device is fine, as long as it can easily be replaced with fully open source
software?

~~~
cbhl
I personally think that the proprietary software on Chromebooks is a means to
an end -- the functionality provided by the proprietary software appeases
retailers enough to get them to sell it.

~~~
dave1010uk
Agreed. This is definitely good progress, but (going back to the bug report)
this issue hasn't been completed yet, so should still be open.

------
Aardwolf
Where should one go for a future proof DESKTOP OS these days?

Many are ruining the desktop experience because "mobile". KDE seems to be the
only UI remaining that is sane for the desktop.

~~~
Jach
I've been happily using Gentoo since 2006 or 2007 across different machines
and expect to continue using it for at least the next 5 years, but it's not
for everyone. I usually hear nice things about Arch, it's been around just as
long. For an Ubuntu replacement that looks like it's going to be around for a
while, there's Mint.. though I tried it recently and didn't like it and
thought parts were poorly designed if they're trying to target an audience
that doesn't even know what a shell is.

On Gentoo I'm still using the last release of gnome2. Xfce4 is almost as good,
and for newbies I tend to recommend Xubuntu and Mint together for them to
choose... MATE is a community fork of gnome2, a version of which is on Mint
(that I don't like as much as vanilla gnome2).

~~~
raylu
> I usually hear nice things about Arch

That's because you're hanging out with too many Gentoo users.

The Arch Way[1] is stupid. Less broadly, it's a poor, knee-jerk reaction to
Debian maintainers' over-zealous patching of software. Trusting upstream
software maintainers to properly tag "stable" releases (which means something
different for everyone) and to work with the rest of the software in the
system is a mistake. Also, that's _the entire point_ of package maintainers
maintaining repositories.

But that's OK. Something went wrong (again)? Just downgrade[2]!

1\. Hope that the old package is in your cache

2\. Hope that some repo mirror is out of date

3\. Profit???

[1]: <https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/The_Arch_Way>

[2]:
[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Downgrading_Packages#Fi...](https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Downgrading_Packages#Finding_your_older_version)

------
piqufoh
Bug #1 #open -> #won't fix

------
klrr
I only find this sad, while everyone goes mobile Ubuntu could have stayed with
a focus on desktop and maybe become dominant in that market, at least for
developers. Desktop computers won't die since it's the platform of choice when
producing software, digital media etc.

------
Shorel
Ubuntu is building a common platform for Desktop, Tablet and Phone devices,
and actually a consequence of that is that some very vocal desktop users do
not like it at all.

It is seen everywhere Ubuntu is mentioned, with a comment along the lines of
"forget Ubuntu, install Mint! (because it looks like Ubuntu used to do about 4
years ago)".

This bug closing has more to do with aligning the general strategy towards
multi-form-factor, that is, less focus on desktop-only stuff.

Having said that, I think Ubuntu desktop is absolutely great for power users,
you simply learn some new shortcuts and that's it.

------
theg2
Oh, we're still fighting this "war"?

Software is about choice and productivity. It's great that we have choices and
I embrace a variety of them throughout my personal and professional life, but
this "us against them" philosophy belongs in a boardroom and not in the hands
of users and creatives.

We can say Ubuntu has come a long way (and it has) and that it's done a lot
for gaining mind share (bingo), but a huge turn off for me in OSS is this "us
against THE MAN" philosophy, why can't software just be software, a means of
expression that you gives you choice?

~~~
thiderman
>Oh, we're still fighting this "war"?

No, we're not. That's pretty much the point of the comment and the closing of
the bug.

------
duggieawesome
Bug #1 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1>

The comment thread is a great read.

------
mwfunk
Some comments have said: it's a silly bug, but the condition is still true so
WTF? I would like to think that it was finally closed at least partially
because it was a silly bug and this is an acknowledgement of its silliness,
and the degree to which it become ever more silly over the years.

It would've been well-intentioned but probably misguided if it existed in
1997. It was mildly silly in 2004, but monumentally silly in 2013.

In the Linux community (or politics, or business, or professional sports, or
entertainment gossip, or any number of other things that people follow),
people have a natural tendency to create ongoing dramatic narratives about
what's going on in whatever thing it is that they're following. These
narratives (certainly the Linux and sports and politics ones) always involve
divvying up the participants into goodguys and badguys and us and them, in the
most reductive and intellectually dishonest way possible. But, I guess it
makes everything fun and exciting, and for people who don't actually know (or
want to know?) how complicated and unknowable everything is, it gives them a
sense of belonging and makes them feel like they understand what's really
going on in the world.

Rush Limbaugh has often said things like, "I take things that are complicated
and make them simple. I figure all of this stuff out so you don't have to."
That tells you pretty much all you need to know about him, and the people he
appeals to. I'm not picking on the right, I could throw any number of
demagogues on the left into the same category. Anyway, unsurprisingly, the
simplified narratives that these people always present are all about how
everything's black and white and how this one group of people have all the
answers. They could make everything better if only this other group of people,
who are chock full of evil and malice towards you, would let them.

In politics, this kind of reductionist tribalism is actually really messed up,
because it influences the government in real ways. Among sports fans, being a
reductionist tribal idiot is not that big of a deal, because it's all in good
fun and the worst case scenario is you might have to stumble across some guy's
stupid rant about how the Raiders are the root of all evil and the people of
Oakland are actually bad human beings by mere association.

In the Linux community...I don't know. If you think of it as a fun hobby for a
bunch of CS students, engaging in a little reductionist tribal idiocy is
possibly amusing, possibly annoying, but pretty harmless. However, at some
point as a project becomes larger and more meaningful to more people, I think
it actually gets in the way of the community's ability to cohere around truly
meaningful goals and ideals. It needs to grow up, basically, and it doesn't
need to engage in dumb demagoguery to move forward- it's reached a point where
dumb demagoguery may actually hold it back. In 2013, fear and loathing with
regard to MS is a pointless distraction. Brain cells devoted to hand-wringing
about some imagined Evil Empire are brain cells not spent creating cool and
useful things.

~~~
ivanca
Yeah, damn those silly kids engaging in a little reductionist tribal idiocy.
Those same silly kids whining against DRM in HTML; that's some serious attack
against progress, those kids that are against the right of the government to
see your emails; that's some serious attack against our beloved authorities,
and those are the same kids that will stand against the government if they
decide to force a required pre-approval of any message we post on the
internet; but they would have some good reason for doing that so those silly
kids are just going against the truly meaningful goals and ideals that will
improve our society.

~~~
mwfunk
That's a complete misreading of what I wrote, I wasn't talking about a single
thing you brought up. But if you think everything is that simple and black-
and-white, and think that anyone who who disagrees with you just doesn't know
the facts or is some sort of hollow, evil person, then have fun with that. It
feels very empowering while it lasts.

~~~
ivanca
I'm just pointing out those are the same people; so yeah; I want more of those
silly kids; all you are saying about capitalism leading us to "greater values"
is just bullshit; we have seen in from hundreds of years now and is just
getting worst if you take a look around. Sony patented a system where you have
to say out loud the name of the product being promoted to close an
advertisement; just 10 years ago that would be material for a parody, today is
a reality (not kidding).

Of course is not black and white but that includes your "black & white"
version of the world.

------
MrBra
Ubuntu's new bug #1: Linux Mint

------
nottombrown
This is an excellent example of leadership. Shuttleworth describes their
accomplishments and new goals very clearly.

Ubuntu has certainly been a pleasure to use on the cloud. Congratulations to
all the contributors.

------
schlecht
Despite the small detail that Ubuntu was not at all instrumental in the
progression of Android, I think that this was a well written piece, and came
at a time where Linux as a whole deserved it.

------
skrebbel
From the original bug report:

> _Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace._

If they were entirely honest, they would've set it to _wontfix_.

------
walshemj
That's not a bug thats a pious and wishywashy mission statement.

Does Linux and FOSS movement want to be known as the Lib-Dems of the software
world :-)

------
PlaneSploit
wontfix

~~~
shortstuffsushi
By far my favorite response to a confirmed bug. We use Jira, and unfortunately
don't have that option configured, it's always a fun one to use ;)

~~~
sebnukem2
"wf;fu"

------
boomlinde
At least mark it as "rejected" -- the problems presented in the ticket have
not been fixed.

------
shmerl
I'd say this bug will be fixed only when Windows tax will be gone forever.

------
JackpotDen
>bug Closed, overtaken by events.

Not exactly fixed. Also, moving the goalposts.

------
fixxer
Now if I could just get Ubuntu running bug-free on my Nexus 7...

------
mp99e99
This is pretty cool. thanks for posting

------
qwerta
Microsoft just become irrelevant :-)

~~~
pmelendez
I don't think irrelevant is appropriate. Microsoft has very talented people on
board and it keeps introducing novel products (Kinect, WP8,etc) You might like
them or not but one has to give credit to try new approaches.

They are not the unstoppable force that they were before but I think that
calling them irrelevant is a bit too much.

~~~
sp332
I have a WP8 phone and love it, but even I can admit that with ~1%
marketshare, WP8 is irrelevant. Most people don't own a console, so having a
slice of that market doesn't really help either. Having talented people
doesn't automatically make people care about your products.

~~~
Zigurd
I don't think it's the 1% market share that's their biggest problem. The
problem is that Microsoft isn't competitive as an ecosystem. Bing search,
Hotmail, whatever Microsoft has for music or maps etc. are not what people are
using. Yahoo is doing more to attract and retain ecosystem users.

Or look at it this way: It's not about selling a phone OS. It's about the
ecosystem behind the devices.

~~~
assemble
There are a lot more who use their ecosystem than you think. All of their
services work very well together, the Music and Video services have anything I
could ever want (seriously, more current TV shows than anywhere else I've
seen), the email calendar and other things work together, Skydrive is
incredibly useful.

If you don't think Microsoft's ecosystem is competitive, it tells me you
haven't tried it.

~~~
sp332
I didn't even know MS had a video service. A little Googling and I got to
"Xbox Video". I thought that was only available via the Windows 8 app (or
Xbox) but it looks like any Silverlight-capable browser will work. e.g.
[http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/TVShow/The-
Guild/Season/0/...](http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-US/TVShow/The-
Guild/Season/0/c1e74f93-c25c-4a24-b2c9-8b83201ae4f9)

------
blahx3
Bug #2

Proprietary software and adverts in Ubuntu

------
monomaniar
God bless.

------
JulianMorrison
Microsoft are still scary and evil (cf: the new XBox and its snoopery), they
are just scary and evil and _small_. For which I can only say thank goodness,
and long may it last.

~~~
cmircea
Microsoft is small? In comparison to what?

~~~
Zigurd
How many phones run Microsoft? What else matters?

~~~
unethical_ban
How many business workstations run Linux? How many enterprise mailservers run
Postfix? How many governments have /actually/ switched to LibreOffice?

~~~
Zigurd
The typical computing customer today would have no idea what Postfix or Libre
Office are, nor would they know what Azure is. The whole issue of what matters
has shifted out from under those things.

~~~
cmircea
Nor do they care about AWS, Linode and anything related to servers for that
matter.

Yet those domains earn a lot of cash for everyone involved, billions of
dollars. There are a shitload more things that matter 10 times more than Angry
Birds devices.

