On Mon, 2004-06-07 at 23:42, Paul Thompson wrote:
There *is* MP3, DVD, CD-RW, etc, drivers, codecs and apps in the CD-RW/DVD OEM drive box (for free as in beer). I can also name 20 places within walking distance of where I am now that I can buy it cheaply.
And also probably get a dose of spyware along with your software.
I don't mind spending a few bucks--I for one English-speaker am not confused about 'Free as in Freedom not as in Free Beer'. Why don't the OEM Disto integrators offer a +US$20 SuSE Multimedia/Home User Option to have all the missing bits working without having to rake them together an install them. We seem to be choking in anti-proprietry ideology.
No. It's just that that would cost more money. You mention Windows as an example of an OS that gives you this for free, but there's a reason for this, you know. For starters, it's subsidized by the hardware manufacturers. When you buy a desktop with all kinds of software pre-loaded, do you think Microsoft was responsible for that? No. Dell, Compaq, etc. made that happen. They negotiated a bulk license for WinDVD or the mp3 player or whatever so you could use it. Same with Microsoft. if they included it, they paid the royalties and they probably got a good deal because they're a monopoly. Preston