Is Ubuntu CE Needed?


I read a review of Ubuntu CE (Christian Edition) over at tuxmachines.org. If you take a look at the comments, you’ll notice that the reviewer, srlinuxx, received an email from the developer of Ubuntu CE and posted it. You can also read my response to that email. What it boiled down to was that the author thought the review was a bit unfair…but I’ve got to tell you, if there is one place on the face of the planet that I go for FAIR and BALANCED Linux reviews, it’s Tuxmachines.org. I go there before I go to madpenguin.org, desktoplinux.com, newsforge.com, anywhere.tv. It’s my number one stop to see what new distros are like and what old distros new releases are doing. It’s also a great stop to see the latest alpha builds from the heavy hitters in Linux. Never have I seen srlinuxx give praise where it wasn’t deserved, nor criticism where it wasn’t needed. In this case, she stated:

“I can’t see how a wallpaper, a script, and one app can warrant a whole
separate distribution, but there ya go. (I guess it’s three apps -
should we count automatix and gnucash too?) It worked well and
performance of the system in general was above average. It works good,
I just can’t see the point of a whole distribution for this. Why didn’t
they just send in the two packages for inclusion in Ubuntu’s software
repository?”

I must agree. Despite good intentions and an so called “apparent need,” I’d say that the developers and supporters are going in the wrong direction…they’re trying to repackage an already great distro and re-brand it with a label and an idea. It’s not working and it’s taking away from what they originally set out to accomplish.

If we take a look at the mission statement on the Ubuntu Christian Edition homepage, it states “To bring the power of Ubuntu Linux, combined with the best Open Source Christian software, to the world”. The mission statement could be accomplished by NOT offering a distro and providing a couple of meta packages available for download or perhaps a script that could run for users and install all the software they might need through a repository. It could even be a CD/DVD with Christian software on it that could be added as a CD/DVD repository allowing installation of said software. But does it need to be an entirely rebranded distro? Not in my opinion. It’s overkill and it’s duplication of efforts. It’s inefficient. It leads me to believe there are ulterior motives to producing this distro.

I know it’s well within the right of the developer to release and develop this distro. That I have no problem with. What bothers me about this is that the word “Christian” is exploited while making this distro. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no devout Catholic or raging Baptist…but I did sleep in a Holiday Inn Express last night :) . To me, Christianity is so diluted in today’s society. Look at Wikipedia for the word Christians and you’ll see Trinitarian Christians and NonTrinitarian Christians. Which group is Ubuntu CE targeting? Both? That can’t be as most NonTrinitarians don’t use the translations of the Bible included with the distro in Gnomesword. So which is it?

“Almost all distros’ criteria are easily defined because they don’t try to cater to a philisophical concept…they cater to set groups of people. They cater to usability groups not ambiguous ideas.”

This is my second point (the first being in harmony with Tuxmachines conclusion that what’s installed doesn’t warrant a separate distro)…that is, how does one hit their target audience if one cannot define that target audience. For example, let’s say I make Swahili Linux. Everyone knows that my target audience are those individuals who speak and use Swahili. Perhaps I make a Slax derrivative. Everyone would know that I’m targeting desktop Slackware users. Almost all distros’ criteria are easily defined because they don’t try to cater to a philisophical concept…they cater to set groups of people. They cater to usability groups not ambiguous or philisophical ideas. CE to me seems doomed from the start…mainly because of this second point I’ve made…they can’t pin down their target audience and won’t be able to because there’s more than one idea of what that audience is.

The third point I have is that they’ll piss people off…Period. Many people don’t want to have religion brought into their Linux. I know that when the announcement(s) for CE hit digg [1] [2], there was an outpouring of ridicule and support…just look at the comments. That’s the type of response one would figure after something like this. Of course, when you put yourself out there, you welcome both criticism against and support for your idea. Hopefully, the developer realizes that my ideas here are just that, my ideas. Although, I strongly feel my points made here are valid and should be considered. What would happen if the developer decided to implement my suggestions? Let’s examine it shall we?

If the developer made meta-packages or a script for CE, the response would be favorable. Why? Because you could install Ubuntu, then sudo apt-get install ubuntu-christian, then restart X and you’d be set. See, the idea is to rely on Ubuntu’s already inherent great and solid desktop and not worry about anything but making quality packages available for download…much less responsibility for the developer and much less preparation time. Plus, you save bandwidth because you don’t have to provide an iso to download. Can you still sell memorabilia (which seems to be one of the main ideas of CE…there are more links to ads and storefronts on their front page than there is to Linux) and buy magnets and coffee cups? You bet! So things are still fantastic and we’ve eliminated work and prep time for the developer by following point number one. You also eliminate point number 3 because then, there’s a choice that’s given back to the user…they don’t have someone deciding for them on anything and that empowers a user and eliminates feelings of animosity. Will it completely eliminate all bad feelings? Most likely not…but there’d be a lot fewer people lashing out at things IMHO.

Closing this post up, I’d just like to say that I in no way, shape, or form think that Christians NOR Athiests for that matter, nor Zoroastrians, nor Ebonites, nor Jews, Muslims, or Mormons are wrong, right, bad, good, or anything for that matter. I purposely choose to NOT have an opinion when it comes to religion. I post today because I see inefficiency and double work that’s not needed. I also see that despite good intentions of the developer, this idea of a CE of Ubuntu can possibly be water in the cracks of the rock mass that is Ubuntu. Instead of dividing, we should be merging. Instead of duplicating efforts, we should be collaborating efforts. Instead of trying to distinguish ourselves, we should be humbling. Maybe I’m way off base here…but it is my blog and my opinion…so take it for what it’s worth…about 5 cents per click of bandwidth…and that’s a high estimate.

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  • Fritz

    Amen.

  • Otis

    Very well said, I couldn’t agree more.

    Just about every human conflict has been fought due to differences: religious, cultural, ideological, and so on.

    Bringing religion into this just creates divisions. Ubuntu means “humanity to others”, and “others” means EVERYONE.

  • Adam

    “Just about every human conflict has been fought due to differences: religious, cultural, ideological, and so on.”

    Wow! What a brilliant demonstration of historical acumen! How could I have missed the real explanation of conflict in the world all these years! Only it happens to ignore a great deal of human conflict fueled by a self avowed commitment to things other than religion. Or maybe I’m wrong.

    Was the bloody Reign of Terror of Robespierre and the French Revolution which sought, among other things, to overthrow religion itself religiously based?

    While Napoleon was no atheist, was it religious fervor that fueled his maniacal goals of conquest?

    Were the modern, Marxist Revolutions in Russia and China, which killed millions, based upon love and adoration of religion.

    Hitler’s genocidal attempt to exterminate Jews and his bloodthirsty war machine was a product of his thoroughgoing religiosity wasn’t it.

    Maybe Pol pot, Idi Amin, and those who are responsible for modern, humanitarian travesties under Marxist, atheistic governments in North Korea and Cuba would stand up and kindly tell us how everything they did was was done for love of religion.

    The claim that all or most wars and conflicts in human history are due to religion is one of the most historically ignorant statements I’ve ever heard, though sadly it graces blogs and websites the world over. Have terrible, terrible things been done in the name of religion? Of course they have! Just as they have been done in the name of just about every ideology and world view in human history. The fact that atheists do both good things and bad things does not constitute an argument for or against atheism, anymore than the fact that good and bad things have been done in the name of religion constitutes an argument for or against religion. Both of these supposed arguments rest on the strength of an ad hominem fallacy.

    With regard to the whole Ubuntu Christian Edition thing, I tend to agree that a whole new distribution is superfluous, but the great thing about open source is the freedom it affords to people who are interested in doing that sort of thing. I won’t be using it, but if it brings happiness to a few people who are interested in that sort of thing, why should I begrudge them their fancy? It’s doubtful that these same people were directly involved in developing Ubuntu proper before they began their CE efforts. If that is true, how then can their work on this thing divert and detract from Ubuntu itself? If anything it will only breed interest in Ubuntu among a community of people where it may not have otherwise existed. I may not agree with Ubuntu CE, but I see no need to unnecessarily rain on someone else’s parade.

  • http://opensourceheaven.net Ben

    Good post – I totally agree. Branching off new distros with such cosmetic differences is pointless and just serves to everyone with choices they don’t need.

  • Matt

    I guess everyone thinks it’s Ok to bash someone for doing something Christian. Why can’t everyone quit whining and let it be. If you don’t like it don’t use it, simple solution.

    People think that when they cry foul we Christians are supposed to run, not this time. The Distro stays, live with it.

  • Quazar

    I totally agree with you. I don’t speak english very well. I am a Catholic Panamanian linux newbie, and as you say, we (everyone) don’t need another distro that could potentially confuse people about “elect or choose” GNU/Linux only for bad wording in its distro name. I personally think that’s better don’t divide and work together. Why build another distro when actually exist many good ones? Better work with they to create a robust distro, community, etc with the existing base and not to bring another one that create more confussion or a posibly linux fork. That’s my mind. (sorry for my bad english)

  • raskolnikov

    I think that devnet’s strong point is accurate and I gladly agree with it: there is no defined target audience for this ubuntu fork and therefore there is no justification for such a ‘distro’. I’m some kind of “Christian” person, but that’s a pretty generic word that involves so much of history and so much cultures, being more precise I’m a Catholic, mexican 24-years-old Slackware linux user. I believe and fear of God, I make my prayers before going to bed and try to help others whenever is possible. But I wouldn’t want to turn on my computer to read some biblic passages, let that be at the Sunday and let my computer happily frag bots on UnrealTournament 2004.
    That’s my personal and subjetive opinion.

  • http://trueash.livejournal.com Trueash

    “The Distro stays, live with it”. Yes, it stays – unfortunately; and no, I’m not going to live with it. Moreover, I will probably not be switching to anything *buntu and stick with my current distro, for one simple reason – I am a Christian. It pisses me off to see Christianity being used as a marketing tool. Some people thought they were making fun of it: http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0102/phoneoffer.html
    Remember? –
    “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me/ A Mercedez-Benz/ My friends all drive Porsches,
    I must make amends…”
    Ubuntu CE people seem to have adopted that approach quite seriously.
    For me, it is sheer blasphemy.

    The author says Ubuntu CE is no good for FLOSS – I can add it does no good to Christianity either.

  • http://linux-blog.org devnet

    You’re completely off my friend…no one is bashing it…nor is my article. I’m stating simply that it is doubling work for the developer(s) and it is redundant. One could save time and effort and still have an edition geared toward Christians.
    I’m not whining about it…I simply put my point of view in there. If the developer says it stays, so be it…but not every Christian out there thinks that this is just the bees knees. That viewpoint is often overlooked by everyone because of the extreme responses on both sides of the fence.

  • destro

    what the hell does christianity have to do with linux.

    flippin retarded.

  • http://www.poweredunits.com/snowblower/ Blower

    Everyone just shows his opinion in review. Reviews exist for bringing to us author’s opinion. You must read few reviews to make your own one

  • Cprise

    I heard the Ubuntu CE folks drive Christian automobiles, sit on Christian furniture and brush with Christian toothpaste.

    Apparently they like the idea of community software but want to work within a framework where they don’t have to associate so much with non-Christians.

    Of course, they picked a distribution based on a humanist ethic to make an antithetical religious statement. And that does make me wonder about alterior motives.

    (As for the earlier allusion to Hitler being atheist, [url=http://www.nobeliefs.com/Hitler1.htm]I suggest you read this.[/url] )

  • http://www.christianubuntu.com Jereme Hancock (Ubuntu CE Developer)

    Hi,
    My name is Jereme Hancock. I am the developer of Ubuntu Christian Edition. I understand that Ubuntu CE could all be accomplished through a meta-package. There are many reasons that I decided to go with a full distro.

    I think that many Linux users have forgotten that not everybody uses Linux and not everyone wants to have to look for the programs they want after they install Ubuntu. Ubuntu Christian Edition allows someone to have a lot of the customization pre-configured.

    Many have also said that I am trying to distinguish Ubuntu Christian Edition from Ubuntu. Yes, I am releasing it as a full iso, but if you take the time to read the FAQ page on the Ubuntu CE project site that my intention is to draw a larger Christian base to the already thriving community of Ubuntu users. The Ubuntu Christian Edition simply makes it easier for Christians who are new to Linux to see the power of Ubuntu combined with the added benefit of having the best available Linux Christian software pre-installed.

    I would also like to note that this is not my way of exploiting Christianity in order to sell “coffee mugs”. This is really offensive to me. The sales of all these items is only to help offset webhosting costs.

    I would also like to say that Ubuntu CE is not simply wrapping Linux with the ideology of Christianity. It is targeting a group of people who have certain needs/desires. The fact that Ubuntu CE comes with web content filtering pre-configured makes it an excellent choice for parents, teachers, and anyone wanting to keep their internet experience free from unwanted things.

    I think it is interesting that so many are bashing or disagreeing with the existence of Ubuntu CE when Canonical simply thanked me for introducing Ubuntu to the Christian Community.

    Anyway, I want to be sure you know that I appreciate your feelings on Ubuntu CE. I just wanted to take a moment to let my feelings be heard.

    Thanks, Jereme

  • http://www.servertude.co.uk Apostasy

    Otis said nothing of the kind. He said that religion was one of the major causes for human conflict throughout history, not the only one.

    Historically there have been plenty of conflicts in which the reason for the conflict may not have been based on religion but have been carried out “In God’s name”. Following through to the modern day, religious fanatics still “wage war” upon each other (and innocents) through terrorism. Religion is certainly responsible for some conflict but also certainly not all.

    Nobody is bashing christianity here, the article I think really questions the need for a religion based Linux distribution.

  • http://www.uniquekidtoy.com/woodentoy/ Jack Armstrong

    Jereme, may I ask you silly question? Why did you cal Ubuntu – Christian Edition?

  • http://www.christianubuntu.com Jereme Hancock (Ubuntu CE Developer)

    Sure, I decided to name my project Ubuntu Christian Edition, because I never really liked the (K)(X)(Ed)ubuntu naming convention. To me it is more logical and descriptive to release derivatives as “editions” (Ubuntu KDE Edition).
    Jereme

  • raskolnikov

    I guess the most intriguing and trouble-making part is the ‘Christian’ thing.
    Religion + computers is not a natural mixup and you ought to live with such hassle if you want to bring a ‘new fusion’ to this world.
    It seems senseless to me and my community anyway (in Mexico) maybe for someone could be useful.

  • http://www.christianubuntu.com Jereme Hancock (Ubuntu CE Developer)

    Why do you think that Religion + Computers is not a “natural mixup”? I mean doesn’t everyone have different needs when it comes to computers. What is wrong with catering to the needs of Christians?
    Jereme

  • raskolnikov

    Well, I’m a Catholic person, that’s is a kind of Christianism. And I’ve never need my computer to remind me everynight to make my prayers nor read the Bible on a Sunday at Church.
    I think you ought to differenciate that the Religion DOES NOT NEED COMPUTERS, as it has not needed them for some thousand years. You are trying to cover a fictional need, and that’s comparable to Microsoft’s way to operate. If you want to make a real distro, start with making a few low-level boot up scripts, new kernel modules for new hardware or create a new packaging system that works better than anything else.
    That’s my personal opinion, bear with it. I’m outta here.

  • J. Park

    I am not a linux user, but installed in my computer. I don’t agree that computer and religion should be divided. It sounds like well-organised people use paper-diary, not use PIM software. In windows, there are many useful, helping tools for the christians. Now the christianity is not just Sunday activity. It is life-style.
    Just my opinion.

  • samory toure

    Hi reaskolnikov,

    You don’t need your computer to remind you everynight to make your prayers nor read the Bible. Good for you, but some people may want to have christian software reminders which gave them tips for everyday. As the program fortune does with unix, but it is not christian at all. Anyway Ubuntu CE doesn’t remind you of making your prayers nor read the Bible. As a Christian you should already know when are for you the best time to do them and read it. Ubuntu CE is a distro which is going to meet the needs of a group of people who think that internet brings us too often something that we don’t want to see. Moreover I guess normal that some people wants their faith and their values to appear on their desktop just like others put image of their passions, idoles, or stars as a wallpaper and use desktop themes that best define their humour or values. You can find on the internet many linux themes on manga, gothic or even a budhist gdm theme … Why a distro and not just a package ? From my viewpoint Jereme Hancock answered to it clearly. Why didn’t he rebuilt a brand new OS ? He also answered to that, “my intention is to draw a larger Christian base to the already thriving community of Ubuntu users”. So he was already a ubuntu developer and just want to draw other christians geek if they are interested, that’s it. The goal is not to create a brand new OS but “to bring the security and power of Ubuntu to Christians”. It ‘s just a proposition. Using or not using Ubuntu won’t make you more or less Christian. But using it ,from my viewpoint just customized more your working environment with your value. As a christian computer scientist
    I spend a lot of time before my computer and having this one expressing my faith suits me.

  • grackel

    I think most of the people who have posted here have totally missed the point of the review. It thought Devnet was trying “not” to focus on the Christian element of the distro, but more on the efficiency of the distro. People obviously breeze through articles these days. If they didn’t, I think these posts would have been more on topic.

    But since we’re off topic… It seems to me that Jeremy is targeting Christians who don’t roam out of their church environment much. I’m not Christian, but I grew up as one. I know many Christians who stick soley to “Christian” related activities and materials. Some don’t buy or use anything at all unless it has “Christian” referenced somewhere… So I can see how this distro could be aimed more towards spreading the word about Linux, than spreading the word about Christ. Also, it can be very disorienting to switch operating systems. Some people could take months to get used to just the desktop, let alone the software on a Linux OS. So having everything packaged on an easy-to-install cd is ideal. They’ve got their bible, word processing and accounting software right there… And Ubuntu CE is supposedly setup with all the right filters, so kids won’t wander into a porn site. (btw. I’m not poking fun at all… I’m speaking from personal experience)

    I agree with Devnet in that the packaging of the operating system is inefficient, but I also see reasons why Jeremy would want to package it as “Christian Edition” (although I’m not sure Jeremy would agree with everything I’ve said).

    On a more personal note, I don’t like Jeremy using the name of Ubuntu. Nor do I like that Ubuntu has let him. He could have just called it Christian Linux or Christian OS… although ethically I probably wouldn’t agree with that either. I agree with Otis’ post in that the CE edition takes away from the meaning of Ubuntu. But I guess if I don’t like it, I can always switch to Slackware or something else. Nonetheless… it’s still annoying.

    Thanks for the review Devnet.

  • AndyD

    I think Ubuntu CE is a great idea and have already allocated a PC to run it.

    I assist a christian charity that makes use of donated PC’s and provides free net access.

    This version of Ubuntu is tailored to EXACTLY what I need.

    An OS that is free, has web access with parental control settings, bible study software and an office style suite.

    If someone asks me I can give them a copy of the CD without piracy issues.

    As geeks we often forget what a pain it can be to get a system setup “just right” and having a distro with the hard work done is ideal. Most people would just give up or not install any additional packages.

    There is also the element of community. If you ask for help on a forum and mention you are using the software for a christian organisation you will be flamed within an inch of your life.

    It’s free.
    It brings more people to Linux.
    ’nuff said.

  • http://linux-blog.org devnet

    AndyD.

    My point of the article is…why have a different distro when you could have:

    apt-get install ubuntu-ce

    If you can answer me that, then I’ll be much happier. All those things that you tout in your comment can be rolled into the ubuntu-ce meta package and you can have your desktop setup in a few minutes. The reason I think that anyone would want to have a Christian edition is to further the attention on the Christian part of it. While this is commendable, it’s also something that many won’t like. But the ultimate reason I wrote this is because I felt that Ubuntu CE is re-inventing the wheel here and being terribly inefficient.

  • http://www.christianubuntu.com Jereme Hancock

    It is simple. Many computer users have never heard of Linux much less Ubuntu. It is just not that impressive to hand a Windows users a Ubuntu disk and tell them to apt-get something.
    Jereme
    Ubuntu CE Lead Developer

  • AndyD

    Thank Jereme, you beat me to it!

    The people I will be giving copies to will most likely never visit a linux website or add software.

    They will run what is on the disc to replace a virus ridden copy of windows that has never had a security patch installed.

    And the resulting system will provide pretty much everything they need.

    It may be re-inventing the wheel to you but to them it is a complete package.

    I can tell when their eyes glaze over they don’t understand what I am talking about and are not interested in apt-get.

    Many people don’t even have net access.

    They just want it to work.

    It is also a snapshot of the people who until now have been ignored as linux users. The average Joe with no interest in how a computer works.

    Ubuntu CE has cherry picked applications that are useful in a church organisation contex and put them all on one disc.

    More power to them.

  • grackel

    I’m switching to Slackware. Ubuntu is a good operating system, but for a large part I am using Linux based on what it represents. I thought it represented everyone equally, but it doesn’t seem to be doing that now. Treating everyone equally… means equal unbiased promotion as well.

    Jeremy… I’m sure you could set up a script on the desktop and all your CE users could click on it to install all the software they need. So, I think you might be skirting the issue just a little.

    One script = no Ubuntu CE. Logically speaking, it makes naming a distro “Christian Edition” seem a little over the top.

    “By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. No, this is not a joke: kill yourself.”
    -Bill Hicks

  • David Tangye

    Very thoght provoking. I have had teh same opinion as devnet over this sort of issue: that unneccessary duplication is bad in the long term for linux. Its not a Christian or whatever issue: its simply one of unneccessary duplication. However jerome has given very clear and considered reasons why he has chosen to produce a full distro and not just a meta-package. I for one am happy to accept that, and too bad if I didn’t: he is not going to stop just because it does not make sense to me.

    So far now, I can accept that Ubuntu CE will be around for a while. I just hope that, like the other 90 odd variants of major distros, it does stay up to date and does not clutter the landscape and confuse newbies as to which distro to choose, only to find after loading it that it is not kept up to date. I dont mean now, I mean in the future: all distros start with a burst of enthusiasm. I am starting to think that I might as well accept that the linux space will always be populated with a bewildering array of distros in various stages of birth, life and in death-throws. Sounds like I had better read and recommend tuxmachines more, to help sort the wheat from the chaff.

  • bob dagit

    parallel text markup language is on the horizon. an author has a right to endorse/authorize a translation, by a human or a machine. or blacklist it as unauthorized. think “don’t put words in my mouth”.

    i have tried out ichthux christin linux for a few weeks and although i can’t endorse its weaker points, the bibletime program (which still lacks hindi and indic language translations of the bible, as far as i can tell) is the closest thing to my idea of a parallel text markup language, whenever the concordance tool works for two or more languages side by side.

    it is inapt for an author to accept that a machine can translate his webpage for the whole world without allowing said author to forbid it.
    furthermore, even if you don’t think it exists, there is a thing called cultural property. this is why translations are never enough.

    i would bet that one would find that professional human translators have a peripheral like a set of pedals to link words in an original and a translated document, creating an index comparable to that concordance tool. this is something all authors in the world should consider to defend their rights, even if it has limited legal power.

    at least outside a court of law i should be free to appoint my translator to any public sector. in a court of law, there may be academic standards, but outside courts, i should at least be able to agree that the translator knows my meaning and the language and does a good job. and is a person that CAN KNOW my meaning, not just a machine that derives it statistically. i mean would WE accept a translation of the bible by a satanist or a machine?

    this is not a small thing to any person that has taken the time to learn a foreign language. the need for a parallel text markup language standard is important for freedom of speech! even free speech, and free training in foreign languages.

    yes, i mean free as in speech, free as in training. after all didn’t you learn to speak for free from your parents? what makes you so much better? a perfect accent?!

  • http://linuxforall.com David

    Is that same Window user going to be anymore impressed when somebody hands them a disk called “Ubuntu CE”. I think it is ok that you want to bring software together for Christrians, but you shouldn’t have to do it by duplicating what has already been done.

  • grackel

    um… Mister… we can barely hear a word of what you’re saying down here. I do somehow feel more patriotic all of a sudden though… but I’m not sure why. We’re actually having a conversation about the Ubuntu operating system, which (to my knowledge) has never been possessed by Satan… but I guess you can never tell. You should probably direct your hot-air balloon over to the stadium… I believe service is about to begin.

    “By the way, if anyone here is in advertising or marketing, kill yourself. No, this is not a joke: kill yourself.”
    -Bill Hicks

  • der_teufelengel

    bob dagit’s post… broke my brain…

  • Neil Petersen

    I can’t help but be constantly amazed at the arrogance some people have to beleive that 1) their opinion is so important as to make a difference in this universe; 2) that they would need to take the time to criticize someone for “inefficiency” by making a new distro. WHO CARES? If it brings any kind of joy to at least one person then it is worth the effort. Why bash it (in any way)? this idea of inefficiency sounds like a smokescreen to hide behind to bash Christians, but at any rate it seems to be a very small reason to be upset. Get a life. If you don’t see the need for it, leave it alone. Some may ( I would never have heard of “Ubuntu” without it).

  • http://linux-blog.org devnet

    Your logic is faulty…

    If #1 is criticized, you’re criticizing the creator of Ubuntu CE because he/she wanted their opinion (that there IS need in the world for something like this) to make a difference in the world and believes that it does.

    If they can flex their arrogance in this fashion, so can I :D

    FYI, I am Christian. I don’t bash Christians. No where in this post was anything directed at the Christian aspect of the distro. You need to get a life for bearing false witness against me here. Re-read the post, slap yourself silly for being blinded by your emotion, and apologize like a Christian would. Anything else you post will validate your non-Christian morals and attitudes.

  • grackel

    ooh… snap! How does it feel?

    But for reals. Who are you to say people are lame for expressing their opinions and then go and express your own opinion. Obviously, you’re as passionate about the subject as everyone else who has posted.

  • http://3gz.com Neut

    Christ almighty, 1st all tux-lovers hail he benefits of open source. Now they are moaning about to many distros. Get a life, live and let live. The open source community can sort this herself: now there is the Ubuntu Santanic Edition (which is also nothing more than Ubuntu with another theme). Bless you brother, may it serve you well.

  • http://linux-blog.org devnet

    You must have forgotten to read the article. This is actually an article about making open source more efficient.

  • http://3gz.com Neut

    Hey, I read it allright. Let’s put it this way: I think the two exclude each other. It’s not a bad thing, it’s the nature of the beast. Just be happy that OS is so embraced by users that they make their own versions of distros.

  • Pastor Joe

    As a Pastor I feel this is a good idea I have prayed that there would be such a Linux system, also there is Ichthux which is not bad I like what they stand for. I think it bothers everyone that there are christian developers now like we have invaded the world and taken something away thats very sad……I urge you to consider this….Remember there are diff versions of Ubuntu reg, muslim, christmas, satanic and christian…. There are more I just forget right now…..My point being that we Christians did not complain when they made muslim-ubuntu or satanic-ubuntu….so I think everyone needs to calm down and just relax Ubuntu is in fact getting the world together I ask what is wrong with that….??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????/
    Anyway this will put us all on the same linux page which is kinda nice…..I have used linux for years as a christian and I really like Suse 10.2 but I always have trouble installing things on new linux systems it can be frustrating at times…..So I tried Sun-Wah Rays linux thats really nice but flaws, I tried Bayhanie Philippine Linux that was great but you have to get software from everywhere…….So I tried Ichthux linux for christians and it was great but getting the web cam to work for messenger was a task, next I tried Ubuntu for Christians BINGO everything works I said ok it will fail also because its free but it did not……Jeremy Please dont listen to them GOD has a mission for you I love this and so do a lot of other pastors and Christians alike continue your efforts please (God Bless you Brother)…. Also to the Muslims and Satanist please do not stop ever this is a mission you are important too donot stop making your version of ubuntu either AMEN JESUS is KING……

  • Najeed

    Are muslims permitted to use Ubuntu CE?

  • http://linux-blog.org devnet

    I don’t see why not?

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  • bob

    Linux is a Religion Already. Why group two Religions together? Seems ambiguous. Why not have everyone use the typical Ubuntu distribution and create Christian, Muslim, Hindi, Shinto, Agnostic, Satanic, Druid, and Pirate repositories? Then you only have to maintain your repository and not a full distro. Seems more efficient.

  • Filibustero

    If the lead developer really wanted to get the Christian community oriented and involved in FLOSS, he also could have simply organised an installation and tutorial event in his church with the help of his minister.

    I mean, his whole argument is based on the assumption that regular Christians won’t be as tech-savyy as needed for operating Linux or computers in general. But if the meta-package advice was headed, it would be so much easier to make an “Ubuntu Free Installation” event after Sunday service/mass. Even have the young, computer-literate people help out the old folk!

    Of course, this is just for a local setting. But if the developer can make a website, surely he can fill it with help documents and insights so that other Christians can be inspired to recreate the activity in their locale?

    Ulterior motives– I tend to agree with this assumption lest I dare think that the logic behind CE is terribly, terribly stupid.

  • Flash

    Ubuntu started with ” Linux for human beings” but now you`ve destroyed the initial impression of ubuntu and made it into a racist linux “Linux for Christians”.

    L-)

    Stupidity in this world doesn`t have limits.

  • http://www.ubuntuce.com Jereme

    Quote: “Stupidity in this world doesn`t have limits.”

    I agree with you there.

    Quote: “a racist linux “Linux for Christians”.”

    I take great offense to this.

    Jereme

  • http://www.tboxsoftware.com Ethan

    "It leads me to believe there are ulterior motives to producing this distro."

    And what would that be Pinky? To take over the world? That is an incredibly overexaggerated statement.

    The inherent problem with Linux distributions is the misbelief that most people know what “sudo apt-get” does. If Ubuntu wants to compete with Windows on the desktop it will occur because they make a distro that a zombie could use.

    We often forget that many, if not most, Windows users do not even know how to install a piece of software on that operating system. To them Linux is overwhelming. If they want to set up an inexpensive computer for their children to use it will probably need an internet filter and setting up an internet filter on Linux would be almost impossible for the average Windows user. I believe that a pre-packaged linux distro that contains built in internet filtering functionality is not only convenient but necessary to gain ground on the home desktop.

    However, that being said, I think that you are correct in saying that a "Christian Edition" is unnecessary. Christians aren’t the only ones who want to prevent their 8 year old from learning the birds and the bees from Hugh Hefner. I think a "Family Edition" would be very appropriate and also would deserve its own distro so that I could give it to my neighbor who knows nothing about Linux.

  • Michael

    You totally miss the point as evidence by your third argument. The distro is needed and wanted by a select group of clients. I currently have 124 computers that I am in charge of at several churches using the distro. The Christian element is the point not the distribution it is base on. Most people are totally linux novices at least. Most are Windows users. To switch to linux they need something ready and easy. Those wanting Christian software can get it and they are pleased with it. Metawhatzitz (as one of my clients calls metapackages) are an alien concept to them. To have a CD that you install flat out with no muss and no fuss is a real advantage to the Windows indoctrinated. The Christian aspect is a real bonus in this kind of environment with people desiring Christian software but not experienced enough to handle the tweaks than the linux literate take for granted.

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