No more Suse

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Why did I install Ubuntu over Suse? The short answer is Novell's cross-licensing deal with Microsoft. The longer answer is watching Novell's behavior in the marketplace over the last two years with Suse. The much longer answer is that Ubuntu, and to a lesser extent Fedora Core (with RHEL), are what I can use and depend on in the future as an alternative to Microsoft. I don't need or want Suse any more. Novell has ruined Suse for me.

I want a free machine; free to do what I want with it, not free-as-in-beer. Hardware costs, and so does good software at times. If it means giving up 'consuming content' because a free OS won't support tomorrows DRM, then so be it. I have what I want in the form of MP3's I've ripped from my CD collection, and I've started to rip all my favorite movies, especially the ones I find in the Walmart $5 bin. If it ever reaches the point where it's all out on HD-DVD or BlueRay and I can't see it on a free-as-in-speech OS, then I hope I'll have enough older tech squirreled away that I can continue to view and enjoy all of that content I've saved up over the years.

I've purchased every version of Suse I've ever installed, starting with version 7.3 and all the way up to 10.2. And I mean every single release. I've always spoken highly of Suse based on my own personal experiences. But I won't spend another dime, and I will never again recommend Suse, either informally to my friends or formally where I work. I feel betrayed by Novell, and I will not reward that betrayal.

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