Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Have you ever heard of
Ubuntu? All of your hassles would be over if using it was feasible for you.
I got a stupid question. Instead of downloading, I asked to have the disk mailed to me, and they did. (Should install it one of these weekends....) Anyway, it was free and it was mailed from the Netherlands. How was this paid for? Do people donate to cover this, or do you pay for tech help or what?
Ubuntu ships these CD's for free. They ship thousands all over the world, and it is used by entire gov'ts, school boards and such, in addition to individuals.
Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, charges for support, and I have read that they are nearing profitability; although Canonical/ Ubuntu is backed by Mark Shuttleworth (the second ever space tourist).
Mostly, though, Ubuntu is a community developed, community supported endeavour.