I ain't paying for Linux.
You can really, really, really stop trying.
Especially when all I'm paying for is someone to recompile a new package on an old machine that was working absolutely fine before they decided to "cut off" package updates.
This is one of the reasons why my preferred package manager is ".\configure; make; make install".
I installed Ubuntu on three machines last week - and none of them are commercial machines, none of them need a subscription or account, and all of them had the packages, MOTD, etc. associated with these services ripped out.
By all means offer a corporate support service. But if you want to do that, don't spam your free product with adverts for your paid-for product. RedHat/CentOS/Fedora all over again.
I would literally rather roll-my-own if this is the way other distros go too... because then maybe I can turn off most of this systemd shite too. Spent 20 minutes the other day working out why I couldn't just kill GPSd and move it to another port after having changed the configuration - and it's because systemd ingratiates itself even into simple services like that to auto-start them as you touch the port you intend to use or insert a device, and that uses entirely different configuration files. Did we learn NOTHING from Autoplay?
All Ubuntu pushing this stuff down my throat constantly does is put me off using Ubuntu entirely - including professionally.
It is ironic that I started many years ago with Slackware as a desktop, then moved to Slackware for servers (predictability and control), then changed to Ubuntu for desktop (simplicity), then changed to Ubuntu for servers (simplicity and control), and now would really move back to Slackware for servers (predictability and control) and other things entirely for desktop.
My entire reason for using Linux is thus:
- I want things to just do what I say, and work when I do that.
That's it. That's the one, sole reason for my preference in that regard. If I kill a process, I want it to die. If I change a config, I want it to take effect immediately without having to reboot. If I want to rename a device, I just want it to happen (I once spent a day trying to rename a joystick device to always present as the first js0 device under systemd, and at the time it simply wasn't possible, it always just did whatever it felt). If I want systemd or an alternative, I expect to just be able to choose. If I want to install my own local DNS server, that's what happens.
Don't even get me started on those software that demand I install them via snap/docker/etc. as their only way of doing so.
Play ball, Ubuntu, or lose your customer base. Not "signing up" to get an extra two years and spamming you incessantly if you don't.