Ubuntu's technical board has rejected the idea of enabling the installation of Adobe Flash by default. It comes as part of a new ruling by the board disabling installation of non-free software by default.

This is the case of senseless open-source zealots who cannot read the mind of ordinary PC users. They say "we want free software to take over the world!" and "YouTube doesn't work they will say, 'I tried this new computer, it looked quite nice but when I went to YouTube it didn't work so I want back to using my Mac/PC.'"

Seriously, that is how they think. They want to make the seriously techie world of Linux easier for non-techie users, but all they are doing is making installation difficult. Internet video runs on Flash.

But the board's ruling is that they want to promote open-source alternatives and not proprietary software. Well, they don't seem to realize how important Flash is.

So users will go looking for Flash from their browser, install it as an add-on, and cuss Linux for not being easy to use. Sounds familiar? It's the same old open-source agenda that has kept Linux from becoming a mainstream desktop platform.

But for once Ubuntu board folks, please think outside the box. It seems like the second coming of Apple rejecting Flash. If Ubuntu develops a mobile phone OS, no Flash support would just be a travesty.