Quote:Why is canonical trying to distance themselves from GNU and Linux, when their entire system is built on it?

If you are not happy with Ubuntu, what do you do at the moment? Right, you switch to another Linux distribution, something based on Ubuntu or Debian because you are, at least a little bit, familiar with it. Most of the knowledge you gained during your period of use can be used on other distributions too. Maybe you have to adjust a little bit because some things are handled different at "the other" distribution.

Replace Xorg with Mir. Build your own init-system. Make your own changes on standards, claim it is for the user's comfort. Create an ecosystem, with Ubuntu Phone, Ubuntu TV and what not. Distance yourself from Linux as far as easily possible. And advertise yourself as easy to use operating system for every people, not just for nerds, geeks and all the other tech-savvy people. Gain a lot of new users, and if some of them are having a problem, they'll need a Ubuntu-specific solution for it, because you are far away from the rest of the Linux world formerly working solutins are not applicable anymore. So what are normal users going to do? Call for support. Call for support directly at Cannonical. And pay for it.

Personally I've got the feeling that Cannonical wants to start earning money with it's product.