Sidux vs. Mint: Can You Live the Pure Open Source Life? (tuxmachine.com)

There are valid and compelling reasons why one might want to use only Open Source Software. Avoids any patent or IP legal issues, better security, and encourages innovation are just a few. However, on the other side of the argument there are justifiable reasons for the inclusion of multimedia codecs, proprietary drivers, and closed software in modern Linux distributions. Neither side is wrong. It's a matter of personal tastes and values. But many, like myself, would like to be completely Open Source if it didn't mean losing too much functionality. Can your computer environment be entirely Open Source? What might we give up if we chose that path? To find out I tested two similar distributions, one adherent to the strict Open Source philosophy and one at the other end of spectrum that strives to provide a complete computing experience out-of-the-box. ...