I read today that Ubuntu is working on an "install.exe" for Ubuntu. Which apparently will install an Ubuntu image into C:\UBUNTU so you can boot that. It's not meant to wipe out or replace windows, but live alongside on the existing partition. (I'm curious how well that works with NTFS...)

I'm looking forward to that - and crazy people bringing this Ubuntu.exe along on a CD whenever they go into some computer store and install Ubuntu on all the laptops on display.

If the manufactures don't preinstall Linux, why shouldn't we help them out? We're not installing a virus there or deleting preinstalled software...

Would be fun for a flashmob, too. Go into the shop with a dozen people, a few to distract the employees (asking difficult questions, eventually even buying something; since there is no reason to do any harm to the shop!) and others using CDs to preinstall Ubuntu.

Of course it would be even more fun if the laptop booted Ubuntu the next day... All laptops looking different, but welcoming and friendly and with lots of powerful applications. Maybe one or another will think "whoa, did microsoft upgrade them to vista overnight?" :-)

[Update: Goodbye-Microsoft.com has a similar installer for Debian. It will download and install Grub and an installer image, then allows you to reboot your computer into the installer. I don't know if it's supposed to wipe out the Windows installation (I doubt so) or if its supposed to either shrink the NTFS partition or install into an image file (I assume the last option is what it does).]