"Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC marketplace. This is a bug, which Ubuntu is designed to fix."

This is a very nice sentiment and one that was valid until myself and others test drove 12.04 beta.

Basic Disability Accessibility features needed to even test drive the CD seem to be deprecated - don't function and those that supposedly do function either break the Unity Desktop - or make it unusable. It is a spectacular Own Goal - and quite disgraceful. 

The situation is so poor and discriminatory that it prevents disabled people from taking part in testing and bug reporting - and even being able to report bugs on accessibility. That itself is direct discrimination. 

The matter has been checked against 10.04 through 11.10 which all worked correctly and allowed valid and utile access as live CD and as full install. 12.04 fails both. 

It would appear that basic Disability Accessibility has been thrown out in the dash to Unity and some future dream of Ubuntu on tablets retailed in China! 

It is alarming to see that compliance with basic protocols and standards of Accessibility seem to have been sacrificed and are not addressed. Short cuts to use them are even still there - but greyed out and inaccessible! 

Bug report filed under #964685 "Failed disability accessibility standards - 12.04 - Live CD & Installed". I note that bugs addressing disability accessibility issues remain unaddressed for years! 

I fully expect this more recent report to also be ignored for as long. 

I am no lover of certain none Linux operating systems and have been a promoter of Ubuntu for over 5 years. However, if this disgraceful state of affairs concerning Disability Access and Accessibility is not addressed promptly and fully resolved it will be the end.

Other operating systems seem to have recently also started beta testing in their version 8 - and the accessibility options and requirements there are met. That is why so many Public and Private sector providers use them - it prevents litigation risk from poor quality and dysfunctional software which causes both direct and indirect Disability Discrimination. 

They simply will not be able to risk using Ubuntu 12.04. 

It may be of interest to consider that there are 1 Billion recognised Disabled people on planet earth. Ubuntu 12.04, in it's present discriminatory form, is an insult to all of them. 

Ubuntu is reported to mean -"I am what I am because of who we all are.".

Ubuntu 12.04 means "WE are all disabled because Ubuntu 12.04 disables disabled people even more than before."

That is not the way to promote a replacement for pay software and operating systems - it simply reinforces their monopoly. 

I have contacted Canonical directly in an attempt to have matters highlighted - and still await contact by return. It seems that no-one there has oversight or responsibility - a rather large oversight in itself. 

It would seem that there is a focus upon snippets of code - but Code and Protocol which even pre-dates Ubuntu  defining larger issues such as compliance with standards and even legal obligations is not a feature of Ubuntu anymore! 12.04 is proof of that. 

Ubuntu is now not designed to fix any bug - only promote other operating systems as good risk management - and even provides Public Relations Kudos and opportunity free of charge to the supposed bugs it set out to fix!

Such a pity - and such a mess! 

Well Done - NOT!