We wish we weren't and we want to learn from our mistakes rather
than
repeat them. In the case of the start page I believe it was a
concession combined with the hope that it would be replaced with a
free solution in the future. It at the very least should not used as a
shining example of the way Fedora does things.
Is Google really that bad or are some people being a bit too
principled? Couldn't we think of the market leader of free-as-in-beer
search engines as a commodity and just use it while it's free? I don't
fret about running my computer on open source electricity.
I think anyone who shudders at the thought of supporting Google by
using their search should be condemned to use something that behaves
like the RH's bugzilla search for the rest of their career... :)