Ubuntu did pioneer easy proprietary driver integration into their distro AFAIK.
About wireless that is to be expected with most (all modern?) Intel Wifi cards...
I mean there is proprietary firmware running on most/all modern Laptops, the difference is that many controllers have their own flash and don't rely on the os to feed them their firmware...
That is a distinction without difference in regards to proprietary definition. If you are a purist that doesn't like proprietary firmware, it doesn't matter were that firmware is located.
However, on other issues internal flash means the controller is more expensive and more difficult to update on bugs or security issues, so putting firmware on in the filesystem makes it much more visible, easier to manage and cost-effective. This is not possible for many controllers, like the boot rom, keyboard, touchscreen, hdd/ssd controller, because they are needed to work before there is a filesystem available in many cases. But in case of Wifi and Bluetooth, doing it like this is possible and preferred for most people I guess.
Of course many people would prefer having only FOSS firmware, but even in that case they would prefer having as much firmware as possible visible on the filesystem instead of hidden away on some flash for those reasons.
firmware for Intel's wifi cards is hosted in the linux firmware repo with a redistributable license. Any wifi card made in the last 10+ years requires firmware.
About wireless that is to be expected with most (all modern?) Intel Wifi cards...
I mean there is proprietary firmware running on most/all modern Laptops, the difference is that many controllers have their own flash and don't rely on the os to feed them their firmware...