Canonical Unveils The Ubuntu Software Store

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Canonical Unveils The Ubuntu Software Store

Beyond pushing out a new graphical boot screen just before the feature freeze went into effect for Ubuntu 9.10, Canonical released the first public version of their own app store, previously codenamed AppCenter, but now known as the Ubuntu Software Store (or software-store as its package is called). Canonical does have some grand plans for the Ubuntu Software Store and in this article we have some screenshots of what it looks like currently and how it functions along with some of their plans for the future.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=14147

[V!NCENT]

Awesome that everything will be rolled into one, but what's up with all these app stores across all these platforms? Sun, Google Android, Microsoft, Apple... And you don't even buy anything with Ubuntu so how is it a store?

[Game_boy]

Awesome that everything will be rolled into one, but what's up with all these app stores across all these platforms? Sun, Google Android, Microsoft, Apple... And you don't even buy anything with Ubuntu so how is it a store?

They might sell proprietary apps through it. Or perhaps paid services associated with the package you're looking at.

The "store" model (even if everything is free) is more familiar to most users than thinking about packages and versions. People understand you don't need to download 'installers' to a phone, so tapping into that would prevent issues for new users.

[Chilly]

It depends on how you view the word "Store". You could view it as a place that sells items or has items in storage. In this case the "free" software is in the "store" or software storage.

[panda84]

Canonical is hoping that all of the capabilities of the update-manager, Synaptic, the computer janitor application, gdebi, and other package management-related programs will be merged into Ubuntu Software Store.
So why did they switch to KPackageKit in Kubuntu? Just because Kubuntu always comes after? Why don't they make use of PackageKit?

[combuster]

I think that it's a bad move, it's gonna simplify installing software but most linux users that are runing distros with package kit (which is IMHO somewhat similar to ubuntu store) are pretty pi**ed off, if synaptics remain as an option I don't think that adding these feature will hurt...

[TwistedLincoln]

Having the App Store as an optional extra program, or as a replacement for the "Add / Remove Programs" app isn't a bad idea. But replacing Synaptic, gdebi, etc? Terrible idea.

The current system provides a good balance between usability and advanced features. It also makes it reasonably easy to add or remove third party repositories, etc. If they end up putting everything in one application, they'll likely either end up removing features (in favor of ease of use or simpliciy), or making things too cluttered.

More importantly, if Canonical stops supporting Synaptic, gdebit, etc it will drasticly increase the workload for downstream distributions. As long as they keep them in the repositories, it wouldn't be a big deal. But obviously downstream distros aren't going to want to have the "Ubuntu Software Store" be the main mechanism for software management in thier distros. I know we'd be keeping it out of Nexradix.

I'm also not a fan of Canonical's move toward blending software sales and services into their OS. I think ideas like their online backup service and their legal DVD playback software are valid ideas, however they should be seperate and distinct offerings from the OS.

Making it "easy" to buy these things from within the desktop has the side effect of basically lacing the OS with ads. More troubling, it reinforces the Microsoft / Apple concept that you should rely on your software provider for future products and services, rather than promoting the more traditional GNU/Linux structure of self-managed software. While this is no doubt good for Canonical, if we are not careful, it could bring about the acceptance of "Software as a Service" as viable choices. If that happens, the demand for (and therefore support of) Free Software will plummet, and oppressive technologies like DRM will be even more widespread.

Granted, this is only a small piece of the puzzle, and isn't the end of the world. But Canonical's move to replace essentially the entire package management infrastructure of Debian isn't something we should take lightly.

[V!NCENT]

I think that it's a bad move, it's gonna simplify installing software but most linux users that are runing distros with package kit (which is IMHO somewhat similar to ubuntu store) are pretty pi**ed off, if synaptics remain as an option I don't think that adding these feature will hurt...
I don't know... the appstore seems a lot easyer for newbies and people that are not noob are probably blindly doing F12+sudo apt-get update+pasword+y+'arrow up''backspace'"grade"+Y+"exit" blindly anyway ^^, It's so much faster :D

[he_the_great]

Having the App Store as an optional extra program, or as a replacement for the "Add / Remove Programs" app isn't a bad idea. But replacing Synaptic, gdebi, etc? Terrible idea.

Doesn't that completely defeat the idea of unification? Personally I don't know what "advanced" features having all these seperate GUI installation apps provide. But I don't use them so I guess it wouldn't matter anyway.

[M1AU]

This is interesting. As I see it, this could be a really nice feature for newcomers and such. Also, I think to be financially successful, which Ubuntu likes to be, you have to offer some kind of an all-in-one package system, much like how Android or Apple does it.

I also guess this isn't the greatest feature for power-users, as they most likely already know how to do handle there system and find new software, but for a real mass market, this seems to be the way to go.
I remember back than, when I first started to use Ubuntu Linux on a regular basis, it was quite hard and took a long time to know all those important package names and handle the package tool properly.

Lets see how it turns out. I for some reason like the idea.

[Rahux]

I think this has fantastic potential because it would encourage the porting of commercial applications. The flip side is, as stated, that it discourages free apps to a degree. I think overall though, it would ease the feeling by many commercial developers that Linux users will be unwilling to pay for any software. I am thinking here particularly about games. Making paid apps easier to get are more easily supported, a la andrid market, would be a boon to the viability of creating linux apps for companies.

I agree that I would want to keep synaptic and gdebi for ease, speed and tweaking but this also depends on how they plan to design the app store (am too lazy to try out the first build).

The other obvious disadvantage to the above positive would be the specificity of this to ubuntu, again limiting its potential to promote commercial application development.

[Yfrwlf]

I think Canonical and other companies should be focusing on selling closed source programs which, after getting so many purchases, would have to change their licenses to open source ones. Paying for development in little pieces/bounties or in bigger blobs is IMO the way of the future. Consumers want to and will share software, so companies need to accept that fact and adjust their business models accordingly.

The Ubuntu store should be a place where you can buy slices of a project/program which will be open source upon release or whatnot, or where you can pay for small features to an existing program to be added and then open sourced. Ideally that's what the future should be, is paying developers directly or nearly directly for their work, just as any other artist or laborer takes commissions now days.

Such a system would lay the whole "piracy" thing to rest.

[liam]

It is possible that they will simply submerge the advanced features of Synaptic into the menus and make it look like app-install. This would make things a lot cleaner and more simple, IMO. Of course, if they tie this to themselves it will make it less nice for the other distros... but that may not be a bad thing. Ubuntu has done much to make linux an easy user environment, and Shuttleworth is the kind of guy linux needs. If they add proprietary apps to the store(maybe a co-operative with CodeWeavers) this could give linux a really big boost.
Also, I don't think of this as advertisement but rather a way to give most users(not just stereotypical nix users) an easier way to add features to their desktop. So what if Canonical makes a bit of money? I'd rather them(canonical) get it and put it back into development of the platform than lose the user to Windows/Apple. At any rate, it's only the package gui, how much time do most users spend in there on an average day? It's not as though Canonical plastered "buy service from us!", "want to run Word?" all over the desktop. It's in one place and to view the advertisements requires one actually open the app(much like one encounters ads in the browser, though it's not precisely the same, I realize).
Again, this is all assuming they leave Synaptic functionality(maybe even add some of the nice features in OpenSuse package gui).

This was a bit scattershot, so please ignore the order a bit:)

Best/Liam

[Feech]

-You can't make software installation more idiot-friendly!
Mark Shuttleworth: Yes we can!

"they are hoping to have improved sharing and tracking of software within the Ubuntu Software Store and the abilities to see what software your friends may have installed"

Oh yeah, they have found the missing piece.

[nanonyme]

I doubt they'd put any non-free applications on the store anyway. Designing a safe system for money transaction isn't trivial.

[V!NCENT]

"they are hoping to have improved sharing and tracking of software within the Ubuntu Software Store and the abilities to see what software your friends may have installed"

Oh yeah, they have found the missing piece.
You can also just uncheck that. Isn't this asked upon startup if one wants to participate in such survey in order for the Ubuntu devs to see where the biggest quality control should go to?

[unix_epoch]

The Ubuntu store should be a place where you can buy slices of a project/program which will be open source upon release or whatnot, or where you can pay for small features to an existing program to be added and then open sourced. Ideally that's what the future should be, is paying developers directly or nearly directly for their work, just as any other artist or laborer takes commissions now days.

I like this idea. It probably wouldn't work for every project, but it worked for Blender. Open source developers need more money-making tools in our collective kits that still allow us to provide the freedom to learn from and expand the software we make.

I doubt they'd put any non-free applications on the store anyway. Designing a safe system for money transaction isn't trivial.

Nobody has to design a safe system for money transaction these days, since that's already been done by PayPal, PayFlow, and dozens of other systems that provide a secure API to application developers for conducting financial transactions. Run your server with the strongest encryption, hire a competent security-conscious web developer, and the rest is trivial (by comparison).

[unix_epoch]

The whole application store concept is a good one. I worked on early versions of a similar dpkg-based effort back in 2001 called Click-n-Run. Now that Apple has proven the concept can be successful, it's appropriate for another Linux distribution to try again. Since Ubuntu, and Linux in general, have more clout than my former employer did back in 2001, I hope this effort will be successful, and developers like myself will have an additional avenue for writing Free software for a living (even if it's software-for-ransom style).