

Ubuntu Linux: Donationware? - CrankyBear
http://www.zdnet.com/ubuntu-linux-donationware-7000005497/

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s_henry_paulson
This solidifies the idea for me that Canonical is completely clueless.

Asking for donations AND bundling Amazon shopping ads? That's over the line
IMHO.

Yes, you can disable the Amazon stuff, but leaving it as a default is a poor
choice. At best it's incredibly tacky and unhelpful, at worst it's a security
risk.

To me the answer is glaringly clear.

Offer a donation based download with the Amazon stuff not bundled with it.
This makes people feel like they're getting a clean product, and many people
don't mind paying to support the OS.

Then offer a free download with the Amazon bundled, and let people know that's
what they're getting. People can still disable it, but for those that don't
Canonical profits.

This hybrid mess of "pay us some money" and "don't forget to turn off our
advertising" is the worst of both worlds.

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smacktoward
This is a good idea; anything that makes it easier for Ubuntu users to support
the distro financially, and thus help keep it moving forward, is a Good Thing.

That being said, I'm extremely skeptical that donations will ever amount to a
large enough amount to support Ubuntu all by themselves, or even to come close
to doing so. They cite as inspiration the example of the Humble Bundles, but
in those you get something in exchange for your money -- the bundle of
software. There's nothing comparable here, it's just a straight donation, so
use of it will probably be low at best.

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moystard
I think this is a great idea and I love how they decided to include a users'
feedback on what matters for them.

