

Coming in Ubuntu Linux 13.04: instant purchases from the desktop - CrankyBear
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019712/coming-in-ubuntu-linux-13-04-instant-purchases-direct-from-the-desktop.html

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acabal
I get that they have to make money somehow, but I can't help but feel that
they should be focusing on polish, bug fixes, and regression management
instead of piling on more features like this. I'd be a lot happier if they
were adding these features _after_ fixing things like broken Compiz quirks or
Unity commandeering the super key and breaking your personalized keyboard
shortcuts.

Hell, I'd even pay cash money for Ubuntu if they could guarantee regression-
free updates and a truly solid desktop (i.e., no "oh yeah it works just fine,
_except_ for this long list of annoying problems"). But their priorities seem
to be elsewhere. Blame can certainly be assigned outside Canonical but the
buck has to stop somewhere.

Personally I think this cheapens the desktop quite a bit. I'm already
advertised at for 90% of my day, now I get to be advertised at in my one
sanctuary, my desktop.

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jamesjporter
I would be willing to shell out top dollar for a UNIX OS that's as stable as
OSX and "just works" the way OSX does but is also as customizable and hacker-
friendly as Linux, even if it's closed source. I've been wondering if there's
any room for a company in this space—its obviously a very niche market, so
you'd have to charge a lot, but I (and maybe other nerds?) would certainly be
willing to pay.

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habosa
There is definitely room for such a company, and the market is not as niche as
you'd imagine. If you could provide an environment as user friendly as OS X
with top-notch security and all of the customization features of Linux, most
software development companies would pursue this option for their teams. I
know I'd use it every day, and I'd happily pay for a non-commercial license in
the $50 range.

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devcpp
It's niche enough to not justify the hundreds of millions of dollars such a
project would require and the high risks.

OSX "just works" because it has a full suite of software that comes loaded on
it and "just works" very well and makes a lot of Windows programs jealous
(except for some Office products). If people want customization and general
freedom, they already have Linux for free.

I think it is safe to say that the market for people unhappy enough with both
OSX and Linux, and willing to pay for that, enough to justify years and years
of expensive and risky development, is _relatively_ small.

~~~
habosa
I don't think it would require hundreds of millions if it combined pieces from
existing Linux distros. This could definitely get some venture funding.

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Puer
Unnecessary (and intrusive) features being piled onto an already bloated OS is
the reason I, a former Ubuntu fanboy, installed Arch Linux a few months ago:
Now I know exactly what's installed on my system and exactly how my system
runs and works.

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themstheones
They're determined to move away from what made them a cool distro in the first
place.

~~~
joeblau
Yeah I totally agree. In two years, Ubuntu has gone from one of my favorite
distros to one of my least favorite. I'm on 11.04 and I'll probably stay here
until it's EOL'ed then move to Mint.

~~~
pan69
I'm on 11.04 as well. I'm still trying to find a good desktop alternative. So
far there is not much and KDE certainly isn't an option. I'm keeping an eye on
Mint as well but I'm not sure if that's going to be it..

~~~
fingerprinter
Why are you still on 11.04? 12.04 is the LTS release and nearly everyone
should be running that this point.

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pan69
If you didn't get it from my previous comment, the reason I;m still on 11.04
is because it's the last version of Ubuntu shipped with GNOME 2, i.e. the last
decent desktop environment...

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account_taken
Would like a vote on how many ran the command: `sudo apt-get remove unity-
lens-shopping`

Within my circle, it was the first thing we googled for. I like Ubuntu.
Canonical's best best is to go the way of Wikipedia and plead for pledges or
seek out crowdfunding. They also have an opportunity to take some share of the
desktop market away from Windows 8 but adding in features like this hurts them
more than it helps.

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habosa
This reminds me of the evolutions of Mac OS X from Snow Leopard to Lion, and I
think it's absolutely ridiculous.

Social networks, shopping, etc. are all features that should NEVER be part of
the core of the computer operating system. These are things that should be
opt-in experiences to the user and are unwanted bloat for many.

The only reason Canonical, in my book, can get away with this and Apple can't
is that Ubuntu is provided free of charge so there must be some sort of
revenue stream, whereas OS X already costs me money and therefore I shouldn't
have to put up with anything I don't want.

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mseepgood
Ubuntu is becoming more and more a cheap advertising billboard. No longer my
Linux. Can't recommend it anymore in good conscience.

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ishbits
I'm not a fan of this at all.

I wonder if there is a market for something like a CentOS/RHEL base system
(think slow moving core system) with a faster pace of release for the desktop
applications for a small fee.

I kinda get this on my laptop using CentOS plus some carefully chosen
additional repos..

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donniezazen
Ubuntu will eventually become Windows where first thing you do after
installation is to remove these bunch of services and applications. Canonical
knows their online search would be a failure if it came as a separate
software. Hence, Canonical is using its loyal customers as guinea pigs.

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olaf
I think, Ubuntu wants to win the huge Windows user masses, so they have to
become a better Windows. <https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/1>

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josteink
Just in time to ruin the OS, now that (a certain, but reasonably large subset
of) PC-users are looking for something _not Windows_ too migrate to in
response to Windows 8. Fantastic.

I know Ubuntu 12.10 made it certain I wont recommend them. This is only making
things worse.

~~~
mixmastamyk
Yes, if Unity/Gnome3 weren't enough to scare them away already.

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edwinnathaniel
PC-BSD seems to be a good alternative for Ubuntu :)

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mergy
"Instant install without Unity"

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readme
Already exists. Use one of the derivatives, like xubuntu, lubuntu, or kubuntu,
or ubuntu-server.

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durpleDrank
fedora + mate

