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Ukuu, or Ubuntu Kernel Update Utility, a fairly popular unofficial GUI tool for easily installing the latest mainline Linux kernel on Ubuntu-based distributions, has moved to a paid ($11) licensing model with its latest 19.01 release.
Ukuu displays the list of kernels available in the Ubuntu Mainline kernel website, allowing users to easily download and install the desired version. The utility can also remove installed kernels, display the changes in the selected Linux version, display notifications when new kernels are available, and so on.
With the 19.01 release of Ukuu, the application requires a personal license which costs $11, and the source code is no longer available. Tony George, the application developer, notes the reason for this being the lack of donations, with alternatives being stopping the development or requiring a paid license:
"The last version of this app (v18.9) had 60,000 downloads, yet only 12 users have donated over the last 2 years. It was not possible for me to continue working on this application for free, and making it paid seemed like a better alternative than discontinuing the project."
https://www.linuxuprising.com/2019/01/ubuntu-kernel-update-utility-ukuu-moves.html
(Score: 4, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Saturday February 09 2019, @06:40PM (3 children)
To me, the point is that he sinks X hours per year into making this thing that apparently thousands of people use, and if he's not compensated, he's got better things to do with his time.
If there's another volunteer out there who wants to pick up the torch and continue a free fork, more power to them - I hope that the world has enough people like that to continue maintaining all the useful software tools forever.
On the other hand, if 2% of his 60,000 users will pony up $11, that's $13K - maybe enough to warrant him continuing to spend X hours per year into maintaining this tool at the level he's been doing it. It's certainly more efficient than other people who don't have the experience spending 3X hours coming up to speed in how to do it, and, heaven forbid, 20X hours putting it into an open-source project governance structure. Also, $13K - even per year, is too small for a commercial company to even think about... if there's a commercial user out there who really values what he's doing, they might just come out and pay him a stipend to continue his work for them.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nuke on Saturday February 09 2019, @11:22PM (2 children)
60,000 downloads != 60,000 users. I probably use only 20% of stuff I download, having found out it doesn't work, or doesn't do what I expected, or only works with a gigabyte of extra crap I would need to download, or thinking about it I find a better way to do what I wanted, or it is the loser in a beauty contest with two or three equivalent apps I try it against. I suspect that the ratio is even poorer with most other downloaders.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday February 10 2019, @04:09AM
To be sure, but 2% might come close to an actual download to real user ratio, as opposed to people who download it, try it once and forget it. You know: real users, the ones who derive actual value from the product and use it long term, year after year - the ones who benefit from regular product maintenance, far more than $11.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday February 10 2019, @02:22PM
... minimalist, so it doesn't need your gig.
So:
Sixty Thousand Downloads, Six Hundred Thousand Users.
I'll send you his bill in the mail.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]