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Ubuntu Software Center is Mixing Proprietary and Free Software in a Dangerous Way

posted by n1 on Monday June 08 2015, @03:16AM   Printer-friendly
from the mix-and-match dept.

tonymercmobily writes:

I have been watching the evolution of the Ubuntu Software Center for quite a while now. I had doubts about its interface and its speed, but I liked the fact that it offered an easy, down-to-earth interface that allowed users to install software easily. However, I have to say that the way the Ubuntu Software Center has evolved is worrying me -- a lot. I am not against the idea of selling software. What I am against, is confusing proprietary software with non-proprietary software, The Ubuntu Software Center seems to be doing just that.

[ Editor's Note: The submission appears to have come directly from the author of the original article. ]
Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 08 2015, @03:46AM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 08 2015, @03:46AM (#193493) Journal

    I rather liked Ubuntu until their decisions about Unity. When they decided to go with a Metro desktop, it was clear to me that Ubuntu wasn't going in a direction that I wanted to go. Yeah, there were other things that bothered me about Canonical, but until Unity they were all little things.

    Sorry to hear that they are blurring the line between gratis and libre. Some of the folks at the other end of the spectrum annoy me sometimes, but intentionally blurring the lines is just wrong. A person can easily find himself trapped into paying for a license to use something a year or two from now, because he has integrated a proprietary software into his workflow. Paying for software may not be all bad, but who decides the price at that time? Free today, and $20,000 per year five years from now? WTF?

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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday June 08 2015, @10:59AM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday June 08 2015, @10:59AM (#193598) Journal
    You dropped it just in time. Now, this dangerous mix of software might explode and you'd end Tsarnaev'd (especially if you run away).
    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford