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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. ]
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Ubuntu Software Center is Mixing Proprietary and Free Software in a Dangerous Way
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For recreational use only.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TheRaven on Monday June 08 2015, @08:08AM
It seems more that it's about being able to make an informed decision. If I use a piece of open source software that is a bit rough around the edges, then I'm suffering pain now, but with the potential benefit of being able to fix it if it matters that much to me. If I use a piece of proprietary software that's better, then that's less immediate pain, but there are more likely to be file format lock-in problems later and, if it's free then I want to know what their revenue source is (is it selling my data to third parties? Is it downloading ads that provide a potential vector for attackers?).
Sometimes I'll choose to use proprietary software, but I want to make an informed choice and I want to know at install time what the license is. On my phone, I'll use F-Droid to find things first, and then fall back to either the Amazon or Google store if I don't find anything. In F-Droid, I know exactly what the open source license is, and if it's not in F-Droid then I know that it's proprietary. For some things, like my bank's app, there's no open source alternative (and not yet a model for developing one). For other things, I want to be able to at least try the open source version first.
sudo mod me up