Proprietary Software and Linux: Good, Bad or Somewhere in Between?
Canonical is looking into selling proprietary software like Adobe’s Photoshop and Apple’s iTunes within its distribution, Ubuntu. This would undoubtedly be helpful for certain end users wanting to switch to Linux, but is it good for free software in the long run?
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
The introduction of the Ubuntu Software Center (originally named “Ubuntu Software Store”) into the recent Karmic Koala 9.10 release is a move towards creating a central interface for managing applications. The original name was changed from “Store” to “Center” because it invoked images of selling software. Strange for a free Linux distribution. Now however, that might not have been too far from the truth. Indeed, the plans for the Software Center indicate that by the 10.10 release (that’s the 10th month of 2010 for those who aren’t aware of the versioning scheme) it will be possible to purchase software. Before this however, the upcoming 10.04 release should see the Software Center replace a majority of the existing package managers, including GNOME App Install, Gdebi and Synaptic. It should also replace the Update Manager and Software Sources for configuring repositories. By the April release of 2011, the application should be…
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