6 ms·
What it sums up is some Linux nerds' complete disconnection from reality. 1) Donations aren't a sustainable revenue model, and won't prevent Ubuntu from taking
by flatline3 14y ago
What it sums up is some Linux nerds' complete disconnection from reality.
1) Donations aren't a sustainable revenue model, and won't prevent Ubuntu from taking equally user-hostile actions in the future. What they need is a sustainable revenue model where users are the customer.
2) How is this different than the crapware that comes installed with some OEM Windows PCs? How is that a model to be emulated? What happens when a feature like this can't just be installed with apt-get?
3) Water would almost certainly be healthier.
Apple used to be the reliable alternative to the Microsoft hegemony. They're squandering that position, and we desperately need something like Ubuntu -- consumer focused, polished, and as easy to use as Mac OS X (or at least, Ubuntu is a lot closer to that ideal than Linux has previously been).
For Ubuntu to maintain a consumer focus, they need the consumers to be their customers, not their product. Let me buy Ubuntu, or buy Ubuntu hardware.
- olalonde 14y agoHonestly, what I get from your comment is that you don't like ads. If you don't like them, don't click them: problem solved. I have to grant you that Ubuntu hardware would be awesome but I'm afraid that it might create an incentive to drop support for non-Ubuntu hardware.
- flatline3 14y ago"If you don't like them, don't click them" is a terrible solution, because I don't even want to see them. Is it so wrong that I don't want "free" things if that means I'm the product and not the customer? Is that really such a hard market opportunity to exploit? I'd rather pay money to not see them. Problem solved.
- olalonde 14y agoThere's nothing wrong with that but I do think it would be a much harder market opportunity to exploit. You are definitely in a minority. Also, just a nitpick but if you don't click ads you are not a product since Amazon doesn't buy products who merely view its ads.
- flatline3 14y agoAnd yet, look at Apple's profits.
- olalonde 14y agoApple's profits have very little to do with sales of its operating system. As I said, it would be nice to see "Ubuntu machines" but unlike Apple, Canonical would never enjoy a monopoly over Ubuntu hardware due to Ubuntu's open source nature.