What does the Ubuntu/Linspire deal mean?
Introduction
I have been hearing a lot of negative opinions about the Ubuntu/Linspire deal that was recently announced. Why is this? Will this deal really have a negative impact on Ubuntu and open source? What advantages and opportunities does this deal represent? Although the results of this deal will not be known for many months, I will do my best to answer these questions now.
What are the details of this deal?
There are two main points to this deal. First, the Linspire distribution is going to move from a Debian base to an Ubuntu base. This is an interesting trend to watch. Historically, there were dozens of different distributions that were derived from Debian. These include a variety of popular distros including Knoppix, Morphix, Linspire, Mepis, Xandros, and of course Ubuntu. Here is a visual collage of logos that are based on Debian.
Now we are starting to see some of these distros start basing their distro on Ubuntu. Mepis moved to Ubuntu last year, and Linspire will transition in April of 2007. Here is a list of Ubuntu derivatives. The diagram below may help you understand the Ubuntu/Linspire relationship. (Disclaimer: I don't agree that Linspire is better or above Ubuntu. All of the "additional" benefits listed for Linspire are also provided by Ubuntu.)
The second main point of this deal is that Ubuntu will be using aspects of the CNR (Click-N-Run) service. The CNR service will provide a front-end to find and install applications, both open source and commercial. This diagram illustrates how CNR will interact with Ubuntu:
You can also see more screenshots of CNR, and read the FAQ about CNR.
What does Linspire's CNR offer to Ubuntu?
I believe that CNR provides two major benefits to Ubuntu and open source.
1. Help new users find the right application
In my opinion, one of the biggest hurdles for new Linux users is learning which open source applications they should use. There are so many projects spread across the internet, it is very hard to track them and provide qualitative information about them. That is why I created the LoopList and have been referring people to sites such as OSALT (Open Source Alternatives).
CNR offers users much more information about applications than the current method in Ubuntu. Currently we are given a paragraph describing the application, and if we are lucky it will include a link to the project website. Here are some of the additional features that will be available through CNR:
2. Easy distribution of commercial software
If you are a software developer, you probably only create software for Windows operating systems. If you have enough resources, you might also provide a version of your software for Mac OS X. With CNR, you can now easily distribute your software to tens of millions of Linux desktops. CNR will provide a cross-distro client that will install and upgrade your application. Supported distributions include Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, OpenSuse, Freespire and Linspire. CNR will also handle the billing of your customers, providing them a one-stop-shop for all their Linux software needs, whether open source or commercial.
This benefit to developers will have a huge positive impact on Linux and open source adoption. Many people complain that nobody develops popular games for Linux. CNR makes this much more likely by providing developers easy access to tens of millions of potential customers. This will have a snowball affect as more software is developed for Linux, then more people will use Linux. CNR will be a catalyst that accelerates the adoption of Linux.
So, the sky is not falling?
Of course not. First of all, you are not being forced to use CNR. You can still install your applications the same way you normally do such as Synaptic, apt-get, or aptitude. Secondly, I believe that the benefits I listed above will have an overall positive affect on Ubuntu and the entire open source movement.
That said, will there any possible problems? It is possible. For example, I am not certain how much confusion and additional support will be created by having CNR's application repository. I assume that CNR will use standard Ubuntu packages when available, but also offer the commercial software from their repository.
Keep your eyes on the progress of this partnership, but please put on your rose-tinted glasses first.
I have been hearing a lot of negative opinions about the Ubuntu/Linspire deal that was recently announced. Why is this? Will this deal really have a negative impact on Ubuntu and open source? What advantages and opportunities does this deal represent? Although the results of this deal will not be known for many months, I will do my best to answer these questions now.
What are the details of this deal?
There are two main points to this deal. First, the Linspire distribution is going to move from a Debian base to an Ubuntu base. This is an interesting trend to watch. Historically, there were dozens of different distributions that were derived from Debian. These include a variety of popular distros including Knoppix, Morphix, Linspire, Mepis, Xandros, and of course Ubuntu. Here is a visual collage of logos that are based on Debian.
Now we are starting to see some of these distros start basing their distro on Ubuntu. Mepis moved to Ubuntu last year, and Linspire will transition in April of 2007. Here is a list of Ubuntu derivatives. The diagram below may help you understand the Ubuntu/Linspire relationship. (Disclaimer: I don't agree that Linspire is better or above Ubuntu. All of the "additional" benefits listed for Linspire are also provided by Ubuntu.)
The second main point of this deal is that Ubuntu will be using aspects of the CNR (Click-N-Run) service. The CNR service will provide a front-end to find and install applications, both open source and commercial. This diagram illustrates how CNR will interact with Ubuntu:
You can also see more screenshots of CNR, and read the FAQ about CNR.
What does Linspire's CNR offer to Ubuntu?
I believe that CNR provides two major benefits to Ubuntu and open source.
1. Help new users find the right application
In my opinion, one of the biggest hurdles for new Linux users is learning which open source applications they should use. There are so many projects spread across the internet, it is very hard to track them and provide qualitative information about them. That is why I created the LoopList and have been referring people to sites such as OSALT (Open Source Alternatives).
CNR offers users much more information about applications than the current method in Ubuntu. Currently we are given a paragraph describing the application, and if we are lucky it will include a link to the project website. Here are some of the additional features that will be available through CNR:
- Search for applications by title, popularity, user rating, category, function, or author
- View screenshots of the application
- Read user reviews or submit your own review
- Browse charts to easily find the most popular software programs by category
- Find user support and help information for each application
- Product pages contain wiki-type technology allowing the community to help add and update content for products
- A tip-jar that allows users to support an application by donating to the developers
2. Easy distribution of commercial software
If you are a software developer, you probably only create software for Windows operating systems. If you have enough resources, you might also provide a version of your software for Mac OS X. With CNR, you can now easily distribute your software to tens of millions of Linux desktops. CNR will provide a cross-distro client that will install and upgrade your application. Supported distributions include Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, OpenSuse, Freespire and Linspire. CNR will also handle the billing of your customers, providing them a one-stop-shop for all their Linux software needs, whether open source or commercial.
This benefit to developers will have a huge positive impact on Linux and open source adoption. Many people complain that nobody develops popular games for Linux. CNR makes this much more likely by providing developers easy access to tens of millions of potential customers. This will have a snowball affect as more software is developed for Linux, then more people will use Linux. CNR will be a catalyst that accelerates the adoption of Linux.
So, the sky is not falling?
Of course not. First of all, you are not being forced to use CNR. You can still install your applications the same way you normally do such as Synaptic, apt-get, or aptitude. Secondly, I believe that the benefits I listed above will have an overall positive affect on Ubuntu and the entire open source movement.
That said, will there any possible problems? It is possible. For example, I am not certain how much confusion and additional support will be created by having CNR's application repository. I assume that CNR will use standard Ubuntu packages when available, but also offer the commercial software from their repository.
Keep your eyes on the progress of this partnership, but please put on your rose-tinted glasses first.
Open Source and commercial is no opposition...
ReplyDeletei just discovered your blog via lifehacker and i wanted to let you know that i think it's great! i installed kubuntu in december (mostly to get away from the bs microsoft upgrade cycle) and i've been having a great time learning about linux. i'm not entirely new to it, but i am new to the administration of linux. osalt seems to be a great resource and i'd like to thank you for pointing me there.
ReplyDeletewell, Ubuntu users will gain access to Linspire's newly opened CNR (Click and Run) e-commerce and software delivery system. For Linspire, that will mean moving from Debian to Ubuntu as the base for its Linspire and Freespire desktop operating systems.
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