Ubuntu One

// May 14th, 2009 // p.u.c & p.u-uk.org

Dave wrote

The fact of the matter is there are proprietary drives in Ubuntu and you choose whether to use them or not, why should this service be any different?

I think the difference is that this is proprietary software (or at least the back end is) that is branded as Ubuntu. Personally I don’t have any problem with Canonical making money from this commercial service, just as I don’t have a problem with them selling Ubuntu t-shirts and mugs. My annoyance is Canonical using the Ubuntu branding to market a closed source program, when closed source programs are against the Ubuntu philosophy

At the core of the Ubuntu Philosophy are these core philosophical ideals:
1. Every computer user should have the freedom to download, run, copy, distribute, study, share, change and improve their software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.
Our philosophy is reflected in the software we produce and included in our distribution. As a result, the licensing terms of the software we distribute are measured against our philosophy, using the Ubuntu License Policy.
….
we are working to ensure that every single piece of software you need is available under a license that gives you those freedoms.

5 Responses to “Ubuntu One”

  1. jordo2323 says:
    15/05/2009 at 00:35

    Aren’t the API’s open source and stuff? I agree that it shouldn’t use the Ubuntu name in branding, but maybe this makes a difference….

    Reply
    • Dean says:
      15/05/2009 at 00:42

      The client is open source and reverse engineering the back-end isn’t totally unfeasible. That’s not the point though.

      Reply
      • edythemighty says:
        15/05/2009 at 03:01

        “Our philosophy is reflected in the software we produce and included in our distribution. As a result, the licensing terms of the software we distribute are measured against our philosophy, using the Ubuntu License Policy.”

        Dean says:
        15/05/2009 at 00:42

        “The client is open source…That’s not the point though.”

        Please do elaborate then. Everything on the client side is free. Everything *you* run is free (free depending if you choose to run the restricted drivers or not).

        Reply
        • Dean says:
          15/05/2009 at 08:17

          Sure, back-end server side software, branded Ubuntu which is non-free has been created. This may not go against an exact interpretation of the Ubuntu philosophy but I think it sure goes against the philosophy of the Ubuntu philosophy :) It follows the rules of it, but not the spirit.

          Reply
        • Regala says:
          15/05/2009 at 14:19

          Well, sure I’d like to know more about how my data would be stored and used. And the fact that the API is “open-source” (nonsense) is quite a funny stanza :)
          and reading, re-reading the Ubuntu Philosophy, would make “what you run on your side is *free* (implicitly, it is not your business what we run and what we do of what you trust us with)” more and more bitter by the minute.

          Reply

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