Canonical asks desktop users to "pay what you think Ubuntu is worth"

[Porcini M.]

I'm not saying it's wrong, or that it won't make them some money, or that they don't deserve to get some money back on what they do. It's just ... they're a multi-million-dollar corporation. It's like a lawyer having a tip jar, or a stock-broker selling magazine subscriptions.

"Unbecoming" of their stature..?

An alternative would be to offer something tangible in exchange for the donation, like a personally (by Mark Shuttleworth) autographed install CD, entry of your name into a public "donors" or "stakeholders" ledger, some piece of swag, etc. Sort of like how National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. does it.

[mamamia88]

"Unbecoming" of their stature..?

An alternative would be to offer something tangible in exchange for the donation, like a personally (by Mark Shuttleworth) autographed install CD, entry of your name into a public "donors" or "stakeholders" ledger, some piece of swag, etc. Sort of like how National Public Radio (NPR) in the U.S. does it.

too much effort to sign all those cds. but i wouldn't mind donating $20 or so for a ubuntu branded flash drive with the latest lts dd'd on it

[Cope57]

I will donate nothing. When I asked shipit for 400 CD's of 4.10 for my soldiers when I was in the military they declined me. I think *buntu used to be a great distribution until they started with six month release cycles,stopped shipit and started to change the direction the distribution was heading. Now it is continuing to head toward being another distribution that will come, and possibly go.

What is *buntu worth? I do not know, I have been using Debian since 2002 before *buntu was born. I tried various releases of different *buntu distributions to see how they have changed, and I am no longer interested in their future. They declined a shipment of CD's to the soldiers which I cared for. I forgive them, but I did not forget

I will however support those that use Linux, and possibly help with any issues that they may have.

[JDShu]

I would not think it IS a case of desperation. The company, according to wikipedia, has an annual revenue of 30 million in 2009. They are also continuing to hire more people. When Apple introduces another potential revenue source would one label it 'desperation'?

Is this different? Yes, clearly it is. It was inspired by the Humble Indie Bundle and is a great idea IMHO.

Canonical and Ubuntu has existed for almost ten years and they still have not made a profit. If it was any other company, it would have shut down years ago but Canonical is supported by Mr. Shuttleworth's millions. Apple on the other hand is profitable already, so no, nobody would call them desperate in that sense.

[bart.a]

I think a contribution is more then reasonable.

When you use this great system on a day to day basis 16 coins is nothing.. Especialy considering the cost of a complete and legal MS system..

[vasa1]

Somewhat OT, but is Canonical registered as a financial entity in various countries where it has a presence? In that case, could they accept contributions in the local currency by online transfers (bank to bank)?

(I don't have a Paypal account.)

[Hedgehog1]

I was pleased that I could contribute to the expenses that Canonical has been carrying for these many years.

I contributed a reasonable amount today, and will likely do so for each new release level I start using.

I am running Ubuntu on 8 systems at home. Lord knows that I have paid more than enough for Windows and OSX releases over time for my non-Ubuntu systems.

The Donation screen could be a little more tasteful - But that is my only small 'gripe'.

It felt good to help 'share the financial load'.

[V for Vincent]

I've installed Ubuntu on nearly ten machines by now and I've been using it on my main machine since 2007. I'll be chipping in a good amount as soon as I've topped off my PayPal account and I'll make a donation for each new version, as well.

[deadflowr]

Canonical and Ubuntu has existed for almost ten years and they still have not made a profit. If it was any other company, it would have shut down years ago but Canonical is supported by Mr. Shuttleworth's millions. Apple on the other hand is profitable already, so no, nobody would call them desperate in that sense.

And you know this how?
Is this based on the information from a four year old interview Mark Shuttleworth gave?
Since 2009, Neither Canonical or Mark Shuttleworth have said absolutely anything in regards to whether or not they are making profitable money.
Yet, since that time, he has moved out of the CEO postion and the new CEO, Jane Sibler, seems well and content for a CEO running a drowning firm.
They are hiring, and I haven't seen any signs of downsizing(Kicking Kubuntu development out doesn't count as that makes sense from the Ubuntu flavor standpoint, it makes Kubuntu no different from the other flavors such Xubuntu or Edubuntu), In fact they've upsized(if that's a word) and expanded themselves. Typically, what they're doing now is not consistent with a company draining cash(And that's regardless of whether or not someone keeps pumping liquidity into that company).

[Statia]

The company, according to wikipedia, has an annual revenue of 30 million in 2009.

So?
Revenue alone means nothing.