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Phreaker
November 22nd, 2008, 11:28 AM
Canonical have made so much for (desktop) Linux adoption and yet they ask nothing in return.Ubuntu is a great OS, which since it's versions has attracted a lot of users towards OSS.But what would happen if Canonical bankrupts, will Ubuntu still be available then?
Is there a chance for Ubuntu to become payware?

ugm6hr
November 22nd, 2008, 11:36 AM
But what would happen if Canonical bankrupts, will Ubuntu still be available then?
The source code is already available, so Ubuntu (i.e. the OS) could continue to be developed by a different company or community if the will / demand was still there.

However, the word "Ubuntu" is a trademark of Canonical, so it couldn't be used.


Is there a chance for Ubuntu to become payware?
No. Read the Ubuntu promise: http://www.ubuntu.com/

Canonical would lose credibility if they went back on their word.

tom66
November 22nd, 2008, 11:38 AM
I think Mark Shuttleworth said if Canonical went bankrupt then Ubuntu will remain free. However, that's not going to happen soon: Shuttleworth's net wealth is very big and he donated US$10 million as an initial investment in Canonical.

diwas
November 22nd, 2008, 11:38 AM
But what would happen if Canonical bankrupts, will Ubuntu still be available then?
Yes, through internet, torrents.


Is there a chance for Ubuntu to become payware?
Obviously not. Its against their principles. Ubuntu was/is and always will be freely available to everyone. Including the softwares it provides.

Phreaker
November 22nd, 2008, 11:40 AM
Thanks for the quick answers.Sorry, but Ubuntu seems just too great to be truly free.:)
That's why I love it

diwas
November 22nd, 2008, 11:44 AM
Same here!

zipperback
November 22nd, 2008, 11:56 AM
But what would happen if Canonical bankrupts, will Ubuntu still be available then?


The source code is freely available.
Once it has been released to the public, it stays in the public.

The community has the source code available and as such, it will not simply go away.
Development could easily continue.

While it is true that the name "Ubuntu" is a trademark, there is nothing that prevents the community from continuing the redistribution and development of the codebase.

There are several example of continued development and redistribution already.

See this link for more information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ubuntu-based_distributions



Is there a chance for Ubuntu to become payware?


As stated on the Ubuntu.com homepage.
http://www.ubuntu.com/

Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.

- zipperback
:popcorn:

ssam
November 22nd, 2008, 12:27 PM
As long as people make occasional donations to ubuntu, it should keep afloat.

Tomatz
November 22nd, 2008, 01:43 PM
What alot of people forget is that Mark Shuttleworth is a venture capitalist. When Canonical is worth something, i wouldn't be surprised if he sold it off and got on a rocket to mars. :)

I don't think ubuntu could ever be sold like proprietary software though. Although the enterprise part of the business could be very lucrative but only as a support based business.

beno1990
November 22nd, 2008, 02:23 PM
The operating system is free, always will be. :D

However, if you want to support Ubuntu/Canonical, you can always buy stuff from their shop to support the company if you can. :P

Rokurosv
November 22nd, 2008, 09:25 PM
I don't think Ubuntu will ever be payed, but so far Canonical has not made a profit. Mark said that Canonical isn't cash flow positive and that it would take like 2 or 3 years of funding. The only difference is that there wouldn't be a Shipit or other Canonical services.

DOS4dinner
November 22nd, 2008, 10:06 PM
It's impossible. If they decided to charge for it, they would have to find every single person that contributed code to Ubuntu and give them royalties. It would be a legal nightmare.

beno1990
November 22nd, 2008, 10:44 PM
It's impossible. If they decided to charge for it, they would have to find every single person that contributed code to Ubuntu and give them royalties. It would be a legal nightmare.

That's only in proprietary software. In free software, such as BSD Licenses and the GPL, the only requirement is that the original author be credited, and with copyleft licences that the product is shipped with the source code, and is re-distributable.

pt123
November 22nd, 2008, 11:46 PM
Because of Ubuntu, Canonical end up getting deals with companies like Dell, Intel and VIA.

johnkzin
November 23rd, 2008, 02:00 AM
As long as people make occasional donations to ubuntu, it should keep afloat.


Which seems like a perfect avenue:

If you feel like it's "too good to be free", or if you're worried that they aren't making enough income, then take what you would have paid, or are willing to pay, for an OS, and donate it.

I think that's going to be my new method: Every April (the .04 release time frame), I will start sending Ubuntu $75. That's about what I would pay for a release of Mac OS X, and those average about once a year, so it seems reasonable to me. It's sort of like a voluntary upgrade fee. (it would be nice if it was a tax deductible donation, but that would make it a double-benefit to me, so it's not necessary)

If you think that's a reasonable price to pay for an OS, $75/yr, then I'd suggest doing the same thing.

Other things you can do: buy stuff from their stores. Clothing, CD/DVD distributions (even if you don't technically need them), and if you have the money for it, buy a support contract for the desktop edition.

There's lots of options you can use to get money into Ubuntu/Canonical that don't have to do with "buying their software".