I think that there would be considerably less opposition/vitriol regarding Ubuntu One if it were to offer the ability to use a number of different back-end services. At the moment, it will only sync with the Amazon service rebranded by Canonical as UbuntuOne, but perhaps in the future, it will allow you to sync to any publicly available service - dropbox, humyo, moxy, etc. Of course, they are all closed-source too, but the way the cloud is shaping up, perhaps there's room for a free player in the future. For example, how difficult might it be for the Ubuntu One client to support webdav? That would open a few doors. And wouldn't it be nice if it offered the ability to sync with your own publicly available SSH servers? Again, maybe one for the future of the product. <div class="gmail_quote">2010/1/16 Ted Smith <<a href="mailto:teddks@gmail.com">teddks@gmail.com</a>> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> <div class="im">On Sat, 2010-01-16 at 08:22 -0500, Marc Deslauriers wrote: > On Fri, 2010-01-15 at 22:13 -0800, Aaron C. de Bruyn wrote: > > On 2010-01-16 at 18:38:05 +1300, Dustin Kirkland wrote: > > > Ubuntu One is no different to me, than using Yahoo Search, Gmail, or > > > Facebook. The client I use to access these service (firefox or > > > > And when was the last time Yahoo Search, Gmail, or Facebook popped up > > an icon in your 'systray'? When were they last integrated into > > the Nautilus right-click menu? > > Well, it may not be in the notification area (which I guess is what > you're calling the 'systray'), but how about the following, which are > installed by default: > > - GNOME clock and the weather applet, which is by default get their > weather data from services for which the source code may not be > available > - Invest applet gets stock information from Yahoo, for which the source > may not be available > </div>The issue isn't communicating with servers running non-free software. The issue is non-free network services. These are services which the user makes a significant time and data investment in, making the service much more than a source of information. Google's search engine is not a network service by default, it's just a web site. Once you log into your google account and configure your search results, it is. Reading someone's finger isn't a network service. You're just downloading data. Signing into your twitter account and following that person is. <div class="im"> > How about all the search providers which come pre-configured in firefox? > </div>Are they websites, or services? <div class="im">> How about totem that has YouTube and BBC integration? > </div>This is certainly sub-optimal, and one of the reasons I'm dissatisfied with Ubuntu. If YouTube was right below <a href="http://tinyvid.tv" target="_blank">tinyvid.tv</a> or tinyogg or other free network service video sharing sites, I'd be much less dissatisfied as a freedom-seeking user. <div class="im"> > And of course, F-Spot, which can upload pictures to Flickr, Picasaweb... > </div>This is also sub-optimal, but not something I personally care about, because I don't use F-Spot, and recommend not using it. Were it another program, I would certainly hope that there would be free alternatives. This is the wrong place to request these features. As of now, I don't expect Canonical to have any interest in promoting free network services in Ubuntu's default software. That's something I would expect more from gNewSense or Trisquel. If they implement these freedom features, I would expect Ubuntu to integrate them, though. Also, I'm unsure as to whether Canonical is the entity implementing this integration, or if it's just upstream. The main reason I posted that <a href="http://identi.ca" target="_blank">identi.ca</a> note was that I have increasingly seen Canonical integrate Ubuntu with non-free software or network services, like Ubuntu One, and recently the poll in the forums asking which non-free programs would be appreciated in the Software Store^WCenter. These actions are deeply disturbing, because I've used Ubuntu for years and loved it dearly, and would hate leaving it. -- ubuntu-devel mailing list <a href="mailto:ubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-devel@lists.ubuntu.com</a> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-devel</a> </blockquote></div>