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Ubuntu Plans New System for Installing Applications
A Launchpad spec targeting Karmic Koala (the next release of Ubuntu) describes specifications for a unified application for installing software on Ubuntu. To be clear, everything will still be based on Apt, so this isn’t a significant backend change, but rather a focus on a better user layer.
In the short term, this new application, currently called AppCenter, will basically be a cleaner Add/Remove Programs with an update manager built in. Synaptic and the other software installation tools will still be avaliable in Karmic. In addition to the new software, though, Canonical will be promoting the use of apt:// links. Apt links have been around for some time, but are not heavily used. They allow you to click on a link in your browser and have a dialog box open, asking if you would like to install some package. For example, click here to install Epiphany.
Things start to get more interesting when you look a few releases forward. In Ubuntu 10.04 (Karmic+1), AppCenter will replace Synaptic and Update Manager. In 10.10, AppCenter gets really interesting. It is supposed to becomes a true “app store,” complete with reviews, ratings, and support for non-free (as in money and, most likely, freedom) software. In addition to all of this, there will be an easy way of adding third-party repositotires (other sources of software) to AppCenter, along with a system for marking trusted sources.
Beyond 10.10, the specifications are somewhat vague, but there may be support for downloading a package once and installing it on many computers easily, which is very important for enterprises Finally, they will “investigate” the possibility of including screensavers and/or Windows applications.
It’s safe to say that AppCenter will unify the software installation system in Ubuntu within the next two releases. It remains to be seen, though, if AppCenter will become a truly unified app store for Ubuntu. In order to pull this off, it is essential that all applications be able to easily get their latest version, no matter if it’s the first beta or version 12, into AppCenter.
If AppCenter becomes a marketplace for all applications, it will revolutionize application installation on computers. Yes, the idea may be inspired by the iPhone app store, but an app store on a tightly locked-down phone and an app store on computers are very different things.
Can The Games for Linux Argument Apply To Applications
Many independent game developers have been arguing recently that porting games to OS X and Linux is a good idea, not because you will sell a lot of Linux copies, but because you get a lot of free advertising which leads to more sales on all platforms. Can this argument work with general applications, too, though?
Unfortunately, I doubt it in most cases. There are already so many great Linux applications that a new application, closed or open source, doesn’t really make much of a splash unless it is already well known, which largely defeats the point of gaining the PR from the port.
For example, look at the recent releases of commercial, closed-source comic and book organization software for Linux from RadicalBreeze. As much as I would like to see these applications succeed, they haven’t gotten a huge amount of attention, despite being something of a test of Linux as a target for commercial development.
As a counterexample, though, Dropbox seemed to get a fair amount of attention for porting their software to Linux. The difference in their case, I suspect, was that they had enough attention already to really be noticed, but not enough that they didn’t benefit from the port.
While for some companies porting applications to Linux may yield a big PR spike, most companies are, unfortunately, probably either too big to care or too small to be noticed.
Three Little Utilities That Make a Big Difference
One of the things that I love about being a Linux user is that there are tons of incredibly useful little tools. These are three of the “killer apps” I use that may seem like a generic tool, but are really amazing in some way:
Conduit - conduit-project.org
There are tons of file synchronization applications for Linux, but Conduit really stands out. For starters, Conduit is really simple. You just drag in data providers as either sources (sending data out) or sinks (receiving data) and connect them however you wish. The interface is split in to different syncing groups, so you can easily manage as many different syncing jobs as you need to. Another thing that really makes Conduit stand out, though, is its ability to transfer information from a wide variety of sources. Not only can you sync files and folders, you can also sync various Google services, SmugMug, Tomboy notes, and other applications and websites. The only way these less-traditional data providers differ from files and folders is that it is often only possible to sync in one direction. For example, Conduit can pull information from Google Documents, but not upload information to it. On more and more data providers, however, this is not an issue.
While Conduit is little more than a simple data synchronization tool, its ability to get and send your data to a vast number of places and its simplicity combine to make Conduit a great choice if you need some quick synchronization.
(Conduit is designed for GNOME, KDE users may need to look elsewhere. Ubuntu users can find Conduit in the repositories.)
VNStat – humdi.net/vnstat
When Comcast decided to implement a bandwidth cap, I had to find Bandwidth monitoring software for Linux, Windows, and OS X. After that nightmare, I think I can now say that I know something about bandwidth monitoring. OS X has, by far, the best GUI stand-alone bandwidth monitor in the form of Surplus Meter, but my favorite of all the bandwidth monitors I tried was definitely VNstat, a Linux-only CLI utility. Setup is a little more complicated than others, but once it’s running, it is great. Just type in vnstat -m to see how much bandwidth you have used each month. Likewise, -d gives you a daily overview and -h gives you a very in depth hourly overview. I really try to avoid unnecessary use of the terminal, but I really prefer VNstat to any other equivalent application that is available for any platform.
(Ubuntu users can find VNStat in the repositories (only through Synaptic).)
GEdit – projects.gnome.org/gedit
Almost every operating system includes a text editor of some sort. On Windows it is just a text editor with one feature: word wrap. In true Apple form, OS X tacked on some editing features so that users of word processing software will feel at home. (The point of a basic text editor, as far as I am concerned, is not to have formatting.) Still, it is better than what Windows includes. In true Linux form, GEdit is, in addition to being a simple text editor, a powerful, tabbed code editor. If you have to work with code, no matter if it is HTML or C++, you might want to just forget about an IDE and use GEdit. With support for tabs, syntax highlighting, and a great plugin system to add whatever you want to it, GEdit really is an incredible text editor.
(Almost all GNOME-based distributions include GEdit. KDE users should probably look elsewhere.)
Attracting the Young, Tech-Savvy Generation
A recent Linux Journal article point to Apple’s selling of heavily discounted Macs to schools and asks what Linux is doing to attract the young, and more tech-savvy, generation. It is very important that Linux does target this group, because they are the generation of the future and the generation others are increasingly turning to for solutions to their technology problems. So what can we do to target this group?
I propose a competition, sponsored by individual donations and contributions from as many Linux distributions as possible. This competition could also be done in connection with college software development classes.
In order to compete in the competition, developers would have to create an open-source application for Linux that targets any segment of education – particularly high school and college students. This would spur true innovation and, hopefully, turn out some incredible Linux applications for students.
For example, what about an application that provides a collaborative platform for note-talking and group projects? Additionally, with a good plug-in system, the functionality could be expanded practically forever. Or how about a better system for handwriting recognition? How about a system for communication among students, and between students and professors? How about a specialized Linux distro for elementary schools (yeah, yeah, I know that some already exist)? The possibilities really are virtually infinite.
Especially if this competition was run together with colleges and universities, in addition to whatever prize was already being offered, winning applications could be pre-installed on top of a Linux distro on laptops, and the participating colleges would recommend these laptops to students.
This competition would give universities a chance to get their names on some really cool applications, give students a chance to show their coding and design skills to the world, promote Linux and open source software, and create a wave of new college students using Linux laptops pre-installed with cool applications. In other words, everyone wins.
We have already seen that this sort of model works with Firefox’s Extend Firefox competion and Google’s Adroid Developer Challenge. Now all we need to do is apply this model to Linux applications designed for students.