Ubuntu’s Software Center unveiled its first paid application a few days ago in the form of Fluendo’s DVD Player. Read on for details, along with comments from the player’s developers on where their relationship with Canonical might be headed in the future.
Barcelona-based Fluendo, which specializes in selling legal multimedia-codec solutions for Linux users (and which we’ve blogged about in the past), has offered its products through Canonical’s online store for some time now. Its DVD Player, however, represents the first item to be purchasable through the Software Center, an application built into Ubuntu itself.
As Fluendo explains on its website, its DVD Player package includes both codecs for DVD playback on Linux–providing a fully legal alternative to software like libdvdcss2–as well as an application for playing the videos themselves.
For now, the DVD Player is available only in Ubuntu 10.10′s software center. There’s no word on whether we can expect it to be “backported” to earlier versions of the operating system as well.
Fluendo and Canonical
From all appearances, Fluendo represents one of Canonical’s closest partners. This makes sense, since Canonical is the only major commercial force to have based its future on the viability of the Linux desktop, while Fluendo targets its products at individuals and businesses that use Linux-based operating systems and require multimedia solutions that comply with local laws.
Now that Fluendo’s DVD Player has become the first for-purchase item in the Software Center, will we see other Fluendo applications following suit? We can’t know for sure, but without getting into specifics, Fluendo representatives have stated that “we can imagine that other products, like the Fluendo codec pack which already is in the Ubuntu Software center, will join the list.”
The Software Center
The appearance of the first purchasable application in the Software Center is significant not only for the Canonical-Fluendo relationship, but also for the future of Ubuntu and Canonical themselves.
When the Software Center first made its debut during the Ubuntu 9.10 development cycle, it generated more than a little controversy when Canonical proposed calling it the “Software Store.” Now, it’s clear that, while the Software Center certainly provides functionality far beyond that of a store, a commercial component will become a part of it.
Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly how applications offered for sale in the Software Store contribute to Canonical’s bottom line. But Fluendo tells me that part of its revenue is being shared with Canonical, and developing relationships like this one will prove essential to the longterm viability of the company behind Ubuntu, as it endeavors to establish its financial viability alongside big-name competitors.
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They should add commercial Linux games. Wolrd of Goo, Amnesia, Humble Indie Bundle, etc. They are already a success (and without DRM), which proves Linux users are willing to pay for games.
@L4Linux:It is up to the developers/publishers of the games.
I think this is a significant and really important development for Linux. There will be a lot of people opposed to paid for applications. But frankly developers need to be allowed to choose how they fund their software development projects.
As such paid for applications need to be as easily obtainable and installable and maintainable than free software. This is a feature that will make consumer grade Linux attractive to developers of all camps.
When you say things like “legal multimedia-codec solutions” you are implying the alternatives are not legal. This is wrong.
The fact of the matter about codecs, is that in a few countries (let me emphasize the very FEW part) where the concept of codec/software patents is tolerated, you are supposed to pay a license to use certain codecs. Normally a large corporation such as Microsoft takes care of that, but Canonical is not paying this fee (its horribly expensive for someone giving the software away for free), so it falls on the user the responsibility. If the user pays this fee, he can use the codec. There is usually a different (cheaper) fee for just playing and (more expensive) for encoding, but the patent holders won’t likely accept direct payment from individuals, so initiatives like Fluendo are needed.
But if you managed to pay the fee, or like the majority you live in a country where said patents are invalid, it is absolutely legal to use the codecs (ubuntu-restricted-extras, lame, x264, VLC, mplayer from medibuntu, etc).
The software implementation itself is not illegal even in the few countries where the patents are enforced, you are just supposed to pay their fee, otherwise its unauthorized use.
In short there is no such thing as illegal or legal codecs.
DVD playing adds another twist, for the United States of America and its silly laws against defeating “protections”, undermining fair use and the right to use alternative operating systems / devices or make personal backups. But the world is not America and ripping a purchased DVD to watch it later using Ubuntu on the PC is not a crime in most parts of the world.
For those living in the USA, the Electronic Frontier Foundation site is one of the best places to get knowledge about these matters, and the permanent battle in courts against the oppressive corporations destroying individual freedoms.
Very good
[...] Software Center also reached some major milestones in 2011. The first for-sale application was introduced in the fall of 2010, but many more were added in 2011. Meanwhile, the recent implementation of support for PayPal makes [...]
[...] Software Center also reached some major milestones in 2011. The first for-sale application was introduced in the fall of 2010, but many more were added in 2011. Meanwhile, the recent implementation of support for PayPal makes [...]
[...] Software Center also reached some major milestones in 2011. The first for-sale application was introduced in the fall of 2010, but many more were added in 2011. Meanwhile, the recent implementation of support for PayPal makes [...]