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Top Ubuntu Software Centre app downloads for December 2011

70 points by macco 15y ago

Periodic 15y ago
I notice the lists are mostly games. I wonder if that shows Linux's lack in entertainment compared to other platforms. The lists also don't seem very diverse, which is probably due to the store being so new. It's good to see people able to make money selling software for Linux. It has traditionally been difficult compared to other platforms.
- julian37 15y ago
  I notice the lists are mostly games. I wonder if that shows Linux's lack in entertainment compared to other platforms. I'm arriving at the opposite conclusion: not too long ago it used to be that the only game available on Linux was TuxRacer (✝), now there appears to be a plethora of choices and people are actually downloading and even buying them. (✝) I'm exaggerating a little bit here. There was also FreeCiv and Battle For Wesnoth.
  - jiggy2011 15y ago
    and nethack , xbill , UT99 , UT2004 , Quake 1 - 3 , Doom3 and..
    - rkowalick 15y ago
      quakelive.com also works well with linux.
    - icebraining 15y ago
      Hedgewars is awesome, obviously heavily inspired by Worms but with its own innovations (and a very cool rope based mode which I don't think was possible in Worms). But Linux doesn't really lack games (the Debian games section has 1130 packages, which even with more than one package per game is still a few hundreds), only AAA style.
- jiggy2011 15y ago
  I can't think of many pieces of commercial software available for Linux that aren't games. I think games are really one of the few pieces of software that don't really make sense as "free" software. Even on my Windows boot (apart from the OS itself) the only proprietary software I run are games + steam.
  - hendrix 15y ago
    There are a few including houdini/maya/mathematica/matlab/nx (old version).
    - jiggy2011 15y ago
      Those are pretty niche stuff for mathematicians , engineers and 3d artists. In terms of mainstream apps pretty much everything on Linux is open source I'd imagine because there is an itch there to scratch. Games are an exception to this (I think) because although lots of developers love games the amount of entertainment value derided from playing a game is unlikely to be worth the time investment to build it.
  - shadowfox 15y ago
    > I think games are really one of the few pieces of software that don't really make sense as "free" software. I am curious as to the distinction. What is different about games, say compared to a complex piece of software like an office suite or a medical imaging/diagnosis suite?
    - jiggy2011 15y ago
      Well there's a few reasons. Firstly high quality games (AAA or even professional indie titles) require a huge amount of time and specialist skills to develop including some (art, music etc) that are not usually possessed by developers themselves. Secondly the usefulness of a game is pretty low, playing games by and large will not help you do another task which makes you money (Dev tools , libs and creative software will). Also their perceived entertainment value degrades over time relative to other newer games with better graphics etc. Also you are unlikely to play any one game for a massive amount of time without becoming bored of it and wanting something else. Most open source software is developed either because. 1) There is an economic reason to pay somebody to do it for you, for example if you are facebook and you use allot of PHP it is in your economic interest for PHP to be as good as possible. If you are IBM it is in your interest for Linux to be as good as possible so you can sell servers based on it. This doesn't really exist with games since there are less people making money from the gaming market who are not game developers, I can't think of a good economic reason to pay somebody else to build or improve on an open source game. This is because games make money from either charging one off for the game or by including adverts (which could be removed in a fork of an open source version). The only other model is selling subscriptions services (Wow) etc but then you are subsidizing the development of the game and another company could simply launch their own game servers for your game without subsidizing development and have an economic advantage. 2) You are "scratching an itch", this is partially valid as evidenced by the large numbers of people who start projects to build open source games. But due to reasons outlined above they will eventually find that either they lack the skills or that it is not an economic investment of their time. If you build some office software than only you and a handful of others like to use than that may be a good investment of your time because you need an office suite and you will get many hours use out of it. If you build a game that few other people play this is probably not going to feel like a good use of time. There are plenty of open source tools for game developers (engines etc) presumably these were built by game developers to scratch their own itch for a high quality free engine that was then used in a commercial game.
g3orge 15y ago
90% are games. Is this good or bad?
- willyum 15y ago
  I think it's good, or at worst interesting. There have been a couple articles talking about how Ubuntu+Unity will push Linux into the "common user" limelight. I'd gander that most hackers wouldn't bother will games like these
- baq 15y ago
  useless observation: compare with other app stores. useless because i don't have the numbers.
- iso8859-1 15y ago
  I think it's good. The games are high quality too (World of Goo, Braid). The reason it's mostly games on there, is because games are one of the things the open-source community does not seem to be very good at producing. I think it's because most OSS hackers aren't good artists, so the games will never look as appealing as those designed commercially.
- lunarscape 15y ago
  The list is practically meaningless. It only shows results for those who chose to install a tracking package and who used the Software centre. There's no data on software installed through other means. Lots of proprietary and commercial software vendors supply their own installers so wouldn't show up in these results ever.
aeurielesn 15y ago
I need to ask whether someone know if installations through other packaging tools (apt-get, aptitude) are somehow considered too?
- crb 15y ago
  For that, look at the Popularity Contest (popcon) results. popcon, originally from Debian, tracks the packages installed by the (self-selecting) subset of users who have installed the 'popularity-contest' package. http://popcon.ubuntu.com/ http://popcon.ubuntu.com/
tomjen3 15y ago
Sadly they are mostly games -- I wash hoping to see how well Gnome Do was doing (as it is an awesome piece of software).
- SkyMarshal 15y ago
  I used to use Gnome-Do, and it is truly excellent. It always seems to know exactly what I'm searching for with no missed suggestions. However it was also the only Mono-based app I used. I just got a new computer and installed a fresh Linux, and am giving the pure-Python Synapse another try. It seems to have improved since I last tried it, and while still not quite as good as Gnome-Do yet in its prediction accuracy, I think it's a good enough replacement to make the switch.
  - eropple 15y ago
    Even all other things being equal, why is the fact that Synapse is a non-Mono app a reason to "switch"? If you're running an even remotely modern computer, the minor runtime overhead of Mono is a rounding error, and Gnome-Do wins handily on features and search effectiveness (I've used both and Synapse is much less accurate with searches).
    - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
      In my case, I think Synapse looks and feels much nicer than Gnome-Do ever did, and it doesn't require pulling in a giant set of package dependencies that I wouldn't otherwise be needing.
      - eropple 15y ago
        What drives you to care about "a giant set of package dependencies"? I mean, my / is on on a 100GB SSD and I've never really found a reason to give shits about what dependencies I've got installed. Like tomjen3 said to the sibling comment, be anal about something that matters.
    - SkyMarshal 15y ago
old-gregg 15y ago
My latest favorite: Pithos, a GTK-based desktop client for Pandora. No more Flash, no more having to keep the browser open, no more "I am still listening" nonsense, and all media buttons on the keyboard work: pause, skip, etc. http://kevinmehall.net/p/pithos http://kevinmehall.net/p/pithos
yason 15y ago
Just curious: what's the point of Fluendo DVD player? I assume that as they're actually selling a certified DVD player it means they must comply with the restrictions such as implementing no-skip sections etc? That's just unfathomable. One of the biggest reasons for that I never use a real DVD player but prefer Totem/VLC instead is that I don't have to bear with the stupid menus and wait for warnings to end. With Totem/VLC I can skip directly to the right title, press a few keys to get subtitles/audio tracks right and just watch. Not as easy as a simple .avi/.mp4 file but almost. It's a total pain whenever I'm visiting a friend and we're watching FBI warnings displayed on the television. So, what's the point of paying money to get a crappier DVD experience? The privilege of not having to install libdvdcss2 if you're not computer savvy? But how many people who are not computer savvy are actually watching DVDs on Ubuntu and still know how to get, buy, and install these applications?
- DrCatbox 15y ago
  Makes me think the numbers are manipulated, perhaps by Fluendo?
  - icebraining 15y ago
    Downloads are counted by the Ubuntu project using popcon[1], not by Fluendo. [1]: http://popcon.ubuntu.com/ http://popcon.ubuntu.com/
- thristian 15y ago
  Well, I think Totem/VLC still have some issues with certain DVD menu constructs, so there's that. Also, libdvdcss2 is illegal in many parts of the world, so the Fluendo DVD player is your only legal option. Sure you could install libdvdcss2 anyway, and the likelihood of you being hauled in front of a court for it is minimal, but it's nice to have a legitimate option.
  - kijin 15y ago
    In addition, libdvdcss2 is in Medibuntu, and most casual users don't know how to enable another repository. Companies and organizations that supply Ubuntu to schools and other large clients in the U.S. might also want to avoid any possible legal trouble. Result: thousands of Ubuntu boxes end up with a proprietary DVD player on it.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
listic 15y ago
I wonder why don't they publish number of downloads for those apps? This would be in the spirit of open source.
- fierarul 15y ago
  What does the spirit of open source have to do with the number of downloads for some commercial, closed source apps? Open source isn't infinite transparency.
thedeuce 15y ago
pretty dismal

70 points by macco 15y ago

I notice the lists are mostly games. I wonder if that shows Linux's lack in entertainment compared to other platforms. The lists also don't seem very diverse, which is probably due to the store being so new. It's good to see people able to make money selling software for Linux. It has traditionally been difficult compared to other platforms.

julian37 15y ago
I notice the lists are mostly games. I wonder if that shows Linux's lack in entertainment compared to other platforms. I'm arriving at the opposite conclusion: not too long ago it used to be that the only game available on Linux was TuxRacer (✝), now there appears to be a plethora of choices and people are actually downloading and even buying them. (✝) I'm exaggerating a little bit here. There was also FreeCiv and Battle For Wesnoth.
- jiggy2011 15y ago
  and nethack , xbill , UT99 , UT2004 , Quake 1 - 3 , Doom3 and..
  - rkowalick 15y ago
    quakelive.com also works well with linux.
  - icebraining 15y ago
    Hedgewars is awesome, obviously heavily inspired by Worms but with its own innovations (and a very cool rope based mode which I don't think was possible in Worms). But Linux doesn't really lack games (the Debian games section has 1130 packages, which even with more than one package per game is still a few hundreds), only AAA style.
jiggy2011 15y ago
I can't think of many pieces of commercial software available for Linux that aren't games. I think games are really one of the few pieces of software that don't really make sense as "free" software. Even on my Windows boot (apart from the OS itself) the only proprietary software I run are games + steam.
- hendrix 15y ago
  There are a few including houdini/maya/mathematica/matlab/nx (old version).
  - jiggy2011 15y ago
    Those are pretty niche stuff for mathematicians , engineers and 3d artists. In terms of mainstream apps pretty much everything on Linux is open source I'd imagine because there is an itch there to scratch. Games are an exception to this (I think) because although lots of developers love games the amount of entertainment value derided from playing a game is unlikely to be worth the time investment to build it.
- shadowfox 15y ago
  > I think games are really one of the few pieces of software that don't really make sense as "free" software. I am curious as to the distinction. What is different about games, say compared to a complex piece of software like an office suite or a medical imaging/diagnosis suite?
  - jiggy2011 15y ago
    Well there's a few reasons. Firstly high quality games (AAA or even professional indie titles) require a huge amount of time and specialist skills to develop including some (art, music etc) that are not usually possessed by developers themselves. Secondly the usefulness of a game is pretty low, playing games by and large will not help you do another task which makes you money (Dev tools , libs and creative software will). Also their perceived entertainment value degrades over time relative to other newer games with better graphics etc. Also you are unlikely to play any one game for a massive amount of time without becoming bored of it and wanting something else. Most open source software is developed either because. 1) There is an economic reason to pay somebody to do it for you, for example if you are facebook and you use allot of PHP it is in your economic interest for PHP to be as good as possible. If you are IBM it is in your interest for Linux to be as good as possible so you can sell servers based on it. This doesn't really exist with games since there are less people making money from the gaming market who are not game developers, I can't think of a good economic reason to pay somebody else to build or improve on an open source game. This is because games make money from either charging one off for the game or by including adverts (which could be removed in a fork of an open source version). The only other model is selling subscriptions services (Wow) etc but then you are subsidizing the development of the game and another company could simply launch their own game servers for your game without subsidizing development and have an economic advantage. 2) You are "scratching an itch", this is partially valid as evidenced by the large numbers of people who start projects to build open source games. But due to reasons outlined above they will eventually find that either they lack the skills or that it is not an economic investment of their time. If you build some office software than only you and a handful of others like to use than that may be a good investment of your time because you need an office suite and you will get many hours use out of it. If you build a game that few other people play this is probably not going to feel like a good use of time. There are plenty of open source tools for game developers (engines etc) presumably these were built by game developers to scratch their own itch for a high quality free engine that was then used in a commercial game.

g3orge 15y ago

90% are games. Is this good or bad?

willyum 15y ago
I think it's good, or at worst interesting. There have been a couple articles talking about how Ubuntu+Unity will push Linux into the "common user" limelight. I'd gander that most hackers wouldn't bother will games like these
baq 15y ago
useless observation: compare with other app stores. useless because i don't have the numbers.
iso8859-1 15y ago
I think it's good. The games are high quality too (World of Goo, Braid). The reason it's mostly games on there, is because games are one of the things the open-source community does not seem to be very good at producing. I think it's because most OSS hackers aren't good artists, so the games will never look as appealing as those designed commercially.
lunarscape 15y ago
The list is practically meaningless. It only shows results for those who chose to install a tracking package and who used the Software centre. There's no data on software installed through other means. Lots of proprietary and commercial software vendors supply their own installers so wouldn't show up in these results ever.

aeurielesn 15y ago

I need to ask whether someone know if installations through other packaging tools (apt-get, aptitude) are somehow considered too?

crb 15y ago
For that, look at the Popularity Contest (popcon) results. popcon, originally from Debian, tracks the packages installed by the (self-selecting) subset of users who have installed the 'popularity-contest' package. http://popcon.ubuntu.com/ http://popcon.ubuntu.com/

tomjen3 15y ago

Sadly they are mostly games -- I wash hoping to see how well Gnome Do was doing (as it is an awesome piece of software).

SkyMarshal 15y ago
I used to use Gnome-Do, and it is truly excellent. It always seems to know exactly what I'm searching for with no missed suggestions. However it was also the only Mono-based app I used. I just got a new computer and installed a fresh Linux, and am giving the pure-Python Synapse another try. It seems to have improved since I last tried it, and while still not quite as good as Gnome-Do yet in its prediction accuracy, I think it's a good enough replacement to make the switch.
- eropple 15y ago
  Even all other things being equal, why is the fact that Synapse is a non-Mono app a reason to "switch"? If you're running an even remotely modern computer, the minor runtime overhead of Mono is a rounding error, and Gnome-Do wins handily on features and search effectiveness (I've used both and Synapse is much less accurate with searches).
  - nuclear_eclipse 15y ago
    In my case, I think Synapse looks and feels much nicer than Gnome-Do ever did, and it doesn't require pulling in a giant set of package dependencies that I wouldn't otherwise be needing.
    - eropple 15y ago
      What drives you to care about "a giant set of package dependencies"? I mean, my / is on on a 100GB SSD and I've never really found a reason to give shits about what dependencies I've got installed. Like tomjen3 said to the sibling comment, be anal about something that matters.
  - SkyMarshal 15y ago

old-gregg 15y ago

My latest favorite: Pithos, a GTK-based desktop client for Pandora. No more Flash, no more having to keep the browser open, no more "I am still listening" nonsense, and all media buttons on the keyboard work: pause, skip, etc. http://kevinmehall.net/p/pithos http://kevinmehall.net/p/pithos

yason 15y ago

Just curious: what's the point of Fluendo DVD player? I assume that as they're actually selling a certified DVD player it means they must comply with the restrictions such as implementing no-skip sections etc? That's just unfathomable. One of the biggest reasons for that I never use a real DVD player but prefer Totem/VLC instead is that I don't have to bear with the stupid menus and wait for warnings to end. With Totem/VLC I can skip directly to the right title, press a few keys to get subtitles/audio tracks right and just watch. Not as easy as a simple .avi/.mp4 file but almost. It's a total pain whenever I'm visiting a friend and we're watching FBI warnings displayed on the television. So, what's the point of paying money to get a crappier DVD experience? The privilege of not having to install libdvdcss2 if you're not computer savvy? But how many people who are not computer savvy are actually watching DVDs on Ubuntu and still know how to get, buy, and install these applications?

DrCatbox 15y ago
Makes me think the numbers are manipulated, perhaps by Fluendo?
- icebraining 15y ago
  Downloads are counted by the Ubuntu project using popcon[1], not by Fluendo. [1]: http://popcon.ubuntu.com/ http://popcon.ubuntu.com/
thristian 15y ago
Well, I think Totem/VLC still have some issues with certain DVD menu constructs, so there's that. Also, libdvdcss2 is illegal in many parts of the world, so the Fluendo DVD player is your only legal option. Sure you could install libdvdcss2 anyway, and the likelihood of you being hauled in front of a court for it is minimal, but it's nice to have a legitimate option.
- kijin 15y ago
  In addition, libdvdcss2 is in Medibuntu, and most casual users don't know how to enable another repository. Companies and organizations that supply Ubuntu to schools and other large clients in the U.S. might also want to avoid any possible legal trouble. Result: thousands of Ubuntu boxes end up with a proprietary DVD player on it.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

listic 15y ago

I wonder why don't they publish number of downloads for those apps? This would be in the spirit of open source.

fierarul 15y ago
What does the spirit of open source have to do with the number of downloads for some commercial, closed source apps? Open source isn't infinite transparency.

thedeuce 15y ago

pretty dismal