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> Yeah I have the free ESM enabled. Still, they could let people pay 25/year for server updates for up to 3 machines or something. Free tier can rightfully pou

> Yeah I have the free ESM enabled. Still, they could let people pay 25/year for server updates for up to 3 machines or something. Free tier can rightfully pound sand in the support expectations department. Perhaps a nearly-free tier wouldn't bring in enough revenue to offset the increased expectations there.

donmcronald 3y ago
> Perhaps a nearly-free tier wouldn't bring in enough revenue to offset the increased expectations there. They could have a no-support or per-incident support tier that’s only a license. IMO the reason that doesn’t happen is because everyone only wants billionaire customers where all costs get passed to the end consumer without question. A little profit isn’t enough anymore. All these companies want massive margins and profits and won’t settle for less. I think a total collapse in tech might actually be good for the long term health of the industry.
bee_rider 3y ago
I don’t understand putting security updates behind a subscription. At least, creating a distro which is designed to be user-friendly, and then just letting devices sit on the internet unsecured seem basically unethical. It is inviting people who don’t know what they are doing to contribute to botnets and other attacks. It isn’t an expectation that a free user will be supported, just an expectation that a responsible company won’t create a cybersecurity attractive nuisance. Ubuntu is open source, they are supposed to be on the good team. But, they could reasonably just shut the free tier machines off when they fell out of their automatic update lifespan. Or they could find their value-add elsewhere.
- calvinmorrison 3y ago
  you get free updates on the current version, you dont get free updates for old versions.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  > I don’t understand putting security updates behind a subscription. This struck me too! The author made some comments I didn't understand, giving me the impression that these were updates for proprietary Ubuntu packages or something, and therefore not a matter for concern. That doesn't seem right - if it's a security matter, and you have a patch, then you ship it.
  - nottorp 3y ago
    The extended security updates that I'm talking about are available beyond the official life of the distro - i.e. after the 5 years of LTS pass, or however long LTS lasts this week. Before that they're free. ESM is free for personal use too - conditions seem to change yearly, I think it's for up to 5 machines this week. Most normal people will just upgrade to the next LTS before the 5 years pass :)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

donmcronald 3y ago

> Perhaps a nearly-free tier wouldn't bring in enough revenue to offset the increased expectations there. They could have a no-support or per-incident support tier that’s only a license. IMO the reason that doesn’t happen is because everyone only wants billionaire customers where all costs get passed to the end consumer without question. A little profit isn’t enough anymore. All these companies want massive margins and profits and won’t settle for less. I think a total collapse in tech might actually be good for the long term health of the industry.

bee_rider 3y ago

I don’t understand putting security updates behind a subscription. At least, creating a distro which is designed to be user-friendly, and then just letting devices sit on the internet unsecured seem basically unethical. It is inviting people who don’t know what they are doing to contribute to botnets and other attacks. It isn’t an expectation that a free user will be supported, just an expectation that a responsible company won’t create a cybersecurity attractive nuisance. Ubuntu is open source, they are supposed to be on the good team. But, they could reasonably just shut the free tier machines off when they fell out of their automatic update lifespan. Or they could find their value-add elsewhere.

calvinmorrison 3y ago
you get free updates on the current version, you dont get free updates for old versions.
denton-scratch 3y ago
> I don’t understand putting security updates behind a subscription. This struck me too! The author made some comments I didn't understand, giving me the impression that these were updates for proprietary Ubuntu packages or something, and therefore not a matter for concern. That doesn't seem right - if it's a security matter, and you have a patch, then you ship it.
- nottorp 3y ago
  The extended security updates that I'm talking about are available beyond the official life of the distro - i.e. after the 5 years of LTS pass, or however long LTS lasts this week. Before that they're free. ESM is free for personal use too - conditions seem to change yearly, I think it's for up to 5 machines this week. Most normal people will just upgrade to the next LTS before the 5 years pass :)
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]