9 ms·

The development of Ubuntu Tweak is stopped.

61 points by vilgax 14y ago

zzleeper 14y ago
What was the reason behind this? "not free anymore"==??
- belorn 14y ago
  I wonder the same thing.
- paulgb 14y ago
  It's likely in response to Ubuntu's controversial new "feature" of including Amazon search results in unity search (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/24/ubuntu_amazon_suggestions/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/24/ubuntu_amazon_sugges...)
  - beothorn 14y ago
    It's strange because he wrote "making free software is not free" not "using free software is not free". This gives the impression that somehow working on ubuntu tweak is costing him too much money.
    - ayanamist 14y ago
      From his tweets, the latest version of ubuntu tweak is built on a web view, which means some parts of the soft is running on the server, and so far this server nearly runs out of the bandwidth.
      - toyg 14y ago
        Maybe he should have approached Ubuntu then? I bet it wouldn't be a significant expense for them to host such a useful utility.
      - gknoy 14y ago
        I am curious why it would need to be a web view that he hosts, rather than something running locally on the user's machine.
  - colinhowe 14y ago
    If so, a nice feature would have been to add the removal of this to Ubuntu Tweak
  - drivingmenuts 14y ago
    I love this (from the article): "You trust us not to screw up on your machine with every update." -- Mark Shuttleworth That's not the same as "I trust you with my personal information." No matter how trivial, it's still personal information. Seems like this could be a potential security risk, as well, although I'm having trouble articulating it.
    - chmars 14y ago
      The simple truth is that you cannot use an OS without trusting its developers. To a lesser degree, the same is true for any software. I do not like this dependence either but it seems to be a reality we (at least I) have to accept.
      - recoiledsnake 14y ago
        The fact that we're okay with running their code need not necessarily mean that we should be okay with sending them personal information. The two are mutually exclusive.
        ordinary 14y ago
        Mutually exclusive means that either one, xor the other can be true, but not both. That is not the case here. You can be OK with running someone's code and with sending them your personal information.
        dredmorbius 14y ago
        The word you're looking for is "orthogonal".
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        I don't think that is true of software at all. I wouldn't trust Fyodor (well, I suppose these days I would. Not in the past though), but I do and always have trusted Nmap.
  - Spoom 14y ago
    I'm guessing it may have had more to do with Ubuntu's decision to "develop out of the public eye": http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/18/canonical-ceo-mark-shuttleworth-tires-of-critics-moves-key-ubuntu-developments-out-of-public-eye/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/18/canonical-ceo-mark-shuttlew...
    - deleted 14y ago
      [deleted]
    - rlpb 14y ago
      In a subsequent blog post, Mark Shuttleworth says: """ What I offered to do, yesterday, spontaneously, is to invite members of the community in to the things we are working on as personal projects, before we are ready to share them. This would mean that there was even less of Ubuntu that was NOT shaped and polished by folk other than Canonical – a move that one would think would be well received. This would make Canonical even more transparent. So please disregard the commentary by folk who assumed that the public discussion of Ubuntu development would somehow change. """ http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207
    - bryanlarsen 14y ago
      dead response from rlpb: In a subsequent blog post, Mark Shuttleworth says: """ What I offered to do, yesterday, spontaneously, is to invite members of the community in to the things we are working on as personal projects, before we are ready to share them. This would mean that there was even less of Ubuntu that was NOT shaped and polished by folk other than Canonical – a move that one would think would be well received. This would make Canonical even more transparent. So please disregard the commentary by folk who assumed that the public discussion of Ubuntu development would somehow change. """ http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207
- xxiao 14y ago
  exactly, i'm totally confused on what he was trying to say. is it like "i'm doing this for free, so ubuntu should not add any commercial features to the base software either"?
- tomrod 14y ago
  xxaio, I tried to respond directly to you but you are hellbanned. My guess is that this app might take a lot of time, and unless the developer is paid well elsewhere then a realization may be had--time costs money :/. That's my only complaint about free software--UX can be rough at times for the uninitiated.
- nightpool 14y ago
  He explained this in a later article: http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-tweak-will-continue.html http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-twe... He feels like Ubuntu tweak is getting too high maintenance and that he just needs to step away from it for a little while, to work out a balance with his job and life and such.
bornhuetter 14y ago
Disaster! Ubuntu Tweak is the first thing I install whenever I set up Ubuntu. I don't like some aspects of Unity, and this is great tool for tweaking it. Does anyone know of a good alternative?
- cschramm 14y ago
  Not using Unity?
  - bornhuetter 14y ago
    I quite like Unity once I've tweaked it. The only thing I still don't like is the global menus (a UX abomination), and I can live with that.
    - koenigdavidmj 14y ago
      sudo apt-get autoremove appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt That works on 12.04; you might need to remove a slightly different set of packages on 12.10 but it's certainly possible to change.
chmars 14y ago
What is (was) the importance of Ubuntu Tweak? I am asking as someone who does not use Ubuntu and with knowledge of http://ubuntu-tweak.com/ http://ubuntu-tweak.com/. On the Mac, there are many tools which appear similar. What is different on computers running Ubuntu?
- RossM 14y ago
  It was the equivalent of PowerTools(/Tweak/XP Toy? possibly had another name) for Windows XP in that it made many Gnome & Compiz tweaks one-click options, which given Ubuntu's easy-to-use focus went down well. Things like displaying certain icons on the desktop (which I know in Windows used to require a registry setting without a tweak tool), or the contents of your home folder on your desktop.
- account_taken 14y ago
  One of things us Linux heads liked the Ubuntu of old was how customizable it was. Ubuntu Tweak allows you to tweak the OS without having a PhD in Ubuntu or the command line.
- notatoad 14y ago
  It allowed people who didn't know how to use google to tweak some aspects of their computer. Going by what I've read while attempting to help people in the Ubuntu forums, Ubuntu-tweak was roughly as reliable as pasting lines from google searches into a root prompt.
vacipr 14y ago
This app made my migration a lot easier back in the day. While it's certainly bad it's not a complete disaster.There are other apps that can replace it's functionality. Janitor alternative: Bleachbit Software Sources: Yppa Manager (not exactly one click goodness compared to Ubuntu Tweak but maybe that's better considering I always end up in a dependency hell on Ubuntu one way or another) Visual Stuff and miscellaneous settings: MyUnity and Unsettings. These are just some suggestions,my suggestions, and I haven't used any of these since the 12.04 release.If you know better alternatives please reply so everybody can see.
account_taken 14y ago
The real meaning is lost in translation. It's one of three things for me. 1) The author feels Ubuntu is becoming the Microsoft of Linux and he will not continue to support it based on ethical reasons. 2) The cost of supporting and maintaining quality free software takes considerable effort and time. You have to be altruistic in every sense of the word to be an open source developer. People expect and sometimes demand you keep pace with every release of Ubuntu and be technical support/troubleshooter for them. All of that for free. 3) He hates Unity and is moving on (like I did). Just kidding, Ubuntu, err I mean Lubuntu is great.
- Breakthrough 14y ago
  "Ubuntu, err I mean Lubuntu is great." Don't forget Xubuntu ;)
  - jff 14y ago
    I've never really understood this, what's so hard about "apt-get install xfce" and choosing that from the gdm menu instead of Unity? Why is there an entire secondary project for something that used to be a checkbox choice on Debian and Redhat?
    - jhaglund 14y ago
      if you've got an old computer that you're trying to make useful, it's a lot easier (for most users, who can't config the alt-installer) to just download and burn xubuntu.
- nightpool 14y ago
  It's number 2. He's hoping to take a break for a bit and then maybe come back at a bit slower pace. http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-tweak-will-continue.html http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-twe...
fady 14y ago
its on github! https://github.com/tualatrix/ubuntu-tweak https://github.com/tualatrix/ubuntu-tweak
khill 14y ago
Strange. I've been using Ubuntu for over four years as my only OS for work and home but I've never heard of this.
geofft 14y ago
Development of free software never stops. It only pauses until someone picks up a fork.
- jeremyjh 14y ago
  Unless no one does, which is very frequently the case.
JVIDEL 14y ago
I moved my laptop to Mint a while ago, and my Ubuntu desktop uses Cinnamon instead of Unity (and I might move that to Mint once 14 is released) Elementary is also becoming an option, but I'm really looking forward to Steam and while it should be able to run on Mint I'm not sure it will on Elementary.
donniezazen 14y ago
I don't really like these tools. Developers should be forced to make these options available in default settings.

61 points by vilgax 14y ago

zzleeper 14y ago

What was the reason behind this? "not free anymore"==??

belorn 14y ago
I wonder the same thing.
paulgb 14y ago
It's likely in response to Ubuntu's controversial new "feature" of including Amazon search results in unity search (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/24/ubuntu_amazon_suggestions/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/24/ubuntu_amazon_sugges...)
- beothorn 14y ago
  It's strange because he wrote "making free software is not free" not "using free software is not free". This gives the impression that somehow working on ubuntu tweak is costing him too much money.
  - ayanamist 14y ago
    From his tweets, the latest version of ubuntu tweak is built on a web view, which means some parts of the soft is running on the server, and so far this server nearly runs out of the bandwidth.
    - toyg 14y ago
      Maybe he should have approached Ubuntu then? I bet it wouldn't be a significant expense for them to host such a useful utility.
    - gknoy 14y ago
      I am curious why it would need to be a web view that he hosts, rather than something running locally on the user's machine.
- colinhowe 14y ago
  If so, a nice feature would have been to add the removal of this to Ubuntu Tweak
- drivingmenuts 14y ago
  I love this (from the article): "You trust us not to screw up on your machine with every update." -- Mark Shuttleworth That's not the same as "I trust you with my personal information." No matter how trivial, it's still personal information. Seems like this could be a potential security risk, as well, although I'm having trouble articulating it.
  - chmars 14y ago
    The simple truth is that you cannot use an OS without trusting its developers. To a lesser degree, the same is true for any software. I do not like this dependence either but it seems to be a reality we (at least I) have to accept.
    - recoiledsnake 14y ago
      The fact that we're okay with running their code need not necessarily mean that we should be okay with sending them personal information. The two are mutually exclusive.
      - ordinary 14y ago
        Mutually exclusive means that either one, xor the other can be true, but not both. That is not the case here. You can be OK with running someone's code and with sending them your personal information.
      - dredmorbius 14y ago
        The word you're looking for is "orthogonal".
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      I don't think that is true of software at all. I wouldn't trust Fyodor (well, I suppose these days I would. Not in the past though), but I do and always have trusted Nmap.
- Spoom 14y ago
  I'm guessing it may have had more to do with Ubuntu's decision to "develop out of the public eye": http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/18/canonical-ceo-mark-shuttleworth-tires-of-critics-moves-key-ubuntu-developments-out-of-public-eye/ http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/18/canonical-ceo-mark-shuttlew...
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
  - rlpb 14y ago
    In a subsequent blog post, Mark Shuttleworth says: """ What I offered to do, yesterday, spontaneously, is to invite members of the community in to the things we are working on as personal projects, before we are ready to share them. This would mean that there was even less of Ubuntu that was NOT shaped and polished by folk other than Canonical – a move that one would think would be well received. This would make Canonical even more transparent. So please disregard the commentary by folk who assumed that the public discussion of Ubuntu development would somehow change. """ http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207
  - bryanlarsen 14y ago
    dead response from rlpb: In a subsequent blog post, Mark Shuttleworth says: """ What I offered to do, yesterday, spontaneously, is to invite members of the community in to the things we are working on as personal projects, before we are ready to share them. This would mean that there was even less of Ubuntu that was NOT shaped and polished by folk other than Canonical – a move that one would think would be well received. This would make Canonical even more transparent. So please disregard the commentary by folk who assumed that the public discussion of Ubuntu development would somehow change. """ http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207 http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1207
xxiao 14y ago
exactly, i'm totally confused on what he was trying to say. is it like "i'm doing this for free, so ubuntu should not add any commercial features to the base software either"?
tomrod 14y ago
xxaio, I tried to respond directly to you but you are hellbanned. My guess is that this app might take a lot of time, and unless the developer is paid well elsewhere then a realization may be had--time costs money :/. That's my only complaint about free software--UX can be rough at times for the uninitiated.
nightpool 14y ago
He explained this in a later article: http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-tweak-will-continue.html http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-twe... He feels like Ubuntu tweak is getting too high maintenance and that he just needs to step away from it for a little while, to work out a balance with his job and life and such.

bornhuetter 14y ago

Disaster! Ubuntu Tweak is the first thing I install whenever I set up Ubuntu. I don't like some aspects of Unity, and this is great tool for tweaking it. Does anyone know of a good alternative?

cschramm 14y ago
Not using Unity?
- bornhuetter 14y ago
  I quite like Unity once I've tweaked it. The only thing I still don't like is the global menus (a UX abomination), and I can live with that.
  - koenigdavidmj 14y ago
    sudo apt-get autoremove appmenu-gtk appmenu-gtk3 appmenu-qt That works on 12.04; you might need to remove a slightly different set of packages on 12.10 but it's certainly possible to change.

chmars 14y ago

What is (was) the importance of Ubuntu Tweak? I am asking as someone who does not use Ubuntu and with knowledge of http://ubuntu-tweak.com/ http://ubuntu-tweak.com/. On the Mac, there are many tools which appear similar. What is different on computers running Ubuntu?

RossM 14y ago
It was the equivalent of PowerTools(/Tweak/XP Toy? possibly had another name) for Windows XP in that it made many Gnome & Compiz tweaks one-click options, which given Ubuntu's easy-to-use focus went down well. Things like displaying certain icons on the desktop (which I know in Windows used to require a registry setting without a tweak tool), or the contents of your home folder on your desktop.
account_taken 14y ago
One of things us Linux heads liked the Ubuntu of old was how customizable it was. Ubuntu Tweak allows you to tweak the OS without having a PhD in Ubuntu or the command line.
notatoad 14y ago
It allowed people who didn't know how to use google to tweak some aspects of their computer. Going by what I've read while attempting to help people in the Ubuntu forums, Ubuntu-tweak was roughly as reliable as pasting lines from google searches into a root prompt.

vacipr 14y ago

This app made my migration a lot easier back in the day. While it's certainly bad it's not a complete disaster.There are other apps that can replace it's functionality. Janitor alternative: Bleachbit Software Sources: Yppa Manager (not exactly one click goodness compared to Ubuntu Tweak but maybe that's better considering I always end up in a dependency hell on Ubuntu one way or another) Visual Stuff and miscellaneous settings: MyUnity and Unsettings. These are just some suggestions,my suggestions, and I haven't used any of these since the 12.04 release.If you know better alternatives please reply so everybody can see.

account_taken 14y ago

The real meaning is lost in translation. It's one of three things for me. 1) The author feels Ubuntu is becoming the Microsoft of Linux and he will not continue to support it based on ethical reasons. 2) The cost of supporting and maintaining quality free software takes considerable effort and time. You have to be altruistic in every sense of the word to be an open source developer. People expect and sometimes demand you keep pace with every release of Ubuntu and be technical support/troubleshooter for them. All of that for free. 3) He hates Unity and is moving on (like I did). Just kidding, Ubuntu, err I mean Lubuntu is great.

Breakthrough 14y ago
"Ubuntu, err I mean Lubuntu is great." Don't forget Xubuntu ;)
- jff 14y ago
  I've never really understood this, what's so hard about "apt-get install xfce" and choosing that from the gdm menu instead of Unity? Why is there an entire secondary project for something that used to be a checkbox choice on Debian and Redhat?
  - jhaglund 14y ago
    if you've got an old computer that you're trying to make useful, it's a lot easier (for most users, who can't config the alt-installer) to just download and burn xubuntu.
nightpool 14y ago
It's number 2. He's hoping to take a break for a bit and then maybe come back at a bit slower pace. http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-tweak-will-continue.html http://blog.ubuntu-tweak.com/2012/10/22/thank-you-ubuntu-twe...

fady 14y ago

its on github! https://github.com/tualatrix/ubuntu-tweak https://github.com/tualatrix/ubuntu-tweak

khill 14y ago

Strange. I've been using Ubuntu for over four years as my only OS for work and home but I've never heard of this.

geofft 14y ago

Development of free software never stops. It only pauses until someone picks up a fork.

jeremyjh 14y ago
Unless no one does, which is very frequently the case.

JVIDEL 14y ago

I moved my laptop to Mint a while ago, and my Ubuntu desktop uses Cinnamon instead of Unity (and I might move that to Mint once 14 is released) Elementary is also becoming an option, but I'm really looking forward to Steam and while it should be able to run on Mint I'm not sure it will on Elementary.

donniezazen 14y ago

I don't really like these tools. Developers should be forced to make these options available in default settings.