18 ms·

Fix Ubuntu

581 points by panarky 13y ago

kclay 13y ago
Been using lubuntu on my laptop ever since I got it
panarky 13y ago
"In case you are either 1) a complete idiot; or 2) a lawyer; or 3) both, please be aware that this site is not affiliated with or approved by Canonical Limited." "This site criticizes Canonical for certain privacy-invading features of Ubuntu and teaches users how to fix them. So, obviously, the site is not approved by Canonical." "And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive—it helps the public find this site and understand its message."
- rlpb 13y ago
  > "And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive—it helps the public find this site and understand its message." I disagree. askubuntu.com already exists and is officially sanctioned. From domain name alone, I think it's reasonable to assume that users will believe that fixubuntu.com is also officially sanctioned. Traffic generated by users being misled into going there is not legitimate in terms of the trademark. OTOH, ubuntusucks.com is obviously critical commentary. I don't think that would (or should) be a trademark violation.
  - Piskvorrr 13y ago
    Nah. askubuntu has existed for many months as an independent site (both during the askubuntu.stackexchange.com beta and after moving to the .com domain at official launch); and the official sanction has been actively sought from both sides.
  - tsaoutourpants 13y ago
    Why would Canonical put up a Web site about how to fix their own product, rather than just fix it? This guys use of their mark clearly falls under the nominal use exception of fair use.
    - rlpb 13y ago
      fixubuntu.com could reasonably be assumed to be an Ubuntu troubleshooting site.
    - sp332 13y ago
      Right, that would be "nominative fair use" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_%28U.S._trademark_law%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_%28U.S._trademark_law... which applies to trademarks, not the copyright version of fair use.
  - DannyBee 13y ago
    " Traffic generated by users being misled into going there is not legitimate in terms of the trademark." FixUbuntu is a very very very very clear case of nominative fair use. I can't think of a less close case in recent memory. They are using the trademark as it should be used - to describe the product they are talking about. The fact that Ubuntu may not like what they are saying makes no difference. The disclaimer makes clear it's not associated, and they don't pretend, anywhere, that they are associated.
    - rlpb 13y ago
      No, it's passing off, which is a violation of trademark law. Using the name Ubuntu to describe and criticize the product Ubuntu is fine. Appearing to be an official website to lure visitors in is not. That's passing off. If walk into a branded store only to find a notice that it isn't actually that brand, it's still passing off. > The disclaimer makes clear it's not associated... This was only added in response to the "stop doing it" request.
      - tptacek 13y ago
        I'm going to go with the opinion of the open source lawyer ('DannyBee) on this one, in favor of the random message board commenter who appears to be quoting Wikipedia.
      - DannyBee 13y ago
        1. Passing off only applies to unregistered trademarks. For registered trademarks, it's just trademark infringement. Since ubuntu is a registered mark (or so they mention in the C&D), passing off simply would not apply. 2. Nominative fair use, as I mentioned, is a complete defense to trademark infringement (including passing off), and most other related things, including dilution. If FixUbuntu claimed or implied they had a business relationship/etc, there would be an issue. They don't. Trademarks do not give you the ability to stop others from using certain words, they give you the ability to stop others from confusing consumers about the source of goods. Plus, you know, criticism of products is among the most protected speech possible when it comes to trademarks ...
    - 13y ago
facorreia 13y ago
I fixed it by switching to Mint. I'm liking it so far.
- glimmung 13y ago
  I fixed it by switching to Xubuntu - very happy with the desktop. From my PoV it's the best of Ubuntu but without the gimmicks.
  - g8oz 13y ago
    Lubuntu is pretty good too.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- aram 13y ago
  Check out Mint XFCE; in my case it was the most suitable distro/flavor. Simply because of the lowest number of additional overrides and configuration I had to do to make it comfortable for use.
- danielweber 13y ago
  It's so depressing that I need to keep on devoting mental energy to Linux environments. When I use Windows or OSX I don't have to keep on guessing on what-the-what is going on. Then I go back to Linux for something and everything I used to know is now completely useless.
  - pantalaimon 13y ago
    well, but it's free!
  - Nursie 13y ago
    Is it much mental energy to take a couple of minutes to just pick one? I had to expend a lot more mental energy last time I tried to use modern Windows, and has OS X got a maximise button yet? --edit-- I'm not trying to say "My OS is better than your OS" because we all know where that leads. I just don't think anything is perfect and it likely comes down to what you're used to.
themstheones 13y ago
I started using Ubuntu in 2005, and fell in love with it almost instantly. It was great for a long time before the slide began. It's sad that this site exists.
- philliphaydon 13y ago
  Sad that it exists or sad that it needs to exist?
andyl 13y ago
Just use Xubuntu!
bitwize 13y ago
http://www.debian.org http://www.debian.org There, fixed.
- Supermighty 13y ago
  I love Debian. But I wish they had a stable version released more often.
  - fredsted 13y ago
    Why?
  - bluedino 13y ago
    Unstable is pretty dang stable.
    - Supermighty 13y ago
      Halfway between Stable releases I switch to Testing. It helps keep my software versions fresh with upstream releases.
    - jebblue 13y ago
      If I understand it right, Unstable doesn't get security fixes: http://www.debian.org/security/faq#unstable http://www.debian.org/security/faq#unstable And Testing doesn't get fixes for contrib and non-free: http://www.debian.org/security/faq#testing http://www.debian.org/security/faq#testing
      - Thrymr 13y ago
        It means that unstable isn't specifically tested for security, but security fixes will go to unstable first, before they propagate to testing.
        jebblue 13y ago
        Thanks for the clarification but reading the FAQ again for both Unstable and Testing in the context of your comment I'm still struggling to compare it to how Ubuntu gets security fixes for example. I checked the security site listed in the Testing area in the Debian FAQ and don't see the recent SSH fix or the recent Linux kernel fix. http://www.debian.org/security/ http://www.debian.org/security/ I do see them on the Ubuntu site: http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/ http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/
jbeja 13y ago
I am just using Elementary Os.
- h43z 13y ago
  How do you like it so far? Any issues,bugs?
  - Brakenshire 13y ago
    It's very nicely polished up, and I find it to be much quicker than vanilla Ubuntu. There are still a couple of issues and inconsistencies here and there, and you have to be satisfied with designers making opinionated decisions. One thing which doesn't quite work as well as I'd like is the window switching behaviour- it's a bit of a hassle switching around when you have many windows open. But nevertheless I would say it's the best linux desktop I've used. I also like the developers asking for a small payment upfront, rather than trying to monetize your data behind the scenes.
  - jbeja 13y ago
    Been using for the past 4 months and i can say that is fast, easy, out of the way, no bugs so far, boots in a blink, and the design although is a rip off of OSX, is very pleasant to the eye. On the "bad" side, several packages are outdated (since is base in Ubuntu 12.04) and not too many tools for customization. Is almost perfect. If just want something that just works and not to worry about in the future, use eOS.
Pxtl 13y ago
All Linux distros should be free charities and their developers should eat catfood and ramen.
- g8oz 13y ago
  Or maybe they should have a strategy that doesn't violate user rights. Mindblowing I know.
- Piskvorrr 13y ago
  Bzzt, logical fallacy - "either work for free, or snoop around in user's data for monetizable content." Hint: there's a very, very wide spectrum between these extremes.
  - nikatwork 13y ago
    Bzzt, middlebrow dismissal. How about you make a concrete proposal on how you think Canonical's business model should be constructed, instead of "computer says no"?
    - Perseids 13y ago
      Bzzt, capitalism fallacy. I fondly remember Ubuntu being a charity of Mark Shuttleworth. Not everything needs a business model. The mindset of the time is reflected in an announcement [1] of the /Ubuntu Foundation/: """ "It's important for us to distinguish the philanthropic and non-commercial work that is at the heart of the Ubuntu project, from the commercial support and certification programs that are the focus of Canonical Ltd." said Mark Shuttleworth""" These new pushes to monetize the home user is what is really annoying. [1] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2005-July/000025.html https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2005-July/...
    - corncobpipe 13y ago
      Paid professional phone support.
    - Brakenshire 13y ago
daniel-levin 13y ago
I use XMonad, and don't have these problems to fix (in a sense, because XMonad 'fixes' them). For those who are on Linux who've never used XMonad, I suggest you give it a try. It's awesome. I'm on Ubuntu 13.04 and have never been bothered by ads. Also, I find the instantaneous desktop switching and fullscreen windows, resizable tiling invaluable.
- levosmetalo 13y ago
  For people that love Emacs and Lisp, I would suggest to also take a look at StumpWM. It's implemented in Common Lisp, and you can customize and develop extension on the fly.
- platz 13y ago
  I installed i3 on my ubuntu laptop and am so used tiling windows now, especially since i3 lets you choose which way new windows will be tiled.
- tych0 13y ago
  Adding another one to the list, I am the maintainer of Qtile, a tiling WM written and configured in python. We've even got an ubuntu ppa, so we're only an apt-get install away :-). http://qtile.org http://qtile.org
harel 13y ago
As a Gnome user all this Unity madness just went over my head - I never had to deal with it. But there are things that keep breaking from one release to the other (for which I blame myself for having twitchy update-trigger fingers). But as a whole I'm a happy user in particular that now Steam is on Linux. My question is - how does Steam work on the Ubuntu derivatives like Xubuntu and Mint? Will it work on Debian?
- splawn 13y ago
  Steam works fine on both Xubuntu and Mint. Haven't tried it on Debian yet
  - Derpdiherp 13y ago
    I use Steam on Debian stable and it works absolutely fine, I've never had an issue with it. The games run great too.
    - codygman 13y ago
      How did you install it? Also what games work great? For instance team fortress 2 had some weird shader problems on stable for me.
- nhenezi 13y ago
  Steam is in Jessie repository: http://packages.debian.org/jessie/steam http://packages.debian.org/jessie/steam
- puppetmaster3 13y ago
  Arch makes it easy: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Based_Distributions_(Active) https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Based_Distribution... Majaro has Steam built in.
NateDad 13y ago
If people did 30 seconds of searching they'd realize this information is available on the official Stack Exchange site AskUbuntu.com which is directly supported by Canonical's paid staff: http://askubuntu.com/questions/192269/how-can-i-remove-amazon-search-results-from-the-dash-or-disable-the-feature http://askubuntu.com/questions/192269/how-can-i-remove-amazo...
- sbarre 13y ago
  True but this site also acts as criticism to the approach in the first place, and also guarantees that this information will remain available and findable in the future, should Canonical change its mind about making this information easy to find.
  - NateDad 13y ago
    I'm just trying to point out that the people who say Canonical is trying to silence the guy are just talking out their ass. They are freely providing this information in the number one place people go to ask questions about Ubuntu. All they did was say (incredibly nicely and politely) "Hey, umm... so, that's our copyrighted name and logo, and you know, you're really supposed to ask permission before using them".
- vacri 13y ago
  The way to do things changes with every single Ubuntu release. A colleague once looked up some way to alter a desktop setting (can't recall which) and he found that it was different in each of the past four ubuntu releases (as of 13.04). Similarly, you have to know you want to remove each of the items - fixubuntu hits a bunch at once. It doesn't require as much a priori knowledge.
cs702 13y ago
Ubuntu provides by default an on/off slider in its privacy settings for disabling the display of online search results in the dash[1], BUT I'm not sure if changing that slider to 'off' will also disable the sharing of searches with Canonical's servers. (The language used by the settings app is ambiguous: "When searching on the dash, include online search results - ON/OFF.") Moreover, I don't particularly feel like spending time & effort examining Unity Dash source code to figure out if and how my information might be shared with Canonical and/or other third parties. Canonical should make an unambiguous promise not to transmit any data to anyone, right there on the privacy settings screen, whenever that slider is set to the 'off' position. I would trust such an unambiguous promise. So thank you for submitting this website here -- I've bookmarked it for when I upgrade my desktops from 12.04 LTS to 14.04 LTS next year. -- [1] http://b2b.cbsimg.net/blogs/screenshot-from-2013-03-24-093428.png http://b2b.cbsimg.net/blogs/screenshot-from-2013-03-24-09342... -- Edit: Added second paragraph.
- mdeslaur 13y ago
  Yes, it's supposed to disable it completely.
  - sillysaurus2 13y ago
    supposed to What's with the ambiguity? Does it disable it or not? I feel silly for asking, but the question was about ambiguous language, so the reply was ironic.
    - mdeslaur 13y ago
      Sorry, didn't mean to be ambiguous. It's what it was designed for. If there is a bug that is preventing it from working properly, I would like to know about it so I can make sure it gets fixed.
    - dinkumthinkum 13y ago
      I have to agree with another commenter ... It's not NSA level ambiguity ... It is open source, go check it if you don't believe it! :)
nisa 13y ago
My personal fix Ubuntu: Be careful, this is pretty rude and may break stuff - it is also not complete but some dependencies are too entangled. Only geoclue and indicator-datetime still annoy me. The idea to poll the internet regulary to check for the timezone of the machine is beyond me. apt-get purge ubuntuone* # I don't use it apt-get purge unity-lens-music unity-lens-video unity-lens-photos # I don't need the integration apt-get purge friends* # I don't use this either apt-get purge telepathy-logger telepathy-indicator telepathy-salut # pidgin is enough for me apt-get purge unity-scope-musicstores unity-scope-openclipart # No need for that in Unity apt-get purge oneconf # I don't want to sync my settings apt-get purge empathy # pidgin works fine apt-get purge software-center* # synaptic is enough apt-get purge evolution-data-server evolution-data-server-goa evolution-calendar-factory # thunderbird and lightning for me apt-get purge unity-scopes-runner unity-webapps-common xul-ext-unity xul-ext-websites-integration # my browser is enough - no integration for me apt-get --purge autoremove apt-get install pidgin synaptic Shrinks RSS from 622MB to ~400MB on my system.
- csmuk 13y ago
  My personal one: # dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=4M Then I go and find another distribution that doesn't treat its users like cattle. Ubuntu, after shuttleworth being an asshat to the community and the whole amazon and NIH Mir and upstart crap, is now the Ryanair of Linux distributions. incidentally, don't type the above.
  - tzury 13y ago
    * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * !!! ALERT !!! Do not type or paste the above, unless you wish to destroy your partition! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    - csmuk 13y ago
      Thanks for making it even more obvious :)
- sandGorgon 13y ago
berrypicker 13y ago
I'm not whining here, I'm a long-time Ubuntu user and want it to do well and become more popular, but if the 'year of the Linux desktop' is ever to happen, there are greater fixes that Ubuntu needs (Ubuntu is pretty much the only distro that, at this time, has a chance of becoming mainstream i.e. reach at least 5% usage share). For starters, it needs to work out of the box with the average user in mind. I don't think I've ever had a smooth install that didn't require searching the Ubuntu forums to get basic stuff running. If Ubuntu wants to compete with Windows, it can't ship an operating system that can't wake from a suspend on most laptops and requires using a terminal (which most people don't even know what it's for) to perform basic tasks and configuration. The experience for a novice computer user, however terrible you think Microsoft is, has always been excellent on Windows in that it suits their needs of requiring only little knowledge of how software works.
- Piskvorrr 13y ago
  Interesting; I mostly agree, except for the "no smooth installs" - from my data points, where I was struggling with Windows drivers, Ubuntu had been mostly plug-and-play (since about 10.04 onward). Then again, my userbase is mostly using office PCs and laptops, without too specialized peripherals.
  - l337n1nj4 13y ago
    Agreed. Most of the time, I have no problem getting my laptop upgraded to the newest version, and all of my drivers are already there; no need to search online for any of them. However, I also have the problem with small, minor things either only partially working or being completely broken (e.g. when I updated to 13.04, it started hiding applications on me, but it 'fixed' itself some time ago). I think it would be a double-edged sword if the 'year of the Linux desktop' did occur. On one hand, more people would be using a great set of OS's and we would probably get more updates and flashier new features. However, with more people understanding the Linux kernel and how it operates, more 'black hats' and 'script kiddies' would have the tools to damage Linux systems, create Linux-based viruses, etc. In my opinion? I'm OK with where Linux is right now.
- 13y ago
Mikeb85 13y ago
This whining about Ubuntu is ridiculous. Removing the shopping features is easy enough anyway, without devoting a site to it, never mind posting it to HN. Furthermore, there's plenty of choices out there. The best of which (IMO) are openSUSE, Fedora, and Arch/Manjaro. Mint is terrible - like a buggier version of Ubuntu or unstable Debian... Furthermore, Canonical puts alot of work into Ubuntu. They deserve to get paid. Maybe consider actually using Amazon through their app as a way of contributing?
- tonylemesmer 13y ago
  is it possible to pay them and get an "ad free" version?
  - fearandclothing 13y ago
    There's an option to donate when you download the .iso, so I suppose you could just do that and then uninstall the Amazon stuff.
  - taeric 13y ago
    Since it is basically possible to get an "ad free" version by disabling that feature, and it is possible to donate to them. Yes?
    - codygman 13y ago
      That isn't the same thing as you clearly know... Paying to have things privacy infringing settings disabled and donating and then having to disable said privacy infringing settings are very different things.
      - taeric 13y ago
        I am somewhat sympathetic to your point, but do feel it is overstated in this case. It would be one thing if there was some indication of ill intent. From all I've seen, I just don't see it as an attempt at being deceptive. Marginally useful? Sure. Trying to trick people into thinking their computer isn't sending data back? This is akin to hating cell phone providers for creating tracking data on you. It is rather obvious that the data has to have been sent across the wire.
applecore 13y ago
If you're looking for a simpler OS, you should try Xubuntu: http://xubuntu.org/ http://xubuntu.org/
- bsg75 13y ago
  Does Xubuntu have any of the privacy concerns / "features" built in that Ubuntu does?
  - xendo 13y ago
    Nope, all the "features" are built into desktop environment (unity) rather than ubuntu itself.
- epsylon 13y ago
  If you're already an Ubuntu user, you can just sudo apt-get install xfce and sudo apt-get remove unity*.
bowlofpetunias 13y ago
You misspelled "Fix Unity". Yes, of course average desktop users don't get the difference between OS and desktop manager, but a) wasn't that one of the issues we were supposed to solve with Linux on the desktop?, and b) those users are never, ever going to follow those instruction. I'm all in favor of spreading awareness, encouraging people to turn this crap off and putting pressure on Canonical to at the very least make this explicit opt-in. But this is just jerking off in the dark.
rlpb 13y ago
I (still) don't think online searches are a privacy violation. 1) It's a search box. Stuff not typed in the search box never leaves the machine (unless you count things that do by design, such as web browsers and email, obviously). 2) It's plainly obvious the first time you use it that results are coming back from the Internet. No real user is going to be misled into believing that searches are local. This makes it no more a privacy violation than the default Google search box in Firefox. 2b) There is a prominent notice saying so. If you don't think it's prominent enough, see point 2. 3) It's a search box that didn't exist previously. Canonical invented it. I think it's reasonable for Canonical to create a "search the universe" mechanism on the desktop. Fair enough if you don't like it, or don't want to use it. It's trivial to turn it off (there's even a global Privacy Settings dialog) or to use other searches. But that doesn't suddenly make it a privacy violation; nor the results of your search "ads". Edit: I should have expected the downvotes. I notice, though, that the downvoters are unable to actually respond to my argument.
- alcari 13y ago
  It's a search box that many people will use exclusively to search for _local_ content. Why should Amazon know what programs and files I'm using?
  - rlpb 13y ago
    > It's a search box that many people will use exclusively to search for _local_ content. That still doesn't make it a privacy violation, since you know where your searches are going (as does any other user, since it's obvious based on the results). > Why should Amazon know what programs and files I'm using? It makes the normal user's life more convenient since he doesn't need to figure out which box to type something in. You think that's ridiculous? Users are well known for typing web addresses into any box available. They cannot tell the difference. Having a single box for everything makes for a better experience,. Amazon doesn't know what programs and files you're using, since Canonical anonymizes it. If you don't like it, or you don't trust Canonical, and you still want to use the "search everything" search box, then adjust the settings to do what you want.
dllthomas 13y ago
1) Install ratpoison...
drill_sarge 13y ago
People use default Ubuntu with Unity? From what I see, most people use a variant (X/L/K) of it and those are really well put together without (most) of the Canonical crap.
- octagonal 13y ago
  The people you know don't use stock Ubuntu. My mom and yours don't even know what a package manager is.
  - drill_sarge 13y ago
    My parents use Xubuntu because it's the closest you can get to WindowsXP ;)
    - l337n1nj4 13y ago
      I would have suggested Linux Mint/any distro that you can drop Cinnamon DE onto. Cinnamon has more updates, almost as much customization as XFCE, and doesn't look as old as Win95.
- username42 13y ago
  I like very much ubuntu-gnome. They need some help http://ubuntugnome.org/ http://ubuntugnome.org/
  - drill_sarge 13y ago
    I tried it with, I think, 13.04 and you could see they need people testing it. For a raw Gnome distro Fedora is the better choice.
- spindritf 13y ago
  > People use default Ubuntu with Unity? Of course, I don't even change the background. "Canical crap" is mostly mythical or takes a single toggle to turn off.
camedee 13y ago
s/fix ubuntu/fork ubuntu/g
wojt_eu 13y ago
Why you shouldn't paste code from websites directly into terminal: http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste
- shortstuffsushi 13y ago
  Did you read the part explaining what each of the commands does...?
  - ktf 13y ago
    Did you read the linked article? It doesn't matter what it looks like you're copying/pasting, or how it's explained in the site you're copying/pasting it from.
    - cakeface 13y ago
      Thanks for posting that - I came in here to do the same thing but you beat me to it. Please read the linked article before ever copying and pasting from the web!
    - shortstuffsushi 13y ago
      To both you and cakeface, yes. I still don't really find that relevant, though.
sbarre 13y ago
I really like the disclaimer in the bottom right. Except for the "idiot" part at the beginning which I feel cheapens the message, it is very well written in clear language.
- Houshalter 13y ago
  The use of idiot is necessary as no sane person will learn anything from reading that that they didn't already know.
  - sbarre 13y ago
    Spoken like someone who lives in a tech bubble and has no concept of tact. Are you a developer by chance?
Sami_Lehtinen 13y ago
Choose Debian, Mint or Xubuntu.
mergy 13y ago
Better option >> http://www.crunchbang.org http://www.crunchbang.org
jiggy2011 13y ago
I'm surprised there isn't an offshoot distro that is exactly identical except has all of these features disabled by default.
zx2c4 13y ago
Solution: stop using Ubuntu. There are lots of other very able distributions out there, many of which not only have better privacy features but also are technologically superior in one way or another. In no particular order, these are all very capable operating systems for a variety of needs: * https://fedoraproject.org/ https://fedoraproject.org/ * http://www.centos.org/ http://www.centos.org/ * http://www.opensuse.org/ http://www.opensuse.org/ * http://www.mageia.org/ http://www.mageia.org/ * https://www.archlinux.org/ https://www.archlinux.org/ * http://www.gentoo.org/ http://www.gentoo.org/ * http://www.sabayon.org/ http://www.sabayon.org/ * http://www.debian.org/ http://www.debian.org/ * http://www.linuxmint.com/ http://www.linuxmint.com/ This list is non exhaustive. They are all free. They all work well in different places. There are others too. We've all had ample indication that Ubuntu was headed for the pits. It's time to move on. -- a proud gentoo dev
- adamnemecek 13y ago
  Yeah, I switched to Debian a while back and it was surprisingly frictionless.
- klrr 13y ago
  Linux Mint? Isn't that essentially the same thing as Ubuntu or am I missing something? That is, is it the lens search that is the problem or are there other privacy concerns about Ubuntu?
  - zx2c4 13y ago
    I think they've got an edition based on Debian.
    - l337n1nj4 13y ago
      You are correct, sir/madam/whomever.... http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php
  - l337n1nj4 13y ago
    Mint is based off of Ubuntu, but also has a version based off of Debian, as zx2c4 has pointed out. The biggest difference is that Mint uses the Cinnamon desktop environment, as opposed to Unity, which was forked from Gnome 2. Also, they use Nemo, which was forked from Nautilus, which has more functionality and features as opposed to Nautilus.
jccc 13y ago
Regarding that "disclaimer" in the corner, here's why it was added: https://micahflee.com/2013/11/canonical-shouldnt-abuse-trademark-law-to-silence-critics-of-its-privacy-decisions/ https://micahflee.com/2013/11/canonical-shouldnt-abuse-trade...
- balls187 13y ago
  US Trademark law is kind of sticky. If you don't actively defend your trademark, you can lose it.
  - orionblastar 13y ago
    But isn't there a 'fair use' clause? At least there used to be one at one time before we lost our liberties, rights, and freedoms with the DMCA and Patriot Act.
pacofvf 13y ago
if you are worried because what you type at the dash is being sent to third parties for advertising then you should stop using google to search anything (yeah including maps), this is the last reason I wouldn't use Unity, I actually don't use it, but I don't use it because of the friggin vertical toolbar and the sluggish performance.
MarcusBrutus 13y ago
I get: No such schema 'com.canonical.Unity.Lenses' when running the script, and a few lines below: E: Unable to locate package unity-lens-shopping
ktf 13y ago
Alternative method: click the big on/off switch for online search results. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not defending Ubuntu. I think it's gross that they include this at all, and extra-gross that it's on by default. But let's not get too carried away with the hyperbole and conspiracy theories. Just read the source! Or if you don't trust the source, just examine your network traffic. Pretty easy to verify whether the button does what it claims... EDIT/PSA: Don't copy/paste things from a website directly into your terminal. See http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste, for example.
davidgerard 13y ago
" I wanted to update/install my nvidia drivers, so I opened the dash and typed "drivers". IT DISPLAYED GOLF CLUBS on sale at Amazon!" https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/bikeshed/vtXkVdALoJ8/Nh-R5UuhHyUJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/bikeshed/vtXkVdALoJ8/N... Of course, 14.04 will increase the usability level by automatically charging your credit card, with next day delivery of the golf clubs guaranteed.
- badman_ting 13y ago
  Ha, check out the petty retorts to the sentiment as well. One guy even stoops to nitpicking the other's (perfectly cromulent) grammar. And of course the requisite brandishing of the dreaded "FUD". This whole thing is pathetic, why defend it? Why is it so hard to admit that your precious free software has problems?
surge 13y ago
I just installed 13.10 today, perfect!
adrianmalacoda 13y ago
Proud user of Trisquel[1] since 2010. It's a fork of Ubuntu that adheres to GNU's Guidelines for Free System Distributions[2]. While I'm aware that the general opinion of the free software movement ranges from "extreme" to "considered harmful," it is a nice feeling knowing that the creators of the distro have some ethical guidelines in place to prevent things like this - as it turns out, the free software types also tend to be some of the louder privacy advocate types as well. Mint is probably a better option unless you know your system does not require proprietary drivers, as GNU/FSF kosher distros use a version of the kernel that lacks those proprietary drivers. [1] http://trisquel.info/ http://trisquel.info/ [2] https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guideli...
lcedp 13y ago
I just don't use Unity
lacion 13y ago
frankly is canonical is getting money from me typing "gedit" or virtualbox a couple of times them thats ok for me, its not like their scanning every document on your pc and sending information around. on a side not i would like to know how much people complaining about ubuntu practices still google services.
OHMYGODUSETHIS 13y ago
Use Arch. Problem solved. Yes, it takes a bit more work, but you get a much better understanding of your system and learn how to block or eliminate things (like this ad-serving search crap) you don't like.
- keithpeter 13y ago
  Or: CentOS with EPEL and Nux repos for slightly older but solid packages,and just get work done... Conservative VS leading edge I suppose.
davidrudder 13y ago
Pasting code from a website, even with explanations, worries me far more than someone recording my Internet search history.
vladtaltos 13y ago
this should give a nice boost to fixubuntu.com page hits. nice work canonical - I knew you secretly wanted people to disable the default security problems... cheers...
notatoad 13y ago
why yes, let's encourage people to copy and paste random code snippets from the internet into their terminal.
schmichael 13y ago
If only this also replaced Mir with Wayland, upstart with systemd, and Unity with Gnome.
alexanderchr 13y ago
Wow, this made the search a _lot_ faster. Thanks!
Zardoz84 13y ago
Fine but I simply use KUbuntu.
ChrisNorstrom 13y ago
He should have added the code to install a compiz plugin to move that damn Unity Bar from the left to the bottom of the screen like 90% of normal human beings have wanted it since the beginning. Let's just be honest, Mark Shuttleworth has Steve Jobs envy, as many creative types do. They want to be the "creative arrogant leader that everyone has to listen to".
j7 13y ago
This becomes more relevant every day: http://magnatecha.com/moving-from-ubuntu-to-debian/ http://magnatecha.com/moving-from-ubuntu-to-debian/
puppetmaster3 13y ago
fyi, Arch has the best wiki. that is all.
ansible 13y ago
Ahhh... Unity. Shortly after upgrading, I needed to burn a CD. So I go to fire up Gnome's Brasero. I start typing it in, and before I've finished, Unity helpfully provides me with advertisements of bras for women. At work. Yeah, that's helpful.
orionblastar 13y ago
Canonical is using people and organizations who use Ubuntu: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/canonical-abused-trademark-law-to-target-a-site-critical-of-ubuntu-privacy/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/canoni... I had recently made Blastarix: http://blastar.in/linux/ http://blastar.in/linux/ I am now scared that I'll get sued, just because I modified Ubuntu, renamed it to Blastarix, and removed the Amazon search and ads feature with some other tweaks. I do not know how to remove the Ubuntu logo and startup screens and I used uck to make the distro. I also added the 32 bit Steam for Linux client so gamers had it pre-installed and most developers play games on Steam anyway.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 13y ago
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mariuolo 13y ago
I see a Streisand Effect in the making here.

581 points by panarky 13y ago

kclay 13y ago

Been using lubuntu on my laptop ever since I got it

"In case you are either 1) a complete idiot; or 2) a lawyer; or 3) both, please be aware that this site is not affiliated with or approved by Canonical Limited." "This site criticizes Canonical for certain privacy-invading features of Ubuntu and teaches users how to fix them. So, obviously, the site is not approved by Canonical." "And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive—it helps the public find this site and understand its message."

rlpb 13y ago
> "And our use of the trademarked term Ubuntu is plainly descriptive—it helps the public find this site and understand its message." I disagree. askubuntu.com already exists and is officially sanctioned. From domain name alone, I think it's reasonable to assume that users will believe that fixubuntu.com is also officially sanctioned. Traffic generated by users being misled into going there is not legitimate in terms of the trademark. OTOH, ubuntusucks.com is obviously critical commentary. I don't think that would (or should) be a trademark violation.
- Piskvorrr 13y ago
  Nah. askubuntu has existed for many months as an independent site (both during the askubuntu.stackexchange.com beta and after moving to the .com domain at official launch); and the official sanction has been actively sought from both sides.
- tsaoutourpants 13y ago
  Why would Canonical put up a Web site about how to fix their own product, rather than just fix it? This guys use of their mark clearly falls under the nominal use exception of fair use.
  - rlpb 13y ago
    fixubuntu.com could reasonably be assumed to be an Ubuntu troubleshooting site.
  - sp332 13y ago
    Right, that would be "nominative fair use" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_%28U.S._trademark_law%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use_%28U.S._trademark_law... which applies to trademarks, not the copyright version of fair use.
- DannyBee 13y ago
  " Traffic generated by users being misled into going there is not legitimate in terms of the trademark." FixUbuntu is a very very very very clear case of nominative fair use. I can't think of a less close case in recent memory. They are using the trademark as it should be used - to describe the product they are talking about. The fact that Ubuntu may not like what they are saying makes no difference. The disclaimer makes clear it's not associated, and they don't pretend, anywhere, that they are associated.
  - rlpb 13y ago
    No, it's passing off, which is a violation of trademark law. Using the name Ubuntu to describe and criticize the product Ubuntu is fine. Appearing to be an official website to lure visitors in is not. That's passing off. If walk into a branded store only to find a notice that it isn't actually that brand, it's still passing off. > The disclaimer makes clear it's not associated... This was only added in response to the "stop doing it" request.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      I'm going to go with the opinion of the open source lawyer ('DannyBee) on this one, in favor of the random message board commenter who appears to be quoting Wikipedia.
    - DannyBee 13y ago
      1. Passing off only applies to unregistered trademarks. For registered trademarks, it's just trademark infringement. Since ubuntu is a registered mark (or so they mention in the C&D), passing off simply would not apply. 2. Nominative fair use, as I mentioned, is a complete defense to trademark infringement (including passing off), and most other related things, including dilution. If FixUbuntu claimed or implied they had a business relationship/etc, there would be an issue. They don't. Trademarks do not give you the ability to stop others from using certain words, they give you the ability to stop others from confusing consumers about the source of goods. Plus, you know, criticism of products is among the most protected speech possible when it comes to trademarks ...
  - 13y ago

facorreia 13y ago

I fixed it by switching to Mint. I'm liking it so far.

glimmung 13y ago
I fixed it by switching to Xubuntu - very happy with the desktop. From my PoV it's the best of Ubuntu but without the gimmicks.
- g8oz 13y ago
  Lubuntu is pretty good too.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
aram 13y ago
Check out Mint XFCE; in my case it was the most suitable distro/flavor. Simply because of the lowest number of additional overrides and configuration I had to do to make it comfortable for use.
danielweber 13y ago
It's so depressing that I need to keep on devoting mental energy to Linux environments. When I use Windows or OSX I don't have to keep on guessing on what-the-what is going on. Then I go back to Linux for something and everything I used to know is now completely useless.
- pantalaimon 13y ago
  well, but it's free!
- Nursie 13y ago
  Is it much mental energy to take a couple of minutes to just pick one? I had to expend a lot more mental energy last time I tried to use modern Windows, and has OS X got a maximise button yet? --edit-- I'm not trying to say "My OS is better than your OS" because we all know where that leads. I just don't think anything is perfect and it likely comes down to what you're used to.

themstheones 13y ago

I started using Ubuntu in 2005, and fell in love with it almost instantly. It was great for a long time before the slide began. It's sad that this site exists.

philliphaydon 13y ago
Sad that it exists or sad that it needs to exist?

andyl 13y ago

Just use Xubuntu!

bitwize 13y ago

http://www.debian.org http://www.debian.org There, fixed.

Supermighty 13y ago
I love Debian. But I wish they had a stable version released more often.
- fredsted 13y ago
  Why?
- bluedino 13y ago
  Unstable is pretty dang stable.
  - Supermighty 13y ago
    Halfway between Stable releases I switch to Testing. It helps keep my software versions fresh with upstream releases.
  - jebblue 13y ago
    If I understand it right, Unstable doesn't get security fixes: http://www.debian.org/security/faq#unstable http://www.debian.org/security/faq#unstable And Testing doesn't get fixes for contrib and non-free: http://www.debian.org/security/faq#testing http://www.debian.org/security/faq#testing
    - Thrymr 13y ago
      It means that unstable isn't specifically tested for security, but security fixes will go to unstable first, before they propagate to testing.
      - jebblue 13y ago
        Thanks for the clarification but reading the FAQ again for both Unstable and Testing in the context of your comment I'm still struggling to compare it to how Ubuntu gets security fixes for example. I checked the security site listed in the Testing area in the Debian FAQ and don't see the recent SSH fix or the recent Linux kernel fix. http://www.debian.org/security/ http://www.debian.org/security/ I do see them on the Ubuntu site: http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/ http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/

jbeja 13y ago

I am just using Elementary Os.

h43z 13y ago
How do you like it so far? Any issues,bugs?
- Brakenshire 13y ago
  It's very nicely polished up, and I find it to be much quicker than vanilla Ubuntu. There are still a couple of issues and inconsistencies here and there, and you have to be satisfied with designers making opinionated decisions. One thing which doesn't quite work as well as I'd like is the window switching behaviour- it's a bit of a hassle switching around when you have many windows open. But nevertheless I would say it's the best linux desktop I've used. I also like the developers asking for a small payment upfront, rather than trying to monetize your data behind the scenes.
- jbeja 13y ago
  Been using for the past 4 months and i can say that is fast, easy, out of the way, no bugs so far, boots in a blink, and the design although is a rip off of OSX, is very pleasant to the eye. On the "bad" side, several packages are outdated (since is base in Ubuntu 12.04) and not too many tools for customization. Is almost perfect. If just want something that just works and not to worry about in the future, use eOS.

Pxtl 13y ago

All Linux distros should be free charities and their developers should eat catfood and ramen.

g8oz 13y ago
Or maybe they should have a strategy that doesn't violate user rights. Mindblowing I know.
Piskvorrr 13y ago
Bzzt, logical fallacy - "either work for free, or snoop around in user's data for monetizable content." Hint: there's a very, very wide spectrum between these extremes.
- nikatwork 13y ago
  Bzzt, middlebrow dismissal. How about you make a concrete proposal on how you think Canonical's business model should be constructed, instead of "computer says no"?
  - Perseids 13y ago
    Bzzt, capitalism fallacy. I fondly remember Ubuntu being a charity of Mark Shuttleworth. Not everything needs a business model. The mindset of the time is reflected in an announcement [1] of the /Ubuntu Foundation/: """ "It's important for us to distinguish the philanthropic and non-commercial work that is at the heart of the Ubuntu project, from the commercial support and certification programs that are the focus of Canonical Ltd." said Mark Shuttleworth""" These new pushes to monetize the home user is what is really annoying. [1] https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2005-July/000025.html https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2005-July/...
  - corncobpipe 13y ago
    Paid professional phone support.
  - Brakenshire 13y ago

daniel-levin 13y ago

I use XMonad, and don't have these problems to fix (in a sense, because XMonad 'fixes' them). For those who are on Linux who've never used XMonad, I suggest you give it a try. It's awesome. I'm on Ubuntu 13.04 and have never been bothered by ads. Also, I find the instantaneous desktop switching and fullscreen windows, resizable tiling invaluable.

levosmetalo 13y ago
For people that love Emacs and Lisp, I would suggest to also take a look at StumpWM. It's implemented in Common Lisp, and you can customize and develop extension on the fly.
platz 13y ago
I installed i3 on my ubuntu laptop and am so used tiling windows now, especially since i3 lets you choose which way new windows will be tiled.
tych0 13y ago
Adding another one to the list, I am the maintainer of Qtile, a tiling WM written and configured in python. We've even got an ubuntu ppa, so we're only an apt-get install away :-). http://qtile.org http://qtile.org

harel 13y ago

As a Gnome user all this Unity madness just went over my head - I never had to deal with it. But there are things that keep breaking from one release to the other (for which I blame myself for having twitchy update-trigger fingers). But as a whole I'm a happy user in particular that now Steam is on Linux. My question is - how does Steam work on the Ubuntu derivatives like Xubuntu and Mint? Will it work on Debian?

splawn 13y ago
Steam works fine on both Xubuntu and Mint. Haven't tried it on Debian yet
- Derpdiherp 13y ago
  I use Steam on Debian stable and it works absolutely fine, I've never had an issue with it. The games run great too.
  - codygman 13y ago
    How did you install it? Also what games work great? For instance team fortress 2 had some weird shader problems on stable for me.
nhenezi 13y ago
Steam is in Jessie repository: http://packages.debian.org/jessie/steam http://packages.debian.org/jessie/steam
puppetmaster3 13y ago
Arch makes it easy: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Based_Distributions_(Active) https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Based_Distribution... Majaro has Steam built in.

NateDad 13y ago

If people did 30 seconds of searching they'd realize this information is available on the official Stack Exchange site AskUbuntu.com which is directly supported by Canonical's paid staff: http://askubuntu.com/questions/192269/how-can-i-remove-amazon-search-results-from-the-dash-or-disable-the-feature http://askubuntu.com/questions/192269/how-can-i-remove-amazo...

sbarre 13y ago
True but this site also acts as criticism to the approach in the first place, and also guarantees that this information will remain available and findable in the future, should Canonical change its mind about making this information easy to find.
- NateDad 13y ago
  I'm just trying to point out that the people who say Canonical is trying to silence the guy are just talking out their ass. They are freely providing this information in the number one place people go to ask questions about Ubuntu. All they did was say (incredibly nicely and politely) "Hey, umm... so, that's our copyrighted name and logo, and you know, you're really supposed to ask permission before using them".
vacri 13y ago
The way to do things changes with every single Ubuntu release. A colleague once looked up some way to alter a desktop setting (can't recall which) and he found that it was different in each of the past four ubuntu releases (as of 13.04). Similarly, you have to know you want to remove each of the items - fixubuntu hits a bunch at once. It doesn't require as much a priori knowledge.

cs702 13y ago

Ubuntu provides by default an on/off slider in its privacy settings for disabling the display of online search results in the dash[1], BUT I'm not sure if changing that slider to 'off' will also disable the sharing of searches with Canonical's servers. (The language used by the settings app is ambiguous: "When searching on the dash, include online search results - ON/OFF.") Moreover, I don't particularly feel like spending time & effort examining Unity Dash source code to figure out if and how my information might be shared with Canonical and/or other third parties. Canonical should make an unambiguous promise not to transmit any data to anyone, right there on the privacy settings screen, whenever that slider is set to the 'off' position. I would trust such an unambiguous promise. So thank you for submitting this website here -- I've bookmarked it for when I upgrade my desktops from 12.04 LTS to 14.04 LTS next year. -- [1] http://b2b.cbsimg.net/blogs/screenshot-from-2013-03-24-093428.png http://b2b.cbsimg.net/blogs/screenshot-from-2013-03-24-09342... -- Edit: Added second paragraph.

mdeslaur 13y ago
Yes, it's supposed to disable it completely.
- sillysaurus2 13y ago
  supposed to What's with the ambiguity? Does it disable it or not? I feel silly for asking, but the question was about ambiguous language, so the reply was ironic.
  - mdeslaur 13y ago
    Sorry, didn't mean to be ambiguous. It's what it was designed for. If there is a bug that is preventing it from working properly, I would like to know about it so I can make sure it gets fixed.
  - dinkumthinkum 13y ago
    I have to agree with another commenter ... It's not NSA level ambiguity ... It is open source, go check it if you don't believe it! :)

nisa 13y ago

My personal fix Ubuntu: Be careful, this is pretty rude and may break stuff - it is also not complete but some dependencies are too entangled. Only geoclue and indicator-datetime still annoy me. The idea to poll the internet regulary to check for the timezone of the machine is beyond me. apt-get purge ubuntuone* # I don't use it apt-get purge unity-lens-music unity-lens-video unity-lens-photos # I don't need the integration apt-get purge friends* # I don't use this either apt-get purge telepathy-logger telepathy-indicator telepathy-salut # pidgin is enough for me apt-get purge unity-scope-musicstores unity-scope-openclipart # No need for that in Unity apt-get purge oneconf # I don't want to sync my settings apt-get purge empathy # pidgin works fine apt-get purge software-center* # synaptic is enough apt-get purge evolution-data-server evolution-data-server-goa evolution-calendar-factory # thunderbird and lightning for me apt-get purge unity-scopes-runner unity-webapps-common xul-ext-unity xul-ext-websites-integration # my browser is enough - no integration for me apt-get --purge autoremove apt-get install pidgin synaptic Shrinks RSS from 622MB to ~400MB on my system.

csmuk 13y ago
My personal one: # dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=4M Then I go and find another distribution that doesn't treat its users like cattle. Ubuntu, after shuttleworth being an asshat to the community and the whole amazon and NIH Mir and upstart crap, is now the Ryanair of Linux distributions. incidentally, don't type the above.
- tzury 13y ago
  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * !!! ALERT !!! Do not type or paste the above, unless you wish to destroy your partition! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
  - csmuk 13y ago
    Thanks for making it even more obvious :)
sandGorgon 13y ago

berrypicker 13y ago

I'm not whining here, I'm a long-time Ubuntu user and want it to do well and become more popular, but if the 'year of the Linux desktop' is ever to happen, there are greater fixes that Ubuntu needs (Ubuntu is pretty much the only distro that, at this time, has a chance of becoming mainstream i.e. reach at least 5% usage share). For starters, it needs to work out of the box with the average user in mind. I don't think I've ever had a smooth install that didn't require searching the Ubuntu forums to get basic stuff running. If Ubuntu wants to compete with Windows, it can't ship an operating system that can't wake from a suspend on most laptops and requires using a terminal (which most people don't even know what it's for) to perform basic tasks and configuration. The experience for a novice computer user, however terrible you think Microsoft is, has always been excellent on Windows in that it suits their needs of requiring only little knowledge of how software works.

Piskvorrr 13y ago
Interesting; I mostly agree, except for the "no smooth installs" - from my data points, where I was struggling with Windows drivers, Ubuntu had been mostly plug-and-play (since about 10.04 onward). Then again, my userbase is mostly using office PCs and laptops, without too specialized peripherals.
- l337n1nj4 13y ago
  Agreed. Most of the time, I have no problem getting my laptop upgraded to the newest version, and all of my drivers are already there; no need to search online for any of them. However, I also have the problem with small, minor things either only partially working or being completely broken (e.g. when I updated to 13.04, it started hiding applications on me, but it 'fixed' itself some time ago). I think it would be a double-edged sword if the 'year of the Linux desktop' did occur. On one hand, more people would be using a great set of OS's and we would probably get more updates and flashier new features. However, with more people understanding the Linux kernel and how it operates, more 'black hats' and 'script kiddies' would have the tools to damage Linux systems, create Linux-based viruses, etc. In my opinion? I'm OK with where Linux is right now.
13y ago

Mikeb85 13y ago

This whining about Ubuntu is ridiculous. Removing the shopping features is easy enough anyway, without devoting a site to it, never mind posting it to HN. Furthermore, there's plenty of choices out there. The best of which (IMO) are openSUSE, Fedora, and Arch/Manjaro. Mint is terrible - like a buggier version of Ubuntu or unstable Debian... Furthermore, Canonical puts alot of work into Ubuntu. They deserve to get paid. Maybe consider actually using Amazon through their app as a way of contributing?

tonylemesmer 13y ago
is it possible to pay them and get an "ad free" version?
- fearandclothing 13y ago
  There's an option to donate when you download the .iso, so I suppose you could just do that and then uninstall the Amazon stuff.
- taeric 13y ago
  Since it is basically possible to get an "ad free" version by disabling that feature, and it is possible to donate to them. Yes?
  - codygman 13y ago
    That isn't the same thing as you clearly know... Paying to have things privacy infringing settings disabled and donating and then having to disable said privacy infringing settings are very different things.
    - taeric 13y ago
      I am somewhat sympathetic to your point, but do feel it is overstated in this case. It would be one thing if there was some indication of ill intent. From all I've seen, I just don't see it as an attempt at being deceptive. Marginally useful? Sure. Trying to trick people into thinking their computer isn't sending data back? This is akin to hating cell phone providers for creating tracking data on you. It is rather obvious that the data has to have been sent across the wire.

applecore 13y ago

If you're looking for a simpler OS, you should try Xubuntu: http://xubuntu.org/ http://xubuntu.org/

bsg75 13y ago
Does Xubuntu have any of the privacy concerns / "features" built in that Ubuntu does?
- xendo 13y ago
  Nope, all the "features" are built into desktop environment (unity) rather than ubuntu itself.
epsylon 13y ago
If you're already an Ubuntu user, you can just sudo apt-get install xfce and sudo apt-get remove unity*.

bowlofpetunias 13y ago

You misspelled "Fix Unity". Yes, of course average desktop users don't get the difference between OS and desktop manager, but a) wasn't that one of the issues we were supposed to solve with Linux on the desktop?, and b) those users are never, ever going to follow those instruction. I'm all in favor of spreading awareness, encouraging people to turn this crap off and putting pressure on Canonical to at the very least make this explicit opt-in. But this is just jerking off in the dark.

rlpb 13y ago

I (still) don't think online searches are a privacy violation. 1) It's a search box. Stuff not typed in the search box never leaves the machine (unless you count things that do by design, such as web browsers and email, obviously). 2) It's plainly obvious the first time you use it that results are coming back from the Internet. No real user is going to be misled into believing that searches are local. This makes it no more a privacy violation than the default Google search box in Firefox. 2b) There is a prominent notice saying so. If you don't think it's prominent enough, see point 2. 3) It's a search box that didn't exist previously. Canonical invented it. I think it's reasonable for Canonical to create a "search the universe" mechanism on the desktop. Fair enough if you don't like it, or don't want to use it. It's trivial to turn it off (there's even a global Privacy Settings dialog) or to use other searches. But that doesn't suddenly make it a privacy violation; nor the results of your search "ads". Edit: I should have expected the downvotes. I notice, though, that the downvoters are unable to actually respond to my argument.

alcari 13y ago
It's a search box that many people will use exclusively to search for _local_ content. Why should Amazon know what programs and files I'm using?
- rlpb 13y ago
  > It's a search box that many people will use exclusively to search for _local_ content. That still doesn't make it a privacy violation, since you know where your searches are going (as does any other user, since it's obvious based on the results). > Why should Amazon know what programs and files I'm using? It makes the normal user's life more convenient since he doesn't need to figure out which box to type something in. You think that's ridiculous? Users are well known for typing web addresses into any box available. They cannot tell the difference. Having a single box for everything makes for a better experience,. Amazon doesn't know what programs and files you're using, since Canonical anonymizes it. If you don't like it, or you don't trust Canonical, and you still want to use the "search everything" search box, then adjust the settings to do what you want.

dllthomas 13y ago

1) Install ratpoison...

drill_sarge 13y ago

People use default Ubuntu with Unity? From what I see, most people use a variant (X/L/K) of it and those are really well put together without (most) of the Canonical crap.

octagonal 13y ago
The people you know don't use stock Ubuntu. My mom and yours don't even know what a package manager is.
- drill_sarge 13y ago
  My parents use Xubuntu because it's the closest you can get to WindowsXP ;)
  - l337n1nj4 13y ago
    I would have suggested Linux Mint/any distro that you can drop Cinnamon DE onto. Cinnamon has more updates, almost as much customization as XFCE, and doesn't look as old as Win95.
username42 13y ago
I like very much ubuntu-gnome. They need some help http://ubuntugnome.org/ http://ubuntugnome.org/
- drill_sarge 13y ago
  I tried it with, I think, 13.04 and you could see they need people testing it. For a raw Gnome distro Fedora is the better choice.
spindritf 13y ago
> People use default Ubuntu with Unity? Of course, I don't even change the background. "Canical crap" is mostly mythical or takes a single toggle to turn off.

camedee 13y ago

s/fix ubuntu/fork ubuntu/g

wojt_eu 13y ago

Why you shouldn't paste code from websites directly into terminal: http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste

shortstuffsushi 13y ago
Did you read the part explaining what each of the commands does...?
- ktf 13y ago
  Did you read the linked article? It doesn't matter what it looks like you're copying/pasting, or how it's explained in the site you're copying/pasting it from.
  - cakeface 13y ago
    Thanks for posting that - I came in here to do the same thing but you beat me to it. Please read the linked article before ever copying and pasting from the web!
  - shortstuffsushi 13y ago
    To both you and cakeface, yes. I still don't really find that relevant, though.

sbarre 13y ago

I really like the disclaimer in the bottom right. Except for the "idiot" part at the beginning which I feel cheapens the message, it is very well written in clear language.

Houshalter 13y ago
The use of idiot is necessary as no sane person will learn anything from reading that that they didn't already know.
- sbarre 13y ago
  Spoken like someone who lives in a tech bubble and has no concept of tact. Are you a developer by chance?

Sami_Lehtinen 13y ago

Choose Debian, Mint or Xubuntu.

mergy 13y ago

Better option >> http://www.crunchbang.org http://www.crunchbang.org

jiggy2011 13y ago

I'm surprised there isn't an offshoot distro that is exactly identical except has all of these features disabled by default.

zx2c4 13y ago

Solution: stop using Ubuntu. There are lots of other very able distributions out there, many of which not only have better privacy features but also are technologically superior in one way or another. In no particular order, these are all very capable operating systems for a variety of needs: * https://fedoraproject.org/ https://fedoraproject.org/ * http://www.centos.org/ http://www.centos.org/ * http://www.opensuse.org/ http://www.opensuse.org/ * http://www.mageia.org/ http://www.mageia.org/ * https://www.archlinux.org/ https://www.archlinux.org/ * http://www.gentoo.org/ http://www.gentoo.org/ * http://www.sabayon.org/ http://www.sabayon.org/ * http://www.debian.org/ http://www.debian.org/ * http://www.linuxmint.com/ http://www.linuxmint.com/ This list is non exhaustive. They are all free. They all work well in different places. There are others too. We've all had ample indication that Ubuntu was headed for the pits. It's time to move on. -- a proud gentoo dev

adamnemecek 13y ago
Yeah, I switched to Debian a while back and it was surprisingly frictionless.
klrr 13y ago
Linux Mint? Isn't that essentially the same thing as Ubuntu or am I missing something? That is, is it the lens search that is the problem or are there other privacy concerns about Ubuntu?
- zx2c4 13y ago
  I think they've got an edition based on Debian.
  - l337n1nj4 13y ago
    You are correct, sir/madam/whomever.... http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php http://www.linuxmint.com/download_lmde.php
- l337n1nj4 13y ago
  Mint is based off of Ubuntu, but also has a version based off of Debian, as zx2c4 has pointed out. The biggest difference is that Mint uses the Cinnamon desktop environment, as opposed to Unity, which was forked from Gnome 2. Also, they use Nemo, which was forked from Nautilus, which has more functionality and features as opposed to Nautilus.

jccc 13y ago

Regarding that "disclaimer" in the corner, here's why it was added: https://micahflee.com/2013/11/canonical-shouldnt-abuse-trademark-law-to-silence-critics-of-its-privacy-decisions/ https://micahflee.com/2013/11/canonical-shouldnt-abuse-trade...

balls187 13y ago
US Trademark law is kind of sticky. If you don't actively defend your trademark, you can lose it.
- orionblastar 13y ago
  But isn't there a 'fair use' clause? At least there used to be one at one time before we lost our liberties, rights, and freedoms with the DMCA and Patriot Act.

pacofvf 13y ago

if you are worried because what you type at the dash is being sent to third parties for advertising then you should stop using google to search anything (yeah including maps), this is the last reason I wouldn't use Unity, I actually don't use it, but I don't use it because of the friggin vertical toolbar and the sluggish performance.

MarcusBrutus 13y ago

I get: No such schema 'com.canonical.Unity.Lenses' when running the script, and a few lines below: E: Unable to locate package unity-lens-shopping

ktf 13y ago

Alternative method: click the big on/off switch for online search results. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not defending Ubuntu. I think it's gross that they include this at all, and extra-gross that it's on by default. But let's not get too carried away with the hyperbole and conspiracy theories. Just read the source! Or if you don't trust the source, just examine your network traffic. Pretty easy to verify whether the button does what it claims... EDIT/PSA: Don't copy/paste things from a website directly into your terminal. See http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste http://thejh.net/misc/website-terminal-copy-paste, for example.

davidgerard 13y ago

" I wanted to update/install my nvidia drivers, so I opened the dash and typed "drivers". IT DISPLAYED GOLF CLUBS on sale at Amazon!" https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/bikeshed/vtXkVdALoJ8/Nh-R5UuhHyUJ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/bikeshed/vtXkVdALoJ8/N... Of course, 14.04 will increase the usability level by automatically charging your credit card, with next day delivery of the golf clubs guaranteed.

badman_ting 13y ago
Ha, check out the petty retorts to the sentiment as well. One guy even stoops to nitpicking the other's (perfectly cromulent) grammar. And of course the requisite brandishing of the dreaded "FUD". This whole thing is pathetic, why defend it? Why is it so hard to admit that your precious free software has problems?

surge 13y ago

I just installed 13.10 today, perfect!

adrianmalacoda 13y ago

Proud user of Trisquel[1] since 2010. It's a fork of Ubuntu that adheres to GNU's Guidelines for Free System Distributions[2]. While I'm aware that the general opinion of the free software movement ranges from "extreme" to "considered harmful," it is a nice feeling knowing that the creators of the distro have some ethical guidelines in place to prevent things like this - as it turns out, the free software types also tend to be some of the louder privacy advocate types as well. Mint is probably a better option unless you know your system does not require proprietary drivers, as GNU/FSF kosher distros use a version of the kernel that lacks those proprietary drivers. [1] http://trisquel.info/ http://trisquel.info/ [2] https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guideli...

lcedp 13y ago

I just don't use Unity

lacion 13y ago

frankly is canonical is getting money from me typing "gedit" or virtualbox a couple of times them thats ok for me, its not like their scanning every document on your pc and sending information around. on a side not i would like to know how much people complaining about ubuntu practices still google services.

OHMYGODUSETHIS 13y ago

Use Arch. Problem solved. Yes, it takes a bit more work, but you get a much better understanding of your system and learn how to block or eliminate things (like this ad-serving search crap) you don't like.

keithpeter 13y ago
Or: CentOS with EPEL and Nux repos for slightly older but solid packages,and just get work done... Conservative VS leading edge I suppose.

davidrudder 13y ago

Pasting code from a website, even with explanations, worries me far more than someone recording my Internet search history.

vladtaltos 13y ago

this should give a nice boost to fixubuntu.com page hits. nice work canonical - I knew you secretly wanted people to disable the default security problems... cheers...

notatoad 13y ago

why yes, let's encourage people to copy and paste random code snippets from the internet into their terminal.

schmichael 13y ago

If only this also replaced Mir with Wayland, upstart with systemd, and Unity with Gnome.

alexanderchr 13y ago

Wow, this made the search a _lot_ faster. Thanks!

Zardoz84 13y ago

Fine but I simply use KUbuntu.

ChrisNorstrom 13y ago

He should have added the code to install a compiz plugin to move that damn Unity Bar from the left to the bottom of the screen like 90% of normal human beings have wanted it since the beginning. Let's just be honest, Mark Shuttleworth has Steve Jobs envy, as many creative types do. They want to be the "creative arrogant leader that everyone has to listen to".

j7 13y ago

This becomes more relevant every day: http://magnatecha.com/moving-from-ubuntu-to-debian/ http://magnatecha.com/moving-from-ubuntu-to-debian/

puppetmaster3 13y ago

fyi, Arch has the best wiki. that is all.

ansible 13y ago

Ahhh... Unity. Shortly after upgrading, I needed to burn a CD. So I go to fire up Gnome's Brasero. I start typing it in, and before I've finished, Unity helpfully provides me with advertisements of bras for women. At work. Yeah, that's helpful.

orionblastar 13y ago

Canonical is using people and organizations who use Ubuntu: http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/canonical-abused-trademark-law-to-target-a-site-critical-of-ubuntu-privacy/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/canoni... I had recently made Blastarix: http://blastar.in/linux/ http://blastar.in/linux/ I am now scared that I'll get sued, just because I modified Ubuntu, renamed it to Blastarix, and removed the Amazon search and ads feature with some other tweaks. I do not know how to remove the Ubuntu logo and startup screens and I used uck to make the distro. I also added the 32 bit Steam for Linux client so gamers had it pre-installed and most developers play games on Steam anyway.

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mariuolo 13y ago

I see a Streisand Effect in the making here.