It seems that by default Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal Quetzal will include search results from Amazon in the Dash. This seems to be an extension of Amazon’s Affiliates program. The idea is that if you see an Amazon result in the Dash, click on it, and buy the product, a portion of the revenue from the sale will go back to Canonical.
So, essentially, Ubuntu is becoming an ad-supported operating system.
I suspect this will cause a bit of a backlash in the open-source community due to the privacy implications. After all, what is the point of free and open-source software if it’s only used by Amazon to track your purchases?
Still, it’s not the worst idea. Canonical needs to raise money for Ubuntu somehow – goodwill and high ideals will not take you nearly as far as actual money. And like the ads on Amazon’s Kindle readers and tablets, I suspect most people will either ignore them or come to like them (a surprising number of ad-supported Kindle owners rather like the ads their Kindles display).
So long as the Amazon functionality is easily removed, I don’t think people will mind too much. Technically-minded users with a desire for privacy will quickly remove that aspect of the Dash, while average users will simply ignore the Amazon recommendations…or come to enjoy them.
-JM
ADDITIONAL READING:
The Ubuntu Beginner’s Guide
The Ubuntu Desktop Beginner’s Guide.
Source:
http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/screed/?p=3898