[kwlug-disc] Ubuntu LTS future

[Paul Nijjar]

Wow. I did not realize that the Snap ecosystem was not FLOSS. This has
opened my eyes.

So it seems that you can make your own snaps using free software?
https://github.com/snapcore/snapcraft

so the locked down part is the server. I wonder if there is a
competing project to make FLOSS snap repos? 

Also, it looks like snaps come with a luscious dollop of surveillance: 

> Make data-driven decisions with active install metrics. Watch as
> automatic updates migrate users to your latest release. Understand
> your audience with geographic and version breakdowns.

(from https://snapcraft.io/) 

The other approach that comes to mind here is NixOS. Maybe that is the
answer to the bleeding-edge vs LTS issue?

- Paul


On Fri, Jun 26, 2020 at 08:31:47PM +0000, Doug Moen wrote:
> 
> Partly it's because the snap system is not open source. It is proprietary and locked down. There is only one snap store, controlled by Canonical. You can't distribute snaps to other users without Canonical's permission, since nobody else can create a snap server. You can copy snap files around but then there is no update mechanism. Same problem as Apple's iOS app store (which is one reason I refuse to own an iOS device). Snap is part of a long term vision to gradually evolve Ubuntu into a more locked-down, proprietary system like iOS. I'm getting out now, rather than living with a degraded experience and watching it slowly get worse with successive future releases. Same reason I'm switching my laptop from Mac to Linux.
> 
> Others have noted that you have no control over when snaps upgrade, and you can't roll back an upgrade that breaks your system.
>