• What I will propose, is nothing short but a ton of work. A project, that will probable take some time to complete [Ubuntu 10?], but as I see it, provide the community, Canonical, and developers benefit for a long time to come. In brief, my proposal is that Canonical develop integrated online services that are targeted at regular consumers (mostly) and small businesses (in part) with a range of free to pay-for services than extend and enhance the Ubuntu experience. For reference, Ubuntu 10 will be the targeted version for simplicity, though that doesn't necessarily mean it will all be ready by then.
• Website Portion:
- For the web portion, I propose that Canonical setup a web site that is similar in layout and function to www.macupdate.com & SourceForge, built with the aide of either SproutCore (
http://www.sproutcore.com/ ) or Objective-J (
http://cappuccino.org/ ) technologies.
- Ad space will be limited to the right and be used for only as a promotional tool for applications listed on the website. Developer / business accounts can purchase ad space for their applications (non-free applications probable) which will help fund the continued support and development of the site.
- Developer / business accounts will allow uploading applications, (along with screenshots, description, etc...). [Just like MacUpdate]
- Applications listed at the top main body (like on MacUpdate) are either updates to existing applications or new applications that were just uploaded.
- Powerful dynamic search and filter functions aided by SproutCore or Objective-J.
- Consumer accounts can rate applications, as well as comment and review them. Such will be dated and organized by application version (to keep them in perspective).
- Application usage statistics / currently installed by consumers (with consent) can be uploaded to the servers and tallied as another way of finding popular applications aside from user ratings.
- Most applications uploaded will be free, so donate functions can be added to help keep projects going by consumer support.
- When downloading applications from the website, they are packaged in Synaptic package files to be used with the application portion (Synaptic).
• Application Portion: (Synaptic Redone)
- Synaptic can connect (either anonymous or with the user account for more access/features) which will in effect redisplay the websites' content.
- Can handle queuing of installations / downloads with parallel handling.
- Handles the uploading of usage statistics and hardware statistics to the Ubuntu servers. The anonymous breakdown of these statistics can be accessed by developer / business accounts as well as Ubuntu developers in order to more effectively test and improve their product for the largest possible array of people.
• File Servers:
- Developers can store their applications and / or source code onto the Canonical servers for free.
- Pay-for application developers / businesses can pay a ***SMALL*** percentage or fixed fee for Canonical to host their applications on their servers.
- Developers can set various permission levels for access to their portion of the file servers so that other developers can connect and work collaboratively with them on applications.
- Consumers can receive a free account of 2 GB or more on the Canonical file servers that ties into other online services for them provided by Canonical. This should show up as a drive on the Ubuntu desktop so users can seamlessly upload to the file servers. More space will cost the consumers a fair amount of money and should be provided in basic packages that combines the use of other services.
• E-mail Servers:
- Consumers & developers can receive free 2GB e-mail addresses. (2 GB is tied into the file servers)
- POP3 & IMAP Access (Free)
- Interface built in SproutCore or Objective-J.
• When a user installs Ubuntu 10, they will be greeted by an application that will ask the user to register themselves a free Canonical account or tie their system to a pre-existing Canonical account. Of course the user will be free to refuse and use their OS, but this will provide them with support along with access to other services and features that are tied to Canonical services.
• I think a tiered rollout plan of these services may be a good idea. Clearly people can see where I'm heading with this, (MobileMe - pay / Google services - free). I believe Canonical can compete with Apple or Google and I think the money to be made in Linux is with extra enhancing subscription based services since the OS itself is free. The key here is not selling huge support subscriptions like to businesses but making the consumers willing and wanting to pay for these services.
• The trick of this is providing a balance between price and features, and integration coupled with ease of use is key to catching the consumer interest.
