[denrober]

I just don't understand all this hate towards Canonical. You can turn it off. Yes it was awkwardly rolled out but you can turn it off. What about google search as you type? Google Analytics, hell even the Ghostery plugin tracks data. Is this just the joy of supporting the underdog then hating them when they succeed? Now I don't work for Ubuntu, I don't use Ubuntu (I do use Mint which is derived from Ubuntu). When I think about the things that Apple and Microsoft have done and do I really think adding remote search is really low on the offense list. I mean they aren't making chemical weapons! Again most of this comment is I just don't get all the hate.

[honestcoyote]

I can understand it. In these days of constant public and private surveillance, some people want a haven and want it to be consistently safe. One of the great selling points of Linux is that it was such a haven. Linux was supposed to be one of the few things left which wasn't trying to make a buck by watching you.

Ubuntu's little Amazon search wasn't very much compared to what Google, Facebook, or the NSA have been up to, but it was still a violation of the spirit of Linux and the unspoken rules and customs many people expect from OSS. For many people, this is a betrayal.

[jfoster]

It's not as though they're trying to commit it into the kernel, though. There's about a million other Linux-based operating systems that can be used. Isn't it a healthy thing that they try to take different paths to success? Canonical is trying to monetize the consumer side of their OS. Red Hat sells support to enterprise. If you care about Linux, it should be a good thing that these companies are trying to make some money and be sustainable businesses.

[XorNot]

Basically, have you ever stopped using software because it asked to install the Ask! toolbar by default in the installer?

I mean goddamn Java from Oracle does this, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It's all those little rejections which slowly wear you down, because it feels like you have to be constantly vigilant.

[alan_cx]

I believe it is about abuse of position.

Ubuntu has a powerful position and a very high number of users in the Linux world. So, when it does something that people believe benefit itself at the expense of users, because it can be fairly sure those users will not flee to another distributes, people will be angry.

That is why people get angry at big large corporations. Because people are locked in, financially, technically, perhaps "merely" psychologically, they really don't like it when they feel abused. Yes, there is always know-it all-who claims its easy to change, but real people know its never ever that simple in reality.

What makes it worse is the knowledge that one is contributing to the power such corporations have by taking out contracts, licences or any other commitment not easily broken.

[jfoster]

Not to mention that it's a free product. If it was trying to do something underhanded (eg. actually spy on users) then I could understand, but actually it's just Canonical trying to make some revenue by facilitating the sale of Amazon products. As an Ubuntu user, I want them to be successful as a business, it's a convenient feature, and I could easily turn it off (or not use Ubuntu) if I felt strongly against it. I can't understand why people pour so much energy into being critical of an underdog when there are so many other options.