…So every user can learn the wonderfulness of downloading copyrighted material that we’re supposed to pay for.
Can’t you just hear the lawyers on all sides sharpening their knives?
Whrrrrr–
Ubuntu Will Add Torrent Search to Embed Free Culture Into User Experience
by Andy
In early December 2013 there was a nice announcement for Ubuntu users. Software developer David Callé revealed that a new torrent scope (search addon) for the Debian-based Linux OS was now available.
In the first instance Callé was skeptical about having the scope included in Ubuntu by default since it would inevitably turn up unlicensed content, something he feared would “generate a lot of FUD for Ubuntu.” However, Callé’s fears were quickly addressed by Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth.
“The tool is super-useful and it’s perfectly justified to make it available by default. We use torrents for distributing Ubuntu itself. So please don’t hold back!” Shuttleworth wrote.
We caught up with David Callé to find out more about his torrent experience and what motivated him to create the tool.
“I use torrents to seed ISO images for Linux distributions, Ubuntu of course, but Linux Mint and Fedora as well,” David told TorrentFreak.
“The main motivation behind the torrents scope was to embed Free Culture into the user experience, in the search engine of the OS. In that spirit, I am also pushing for the Jamendo scope (CC licensed music service) to become one of the default music sources.”
Clearly David had Ubuntu’s image in mind when he hesitated over its inclusion in Ubuntu by default. What pitfalls did he foresee at that early stage and has he now changed his mind?