Canonical displays controversial 'ad' in shell update prog (UDPATEDx2)
Some Ubuntu users are not happy at receiving a promotional message at the command line when upgrading their systems.
As we described last week, Canonical's "Ubuntu Pro" support offering for its Linux distro is now free of charge for up to five machines. If you update your machine from the command line with the apt command, you get an unsolicited ad for the scheme – and some users are not happy about it.
There are complaints on Reddit, Mastodon, and on the company's own StackExchange site AskUbuntu.
This is far from the first time Ubuntu has faced such discontent. Last time, it was a promotional message on servers' login screens that caused complaints. This was merely some text added to the /etc/motd file (that is, Message Of The Day), but one cause of upset is that it fetched the information from online – in theory, that might fail or cause unanticipated network access.
A decade before that, it was Amazon listings in search results and fishing for donations on its download page.
The new message appears if you use Ubuntu's simplified apt front-end to the underlying Debian Advanced Packaging Tool, although as we mentioned while looking at some Debian derivatives, Debian itself has now adopted the apt command. If you prefer, the older apt-get, and apt-cache commands are still there in both Ubuntu and Debian, and they won't show the message. They're a better choice if you're scripting the operations, too.
UDPATE
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Ubuntu’s New Terminal 'Ad' is Angering Users - OMG! Ubuntu!
In September I tweeted a screenshot of something unexpected that has started to show up in the terminal when I ran system updates.
It didn’t enrage me at the time (and it kinda still doesn’t) but I did find it a little …Off.
Now, if you’re suitably tuned-in to the Linux newswire and/or an avid attendee of social media you’ll probably heard about the drama in question.
If you haven’t, then allow me to…
Another one today:
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Ubuntu users angered by 'advert' in command line | TechRadar
Canonical, the maker of popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, has come under fire over an attempt to spread the word about a new promotion.
As TechRadar Pro reported last week, Canonical is now offering free access to the enterprise-focused version of Ubuntu for up to five workstations. In an effort to advertise the scheme, the company is distributing a message via the command line to any user that updates the OS.
However, a section of the Ubuntu user base has not taken kindly to the move, which has been interpreted as an inappropriate intrusion by some.
Days later and still coverage:
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Ubuntu Once Again Angered Users by Placing Ads in the Terminal
Canonical’s placement of an advertisement for its “Ubuntu Pro” service in the application update tool sparked heated debate among users.
Ubuntu has once again sparked debate among Linux users by implementing a very controversial approach – using the most often used shell command, notably the software update tool, to advertise its service.
But first, let me explain what this is all about.