Elementary OS Wants to Crowdfund a Better Distro-Independent 'AppCenter for Everyone'

In 2017 Elementary OS built a pay-what-you-want app store -- funded with $10,000 raised on IndieGogo. Now they're trying to raise another $10,000 for a one-week, in-person sprint in Denver, Colorado, Forbes reports, to upgrade the store while bringing an even grander concept to reality: That concept comprises 4 main goals:

- Enable open source developers to monetize their apps on every other Linux distribution

- Empower developers to ship apps with cutting-edge technologies

- Improve privacy, security, and stability

- Streamline the payments process

On the technical side of things, the team plans to rebuild AppCenter's backend from the ground up to enable newer technologies developers are asking for, and they're rallying behind the Flatpak packaging format to get it done. They've already been collaborating with the FlatHub team, and plan to bring in developers from Endless and GNOME to ensure that "our solution can be reused and improved by other Flatpak stores and the greater open source desktop ecosystem."
For a donation of $10, "you'll have your name immortalized in the AppCenter code on GitHub," explains a promotional video. (There's already 70 backers who have claimed this perk.) In fact, "Less than 8 hours ago we launched #AppCenterForEveryone, and we're 50% funded," announced an update Friday on Twitter. The campaign's web page shared this note of appreciation.

"With your support, we'll be able to accelerate the timeline on adopting cutting edge technology and making an even more competitive Open Source operating system and a compelling foundation for all Flatpak stores."

WTF

[Aighearach]

$10k for a week, wow, there are sure some stupid rich nerds in the world if they succeed at funding this dead-end software.

Re:

[Ostracus]

"Enable open source developers to monetize their apps on every other Linux distribution "

Can't get money with infrastructure work, so move things higher up in the stack till one hits the point people start paying for things aka the app store model. Problem? What problem? FOSS doesn't have a problem.

Re:

[kurkosdr]

Lol so true. FOSS be like: "Donate to VLC" Users: "Sure, I like how this app plays my anime videos" FOSS (again): "Donate to X.org, Wayland, ALSA, PulseAudio, and gdb" Users (except 3 nerds): "What are these things and what are they doing in my computer?" ... end result: All these infrastructural things suck.

Yay

[NicknameUnavailable]

Just what we need, another systemd like system meant to unify all the various linuxes such that there's no distinguishing factors aside from logos between any of the distros.

Re:

[Ostracus]

Like merging the Android and Apple App stores. What could possibly go wrong?

This stuff is dangerous

[Mononymous]

If you put an app on an app store to make money, you have an incentive to make it harder for people to get the app in other ways, e.g., compiling from source.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

Unless the App Store enforces a policy of making everything needed to compile from source fully available on the app store itself. If they don't do that, then you're right, and this is just the latest step in the process by which Linux has been slowly eating itself.

not me

[renegade600]

I have tried elementary os a few times and was never impressed with it. always went back to linux mint. The last time I kept it for about a year on one computer Not sure where elementary is heading but at this time it seems to be getting away from the reasons a lot of users choose linux as their os of choice.

"AppCenter" is Apple/MS closed source hink.

[BAReFO0t]

Weird, how.we have this.crowd.of pseudo Linux developersy who clearly come from a Apple/MS background, are clueless everything.Unix/Linux, and hence beloeve they need to turn Linux into another macOS/Windows, by carrying over the same stupid closed source / walled garded concepts.

We already have package managers. We don't need any of that "App Store" cancer. Please go back to your desktop and consumer OSes and don't ruin a OS for pros.

Re:

[tepples]

Without priced applications, who pays to feed and house the people creating, say, the parts of a game that aren't code?

Re:

[kurkosdr]

Torrent sites sharing asset files of commercial games intended for other platforms (mainly). Like all those doom source ports running torrented Doom 2 WADs.

Re:

[tepples]

Without priced applications "for other platforms (mainly)", who pays to feed and house the people creating "asset files of commercial games intended for other platforms" in the first place? What would have paid for the original Doom and Doom II?

+1 for proper use of "comprises"

[thegreatbob]

-1 for using the word "empower" (basically labels the surround text as marketing wank)

Anyhow, so long as they actually deliver on promises, I don't see anything to complain about.

down the drain

[Tom]

- Enable open source developers to monetize their apps on every other Linux distribution

And right there it went down the drain.

Linux developers have been paid for decades. Just not for their code. They've been hired as developers are turned their skill into professions with code being their CV.

Moreover, we have half a century of science proving that getting paid literally destroys the motivation of volunteer work. We have countless studies showing that volunteers work better, longer, to higher standards and with more happiness to themselves then paid workers do.

Please let this project crash and burn, because otherwise that's the end of Linux.

Can't do it without all-in packages

[drinkypoo]

You can't have them run on all Linuxes without using a container style package. But I want native packages, I don't want a zillion versions of every library on my system.

Re: Can't do it without all-in packages

[Moochman]

You don't need a gazillion versions. FlatPak is designed to allow multiple versions but share whenever possible.