There is still no Linux app store

To be clear, I’m not complaining that we don’t have these aforementioned applications on the Linux desktop. That’s not the point. The point is “we” still don’t have a robust way for developers to monetise their application development work.

Most desktop Linux users run Ubuntu. Followed by others you’ve likely heard of like Arch, Fedora, Manjaro, SUSE and friends. Most users of these desktop Linux distributions have no baked-in way to buy software.

Similarly developers have no built-in route to market their wares to Linux desktop users. Having a capability to easily charge users to access software is a compelling argument to develop and market applications.

For sure, I can (and do) throw money at a patreon, paypal, ko-fi or buy a developer some coffee, beer or something from their Amazon wishlist. But I can’t just click “Buy” and “Install” on an app in a store on my Linux laptop.

Maybe one day all the ducks will be in a row, and I’ll be able to buy applications published for Linux, directly on my desktop. Until then, I’ll just keep looking longingly at those macOS app developers, and hoping.

palordrolap,

Linux Mint has Software Manager, that is pretty close to an app store.
It's installed by default. Some other distros might have something similar.

(Versions since that article was written can have an "ad" picture at the top for a recommended package, which, somewhat bizarrely, does make it look even more friendly than the interface shown.)

True, it's not a Linux-wide common interface, but then the gap between two distros can be as wide as between commercial operating systems, and it would be foolish to expect their app stores to have a common interface.

joojmachine,

ITT a lot of people who don’t read anything but the title

SimonJ,

The AUR does exactly this, nothing else needed.

theshatterstone54,

Well, elementary OS had that implemented, and Flathub was trying to make that a thing, but I’m not sure what happened there

anothermember,

I would say that’s more of a feature than a bug.

I think I would have more of a problem with the centralisation implied by this proposal than I would with paying for apps; a centralised “store” gives too much power to one organisation - but if you could choose to download one I don’t think that’s too much of a problem. But then we already have Steam for that.

ulkesh,
@ulkesh@beehaw.org avatar

“store” - n. - a quantity or supply of something kept for use as needed

A store doesn’t have to mean that something must be for sale. There are numerous Linux app stores that all function exactly as they are designed.

anothermember,

The term “store” grates on me a bit, until recently we just called them repositories/repos, I think that’s a better name.

ulkesh,
@ulkesh@beehaw.org avatar

It’s really just semantics. And the article just seems like a nonsensical argument, to me.

kglitch,

Elementary OS has a pay-what-you-can app store https://appcenter.elementary.io/

Sentau,

Well there were/are attempts to make flatpak with flathub an universal app store on linux. If I remember correctly, there were some ideas mooted on adding paid apps in to flathub.

technologicalcaveman,

Ow my head

Nefyedardu,

Is there anything stopping something like connecting your credit card to GNOME Software Manager and then putting a big fat "donate" button next to the "install" button? I imagine there are legal considerations.

GustavoM,
@GustavoM@lemmy.world avatar

It’s called “The package manager”. :^)

PrefersAwkward,
@PrefersAwkward@lemmy.world avatar

You can build in subscriptions or support licenses to your open source apps. Look at cryptomator and bitwarden for example. I know others do it. (And the free version is about as good as paid. But you can pay for a few near features and to support the devs)

And the beauty is that the package management takes no cut and puts no rules on payment methods.

eterps,

This is the right answer.

h3ndrik,

I think I would like to see Amazon, Google, Netflix etc to pay for the free and open source projects they use to make money and sell in their AWS and database offerings.

I -personally- don’t miss a store for end users. Marketshare for Linux on the destop is slim anyways. That’s not where you earn a considerable amount of your money.

And i like things like the value-for-value model. So maybe instead include donation links in the package managers and into the databases of the gnome-software etc. (I think it’s called packagekit.)

freagle,

The solution is not centralization, the solution is a protocol. The team at Flattr tried to do something that worked for content, but it was centralized. The team at Ganxy tried to expand the definition of monetize, but it was centralized. If we had a protocol where teams could publish metadata that enabled users to use any data-driven app to generate some form of compensation for the contributors, then we could build all sorts of workflows into package managers that made it easier.

such_lettuce7970,
such_lettuce7970 avatar

Wtf? No. Fuck all the way off.

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