*Houston, we have a problem*
*Part I - The Problem*
I just read an interview on linuxuser.co.uk
<http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/features/ubuntu-11-10-launch-interview-unity-is-here-to-stay%E2%80%A6/>
with Gerry Carr.
/With this release, we're bringing out the Music Lens, which
offers a Dash-like experience and allows you to use the search bar
to search for, let's say, Abba -- it'll display all the Abba that
you have locally on your machine, and it'll also display any Abba
available in the Ubuntu One cloud, //*and then also it will* --
and I'm not quite sure if this is going to land at release, or
just after -- *but basically it'll also allow you to access all
the Abba that's available on the Amazon Music Store or on the
Ubuntu One Music Store*, so I can purchase that directly within
the same Lens./
After reading this I started Oneiric in VirtualBox and yes, there is a
'Available for Purchase' section in the music lens.
Now, the problem:
Dose this mean every time, I repeat, _every time_ I search for a song
on my computer with the Music Lens (11.10 or bigger) will query an DB
in the Internet?
If this is true, Ubuntu & I have a problem. A privacy problem to be
more specific.
I don't think that an average user expects that every time he enters a
song title into the Music Lens it will be send through the net - I
believe that he expects that every thing stays locally and will be
processed on his computer as long as he dose not clearly interact with
the net (browsing, uploading files to U1, chatting, using Gwibber ...).
One big reason why I use Linux is that it doesn't send all kind of
informations to companies (Amazon - if I would not care I would buy a
Mac).
*Part II - Suggestion to solve the problem*
Okay, vented enough frustration, now something constructive.
The approach of the file lens doesn't work here, it is not "possible"
to store a Ubuntu One Music Store and Amazon Music Store title DB on
Ubuntu locally to prevent sending of just tipped-in informations
always through the Internet.
My solution is as simple as powerful ? a Shop Lens.
What again a new lens, but wait. The shop lens could combine different
sources and display search entries in categories. This would solve
above raised problems. The user expects the shop lens to query online
DB's to get results and it would avoid that every entered text phrase
to the music lens would be send through the net (without user
knowledge, and maybe without his accordance).
It would also "debug" the unpleasant (and less liked) 'Apps Available
for Download' in the application lens (I like the idea of 'Available
for Download', but not in the App Lens - where I see it all times but
use it only ~0.5% of the time).
If the Shop Lens is extensionable by add-ons other vendors could add
there own shop to it. This way it would be the perfect place to search
for new input (free & paid) and for the user would be clear what he
gets there (better than mixing different topics in to one lens ?
'Available...' in App-Music lens).
Uff, pretty long mail :)
your turn
Thibaut
PS: I know, don't make lenses for everything. But this time I think it
would be a good idea to separate local and online queries and to have
one place in the system to search for new stuff.
PPS: How to turn the 'Available for Purchase' function in Oneiric off?
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