uman
03-28-2003, 05:26 AM
Michael's Minute: Shortest Distance Between 2 Objects Is A Click
Thanks to the global development effort that pushes Linux forward each day, there's now more software for Linux computers than for Macintosh. The problem is that Linux software is spread about the globe and is typically very difficult to install. The result is that few people have the knowledge to find the software and the skill to install it. We created the Click-N-Run Warehouse to collect and organize Linux software and allow a single mouse click to zap software to the desktop. New titles are added every week. This week LindowsOS users saw Sweep - a high-power sound-editing program and Really Slick Screensavers added to the Warehouse.
Nearly a million programs have been installed using Click-N-Run - all completely digital with no CDs, no serial numbers and no activation codes. Some of the software is free and some is commercial, but all of it is just one click then a progress bar -- and the software is permanently installed and configured with desktop icons and menu entries. Nice! It's how software distribution should work in the digital age.
An active population of developers have sprung up around LindowsOS. More than 2,000 developers have signed up with Lindows.com and web sites have emerged to provide software for LindowsOS users (see www.lindowsdownload.com for one such example). Even with 1700 titles, the Click-N-Run Warehouse represents only a fraction of the total software available for Linux desktops and there are dozens of new programs being created every day. Many developers are asking how they can get their programs into the Warehouse.
Today, we're pleased to announce the Lindows.com Developer and Publisher Program (see publish.lindows.com) which opens the Click-N-Run Warehouse to outside developers. Here developers can learn how to create software that will work well with LindowsOS. Whether you are a new Linux developer or an experienced hacker, publish.lindows.com has the information you need to publish software for LindowsOS. One unique component of the Lindows.com Developer and Publisher Program is that besides technical information, it also includes publishing information which explains how to get the software promoted and made one-click available for all LindowsOS users.
Publish.lindows.com is designed for either free or commercial software. There's a growing list of interesting Linux programs that charge a reasonable fee. Using the Click-N-Buy program, Linux developers can market and sell their wares alongside other programs such as StarOffice, MarbleBlast, Hancom Sheet, Bitstream Fonts, etc. to the LindowsOS user base. Besides providing a technical how-to, publish.lindows.com also includes a unique marketing and sales tool for developers.
This is exciting stuff for LindowsOS users, because it means that a varied and eclectic mix of software will start popping up on a continual basis in the Warehouse. LindowsOS users can simply follow the "Announcements" and "New Arrivals" nodes of Click-N-Run to start seeing a wide array of different and interesting games, utilities, productivity programs, multimedia solutions, and so on. Over the past 20 years, the domination of one software company's monopoly has made software become very sterile and homogenized. Now, however, publish.Lindows.com will allow thousands of distinct and creative developers to share their unique software with thousands of computer users, all with just one mouse click. Trying out new and different software will now become a regular occurrence, helping make computing fun again, spurring on a renaissance of creativity in software programming.
-- Michael
I don't use Lindows but something in this letter rings true somehow. I wish Linux software was easy to install, and if it was as easy as Michael says it is for Lindows users then Linux would be more popular I am sure.
-- uman
Thanks to the global development effort that pushes Linux forward each day, there's now more software for Linux computers than for Macintosh. The problem is that Linux software is spread about the globe and is typically very difficult to install. The result is that few people have the knowledge to find the software and the skill to install it. We created the Click-N-Run Warehouse to collect and organize Linux software and allow a single mouse click to zap software to the desktop. New titles are added every week. This week LindowsOS users saw Sweep - a high-power sound-editing program and Really Slick Screensavers added to the Warehouse.
Nearly a million programs have been installed using Click-N-Run - all completely digital with no CDs, no serial numbers and no activation codes. Some of the software is free and some is commercial, but all of it is just one click then a progress bar -- and the software is permanently installed and configured with desktop icons and menu entries. Nice! It's how software distribution should work in the digital age.
An active population of developers have sprung up around LindowsOS. More than 2,000 developers have signed up with Lindows.com and web sites have emerged to provide software for LindowsOS users (see www.lindowsdownload.com for one such example). Even with 1700 titles, the Click-N-Run Warehouse represents only a fraction of the total software available for Linux desktops and there are dozens of new programs being created every day. Many developers are asking how they can get their programs into the Warehouse.
Today, we're pleased to announce the Lindows.com Developer and Publisher Program (see publish.lindows.com) which opens the Click-N-Run Warehouse to outside developers. Here developers can learn how to create software that will work well with LindowsOS. Whether you are a new Linux developer or an experienced hacker, publish.lindows.com has the information you need to publish software for LindowsOS. One unique component of the Lindows.com Developer and Publisher Program is that besides technical information, it also includes publishing information which explains how to get the software promoted and made one-click available for all LindowsOS users.
Publish.lindows.com is designed for either free or commercial software. There's a growing list of interesting Linux programs that charge a reasonable fee. Using the Click-N-Buy program, Linux developers can market and sell their wares alongside other programs such as StarOffice, MarbleBlast, Hancom Sheet, Bitstream Fonts, etc. to the LindowsOS user base. Besides providing a technical how-to, publish.lindows.com also includes a unique marketing and sales tool for developers.
This is exciting stuff for LindowsOS users, because it means that a varied and eclectic mix of software will start popping up on a continual basis in the Warehouse. LindowsOS users can simply follow the "Announcements" and "New Arrivals" nodes of Click-N-Run to start seeing a wide array of different and interesting games, utilities, productivity programs, multimedia solutions, and so on. Over the past 20 years, the domination of one software company's monopoly has made software become very sterile and homogenized. Now, however, publish.Lindows.com will allow thousands of distinct and creative developers to share their unique software with thousands of computer users, all with just one mouse click. Trying out new and different software will now become a regular occurrence, helping make computing fun again, spurring on a renaissance of creativity in software programming.
-- Michael
I don't use Lindows but something in this letter rings true somehow. I wish Linux software was easy to install, and if it was as easy as Michael says it is for Lindows users then Linux would be more popular I am sure.
-- uman