Here is an excellent article on why you should seriously rethink about using Snap and Flatpak, including theming mismatches, centralisation of control (if Canonical don't receive a Snap it won't get in the repos. Similarly Flathub is another form of centralisation, and lastly, security:
I would prefer on Stuff like that to name the good Things, too. Because when there is only named bad Things, it can create the Impression that it is only bad. Yes, at the End they say, that it isn't a black-and-white Decision but say that in one Sentence when the other Stuff is negative isn't really a good Balance in my Opinion.
Don't understand me wrong: I don't say that the Points are wrong. I only say, that these are only one Side.
It name as Cancer, I find a bit extreme. I see that this Person seems to have Problems. I have removed Snap and added Flathub several Times on Ubuntu and it worked without Problems for me.
He adds Repos for Firefox and Chromium. There would be the Question if he adds the Priority Chnage, too. Because if not, You get exactly what You see in the Video. It doesn't install Firefox from Mozilla as .deb, it installs Firefox Snap.
When he runs this in a VM or in Live Mode on USB Stick, this could maybe affect that, too.
So, I see the bad Experience but I wouldn't see it as a common Behavior.
@Ponce-De-Leon I think the creator of the video was actually 'turning on its head' the one time statement from CEO Steve Balmer of Microsoft when he said "Linux is a Cancer". He is providing a counter argument, which is valid, as the whole ethos of Free Software is that you are not encumbent on a centralised OS provider to control your machine and keep record of what you are doing with that machine. Flatpak is just as bad as Snap in my honest opinion. It is all too easy to adopt what appears to be a way forward when all it is doing, just like systemd, is creating bloatware as each package is dependent upon it's own libraries instead of system ones. I always found Ubuntu's more recent offerings from 16.04, possibly earlier, wherre its boot loader claims it is "Ubuntu with Linux" when actually it has always been "GNU with Linux", it has just been 'themed' by Ubuntu. Just like Mozilla who's original stanced against browsers creaming data, so too was Ubuntu with it's Amazon spyware built in - int the beginning it made a loud statement by using the name 'ubuntu' which translated means "I am, because you are" - this is no longer applicable in how Ubuntu operates. And as stated elsewhere, whilst Poettinger had no direct input into the development of Flatpak, he was the one that got Red Hat to adopt it and, who in turn, pushed for it to be adopted by other distributions, just like they had done with systemd and pulse auudio. It is all too easy to 'follow the crowd' on what are 'deemed to be' better ways when they are not, just like xorg and Wayland.
Exactly.
The video discusses the centralization and demonstrates it.
Arguing that the end user can fight it off with effort is irrelevant.
But in my Opinion Ubuntu doesn't do that. Yes, they have developed Snap. And yes they bring it in their System. And they want that You use it - they wouldn't have developed it when they wouldn't want it. But You can uninstall it. Yes, the Video shows that this Person had Problems - but that doesn't mean that this happens to every other Person too in that Way. And to test that on an STS Version might not the best Idea, too. I wouldn't recomment these for daily Driver because these are Ubuntu's Test Field.
But this depends on the Flatpak. When You have a Dependency which are several Flatpaks using, You don't have to download it for each Program; it will be shared.
On the Red Hat Thing, You should separate 2 Things: Flatpaks and the Fedora Flatpaks. Fedora has its own Flatpak Repo.
This is not correct.
I am on Zorin OS 17 Lite with snapd
100% uninstalled and still if I try to install Firefox, it will try to install it as a snap and will install snapd right alongside of it, again.
I would need to jump through hoops - just to avoid Snap.
No. At that point, no person can reasonably claim that Canonical and others are being ethical with their practices. That is not Free Choice, that is Force.
You seem to be trying to downplay the severity of Canonical's overreach.
I'm on Zorin Core not Lite but don't have that. And I have Snap uninstalled, too. You have the Mozilla Repo integrated, yes? If yes, You should have in /etc/apt/preferences.d/
a File simply called mozilla with this:
Package: *
Pin: origin packages.mozilla.org
Pin-Priority: 1000
This gives the Mozilla Repo a higher Priority. And so took the Files from this Repo.
Without that, it reacts exactly like You have describted it because on Ubuntu Firefox will be installed as a Snap by default.
That they force the Usage of Snap, I agree. And I don' like that, too - which is the Reason that I've uninstall it. But I wouldn't agree to @swarfendor437's Point of controling my Machine and record what I do with it.
EDIT: Forgot something. Don't understand me wrong. I don't think that Canonical is an Angel and wants only the best for the User. I know that this isn't the Fact. But I don't like to make Things to a Devil, who aren't and I don't like to make Things to an Angel, who aren't.
Why do you disagree with this given that they can and do record what you install and when you installed it?
When Canonical released Snap, they promised that they would not replace APT packages with Snap, at all, ever.
They promptly broke that promise, which remains to this day.
But do they record or only detect it? I mean, when You make an Update on Zorin for Example, the Update Server can register Your IP, when You access and what You download.
From this, I don't know to be honest if they did that. If they have and they broke it, it is of Course a bad Thing - when You promise something take it serious. That is the Reason why I'm cautious with Promises. So, I wouldn't deny it. But I wanted to say with that, that installing Firefox as snap will happen when You don't have added the Repo and the Priority. So, it was more from a technical Perspective that You could take a Look at this.
They absolutely do collect and store data on what Snap packages are installed and when, tied to a machine identifier.
Canonical has consistently stated they aggregate this data to monitor Snap adoption, error rates, and to improve the service. Their privacy policy (linked above) is explicit that they process this data for operational and statistical purposes.
However, because the Snap Store is centralized and closed-source, there is no external audit mechanism that independently guarantees Canonical is not using the data to track users beyond what they disclose.
@Ponce-De-Leon ... and that is what the YouTube video creator clearly states in his video!
Ah, okay. Thank You for the Link.
So we have this:
So, they say that they would collect Data in a limited Way and use it for - to break it down - Maintenance, Improvements and Service. That is what they say.
And now is Your Point:
And I agree with Your Point. There is not Guarantee that Canonical uses the Data for other Things. I'm sceptical and have doubts on that too because of the Past of Ubuntu with this Amazon Thing and why I see how other Companies handle User Data and Privacy.
So, we have what Canonical say and Doubts and no Trust to it. My Problem is: there is no Proof - and there is no Proof because it can't be controled so easy. Which is clearly a Dilemma.
When they use it as they say, I wouldn't find it per se bad. Because Data can help for Development. But there should be a Way that the User can decide if he/she wants that. The Thing is: Ubuntu offers that. When You install Ubuntu, make a Reboot, and log in the first Time, You get a Welcome Screen and in this Screen, You get directly the Choice if You want this whole Telemetry Stuff. The Question for me would be: Does it include this whole Thing, too? If yes, You turn it off and that's it. If not: That would be sad. I mean there isn't any Info about that.
And there is of Course the other Side: They don't do what they say and use it for other Things which they don't say. Of course that would be bad. But as I said: There is no Proof. I would say, there are Indices - but there is no Confirmation. And that makes it complicated.
We will see what Ubuntu will do in the Future. The 26.04 LTS Release is next Year. Let's see what this will bring - not less Snap, that is clear, hahaha!
The other option is that the End Users vocalize. We speak up.
Yes, some may complain; saying we are only talking about the bad... Or saying that it is not fully known what Canonical is doing with our data... Just as it was not fully known what Microsoft or Mozilla are doing with your data with their privacy policy changes.
It is the unknown and unverifiable that is the problem. That which is shielded from scrutiny and accountability is the problem.
So, we can supply pressure. Be vocal. Advocate for the End Users.
Interesting discussion about data privacy, which is a constant debate these days, due to the nature, of our dystopian present and future. Did I miss something that happened in the past regarding the Amazon thing, perhaps I forgot? What does Amazon (a shopping network) have anything to do with Ubuntu/Cononical?
Canonical partnered with Amazon. In the Ubuntu Unity Desktop, typing a search in your computer also transmitted that search query to Amazon, causing integrated Amazon advertisements to open on your computer.
Ohhh geez! Sure, I do use Amazon as most people do. Having said that, I would so not want Amazon tied to my OS, for obvious privacy reasons! Yeah, this didn't ring a bell, so I wasn't aware of that, just learned today.
Stay out of my computer Amazon, that goes for Canonical too! Thanks for the education @Aravisian
They also failed with Ubuntu 1 which they launched as a sort of Linux version of Apple music and more. As I have said elsewhere, having seen Mark Shuttleworth in an Ubuntu promo video he appears to come across as th Steve Jobs of Ubuntu. I used to say Linux but Ubuntu does not fully recognise it, nor the OS which is GNU.
Sure, Talking about it is right, no Doubt. And it would definately be good when Canonical would be more transparent with Snap. When they would open it, we - or People with the Skills - could see if this is true or not.
I think Snap will not disappear. I would guess, that Ubuntu will come to a Point where it will be snap-only or at least having a so far Snap Implementation that an Uninstallation of Snap would completely broke Your System - if it should still be possible to uninstall it.
But maybe my Guess is totally wrong. We will see what the Future brings.