[ubuntu-in] Canonical kills free Ubuntu CD program

[Ramnarayan.K]

As some one who did order a few different versions it is a Sad though
but, allegedely true, i guess it has to come to an end some time and
hopefully people will find others ways of distributing CD's, and as
Canonical says technology has moved on :-)

though i don't think it will be easy for many internet users to
download even a few 100 megs - so i think we should have some more
reliable Ubuntu shippers making their presence felt.
 and as for the suggestion canonical gives to Ubuntu LUG's, well thats
something we are doing any way

the link to the  article is here
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/05/canonical_kills_free_ubuntu_cd_program/

The article itself is below

ram


Canonical kills free Ubuntu CD program


Try-before-you-don't-buy moves to cloud

By Gavin Clarke in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in Operating Systems, 5th April 2011 22:53 GMT

Say goodbye to Ubuntu on CD. Canonical is killing the free
distribution of its Linux on disc, while ramping up cloud trials for
penguin-curious Windows fans.

On Tuesday, Canonical said it's stopping the six-year-old ShipIt and
CD distributor programs, as technology has moved on and they no longer
make sense. The move will also save Canonical money on shipping discs.

ShipIt dates from 2005, when broadband wasn't as ubiquitous and discs
were the best way to put software into the hands of devs and end
users. Canonical reckons it has shipped millions to CDs to every
country in the world.

The service stops with Ubuntu 11.04 later this month. Once the code,
currently in beta, is finished, you'll no longer be able apply for a
free CD via Canonical's web site.

Canonical is now planning a free online trial for Ubuntu "using the
goodness of the cloud" that marketing manager Gerry Carr promised
would be a "great first step for Windows users in particular" to wet
their toes on the Linux desktop.

He promised "much more this year" designed to reach out to mainstream
markets during 2011. He did not provide further details on what cloud
Canonical will use or what other activities Canonical has planned to
reach the mainstream desktop user.

Canonical's online consolidation follows last year's free, 55-minute
trial of Ubuntu 10.10 on Amazon's EC2 compute cloud, paid for by
Canonical. Users had no need for either an EC2 account or a credit
card and got an EC2 instance equivalent to a 1.2GHz processor, 2GB
RAM, 160GB disk space with some pre-configured WordPress, MoinMoin,
and Drupal 7.

Carr said on Tuesday that Canoncial has been slowly easing back on
ShipIt over the last two years, limiting the number of CDs per person
and the number of times a person could apply for a CD. As for the CE
distributor program, Carr said the volume of CDs distributed is
relatively low but the administrative burden for the program is
"surprisingly high" for Canonical.

For those who still want their penguin served on a disc, Canonical
said you can still download and distribute without its specific You
don't need Canoncial's specific blessing. Meanwhile, Canonical is
asking local communities to "find creative ways to get CDs to those
that need them" through what Carr called a "ShipIt-lite" program. ®