Software Center Roadmap

[Session Notes]

Ubuntu Software Center Roadmap
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Features planned (10.10):
  - Selling software
    - Sell one thing is success, zero is non-success, two is no more of a success
    - Implies billing system working
    - Not an app that has serial number requirement
  - New applications show up in the software center ("open the floodgates")
    Session on that later:
    https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/desktop-maverick-opportunistic-apps-stable-release
  - Design for only a few apps a week getting in
    - Need both a social and technical process, including for unblessing PPAs
      - Risk is that a trusted application is updated *after* the review process
        and leads to bad bad badness
      - Also need to avoid "being Apple" and having too much bureaucracy around both new apps and updates
    - Eg: FOSS developer has a PPA, files a bug, subscribes a team, they review it, then add a line to a bzr-checked out file, commit it, and then software center gets it a day later (when the system does its daily check for updates?)
  - no live search of launchpad

11.04
  - Allow a donation feature (depending on how developer enables it for his app)
  - APIs for developers publishing software
  - Selling content for free apps (11.04)
  - Deal with apps that require a serial number (software center would need to issue it)

Design changes:
  - none needed for selling software
  - list of past purchases? (for 11.04)
  - move the list of featured apps to the home screen
  - move from webkit to GTK+
  - merge two panes into one
  - subcategories => debtag support in Launchpad
  - Drag an installed application from software center onto launcher
  - Drag an *uninstalled* application from software center onto launcher and
    install it

Non-design changes:
 - Software Center needs a major speedup
 - Regression testing, in particular to avoid performance regressions
 - apt-url integration
 - SOC student: integrate GDebI
 - Ratings and reviews (depending on server deployment)
 - Want: archive-based meta-data indexes from Launchpad

Switchboard repository:
 - repository that tracks application-which ppa that Software Center queries
 - for-pay software will have to be treated differently, since if naively
   implemented, their archive index will not be visible
   - protect the pool, not the indices
 - much nicer than app-install data:
   - user gets updated data by apt-get update rather than install of app-install-data
   - data gets updated at package build time
   - easier to manage post-release than a package (reviews etc can live there)

== Other comments ==
 * will we need a policy in terms of what can be uploaded to that PPA
 * Should be up front about how we don't have a DRM system and users could just share downloaded .debs if they wanted

Work Items:
define metadata for displaying license information (e.g. for partner): TODO
add create-download-bundle feature: TODO