I guess that’s fine if Flatpak/Flathub does eventually implement donation via flatpak CLI. Otherwise, I struggle to see how both the solving donations/payment aspect of Bazaar and the designing proper Flatpak/Flathub GUI aspect will actually propagate beyond Universal Blue.
I mean, on ublue-os, people will use it, true. Much like Ptyxis, we can just be blocked and replace GNOME Software and Discover, so that people will be forced to use the envisioned design of Bazaar. But I don’t see how it isn’t just a classic “there are now 50 competing standards” situation, especially since elementary already did put an emphasis on donation.
Honestly, I feel like I’ve gone up and down in my hype for Bazaar. Sometimes I feel like it’s just a small project made for fun (which is fine), and other times it has all these grand ambitions that I can get behind, but the commitment level feels really weird for either of them.
Idk I guess I’ll just wait and see since I usually just google what stuff I want to install from Flathub & chocolatey anyways. Well, I hope it has proper handling for Install button on Flathub, at least.
I honestly do not understand the last few days of posts, you’re filling in a ton of blanks with things that have nothing to do with what we’re trying to do. Let me clarify:
We are replacing gnome-software/discover with bazaar so we have a functioning app store with focus on surfacing donations to the end user. That way we can help accelerate Flathub adoption.
Eh I’m just here for a stable PC, and I like Dinosaurs. I’m not apologizing, but note that this post is somewhat flippant, and may cause minor offense.
I believe John got it right - you have freedom of choice in what distro/Linux build you use and the Universal Blue team have the choice in what they choose as defaults for their distro’s. Right now they’re trying something new. Given the amount of time you spend pondering and writing on this, I think it would be better spend building something that you envision - try LFS to learn the basics of what packages to layer to get to a functional OS, and how to configure them, then maybe build on the Atomic Core from Fedora to get exactly the flavour of Linux you want. Most of the hardware level stuff is dealt with in the kernel and where it isn’t there’s a good chance that someone would be wiling to help if you ask nicely in the right forum.
To be clear, the mission of Universal Blue isn’t trying to establish new standards for Linux. Its just to provide a robust alternative for people that don’t have infinite time and need something that works - optimized for developers and system builders.
For me… I feel like I can tinker with this system and not have to reinstall everything on it tomorrow. Maybe just revert one or two settings, or delete a container. I think The architecture of the system is damn near perfect - for me. Nothing breaks my OS, Configurations are separated, but still need permissions, user space is open but secure and application environments are sand-boxed. Once Cosmic is officially launched beyond Beta, I’ll start playing with building my own image from Universal Blue’s base image, but I gotta say that even with Bluefin as it is and their recommended extensions - I’m pretty happy.
I really like the idea of Bazaar as a curated experience for flatpaks. The only problem I see (apart from the app not aligning well with qt, but that’s just me being picky) is for KDE users. That is lack of Plasma customization. Discover is not only the appstore but also a place for plasma extensions. That being said is there a plan for KDE users to keep that available? Or are there going to be just 2 appstores?
The plan is to remove Discover and not bring it back. Theme installers will be removed with it. Most of them do dumb things like try to install to /usr or run arbitrary scripts verified by nobody.
Users may still install themes themselves to their home directory - a much safer and much less problematic option.
Thanks for clarification. Now I get your approach. In the long run kde itself has plan to make themes safer so it aligns with both projects.
Thumbs up!
Ok. First, the most important point of my feedback is : this application is awesome and kudos to the devs. I like how it’s Flatpak centric, how easy it is to use, how it’s a curated experience, how it plans to bring donations at the forefront.
Again, Ublue is building more than an OS, but a solid plan for the future of the Linux desktop.
Now, for the things I like less about the app. I’m sure some of those the devs are already aware of, or have already been mentioned, but repetition is not a bad kind of feedback if it helps target the most criticized aspects of a project. Also, most of them are about the design, which I know is still very much work in progress.
Some apps don’t display their icon, or their proper name.
The Installed section should separate the apps from the libraries (and maybe even just hide the libraries as some people see the same entry twice and cry about bloat anyway).
Why hide the edit permission button in a submenu (more actions) if there is only one action to show?
The edit permission opens Flatseal, but not on the proper app section. This may require to submit a patch to Flatseal, but it would be nice.
There is now two ways to install apps, one you access by clicking on an app in the curated tab, and one when you do a search. The one you access from the curated tab is, imho, superior (bigger pictures, better layout, etc.)
Are they both necessary? Instead of a popup window, the search page could just be moved to a tab between curated and installed and made to use the same layout that the one you get from the curated page. It would make the interface more consistent.
If you do keep the search page as a popup, please consider removing the double click to install behavior. I started a lot of unwanted installs while browsing the apps.
The curated app list should be made dynamic. As an example, I see that for now Firefox is not listed in the Browsers section, probably because it’s Bluefin’s default. By dynamic, I mean that Bazaar should check if the app is installed on the computer, if so, hide the app form the curated list, if not, show it.
System integration : uninstalling an app by right-clicking the app in Gnome’s app grid would be nice, as it’s the expected behaviour following Gnome Software.
So, basically, my feedback consists mainly in some nitpicks and pet peeves about the interface, which is to show that the app is already very solid - I did not encounter any major bugs while using it, and I’m amazed at how fast it came together.
Thank you for the clarity. I hope that it does solve the problem. I have doubts, because while I do think Bazzite, Bluefin, and Aurora have strong growth, I am unsure if it could avoid the elementary appcenter issue if it doesn’t address the SteamOS and Mint question in the room.
But if it does eventually solve the issue of “getting my app on Linux” one way or another, once and for all, then I’m happy regardless of any temporary annoyance on my part.
Amazing progress on the app! As both GNOME and Plasma support a Spotlight-like search for apps with Super+Space, is there a chance that Bazaar will connect with it for faster app search and access?
Will you disable the KDE app permission manager so users won’t have multiple places to manage Flatpak permissions, for simplicity?
On the Plasma start menu dont forget the install app install recommendations that it has on an app name search. After Discover store goes away those should go away or be replaced with bazaar links too.
Flatpak is the future of app distribution where developers will have much more incentive to port or develop apps on Linux—and I mean developers, not just a random person who builds and maintains an app. Linux needs OFFICIAL support.
Lastly there is no need to reinvent the wheel. If there is something worth “stealing” from the Apple or MS store as a layout or design PLEASE do so. Bazaar should be not only fast and responsive but intuitive too most of all.
I know the uBlue team says that you’re not a distro but just a project. However, with the way the project is expanding and being adopted by users, that won’t be a viable answer in the near future, because you’ll be bigger than the official Fedora Atomic Spins. Mark my words.
EDIT: Most users install apps and rarely touch the app store. I agree with the removal of the shortcut, and even a popup instance other than a desktop environment integration is a bit of a waste of time, in my opinion. So your best path, I think, is integration with Plasma and GNOME. And the normal bazaar instance ofc.
@j0rge did mention that there were plans to have bazaar participate in spotlight search. Might have been something he mentioned in passing in one of the videos. But, he did mention that.
It perked my ears up - because, that gives best of both worlds for different types of GUI users … Spotlight search for discovering specific app store entries to inspect, or complete app store experience.
One wolf sees user friendly theming as raison d’etre for Plasma, and hopes that this change doesn’t break useful extensions like this one. Also, Plasma has Flatpak permissions built right into settings, will Bazaar open that or remove kcm and invoke Flatseal? I don’t dislike either Discover or GNOME Software, and I was never a huge fan of distros replacing default store apps.
The other wolf likes the idea of removing the bits that get new users in trouble (global themes running scripts), even moreso if this adds better alternatives (Mission Center vs GNOME System Monitor). Curated lists of recommended apps also fits very well with the mission of “expert linux friend set up my Fedora for me”.
Both wolves cant wait to get their hands on Bazaar because I know that whatever you guys choose to go with will end up being awesome. A new toy! Shinyyy
Started up bazaar right after an update on my :latest testing VM for the first time in a couple weeks, got this:
Could not retrieve remote content: Signature made Mon 24 Jun 2024 09:58:28 PM EDT using DSA key ID 9AB539754304BF41
Can’t check signature: public key not found
Is there something stale in a cache somewhere I need to clobber?
Just want to say Bazaar is shaping up very nicely. I installed Bluefin latest in a vm and gave Bazaar a run through. My goodness.
I’m an average user, not a developer, gamer, or even a power user. Just someone who likes Bluefin and uses it as my daily driver. Honestly, the Software store works fine for me and my flatpak needs, but Bazaar is taking the UI to the next level. UI is snappy, with a clean interface and informative. App installs go quickly. Nice curation. I understand it’s still in development, but this thing is tight and can only get better.
And a donation has been made to kolunmi.
Love the donate button(s).
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