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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" and then a progress bar -- 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
unique marketing and sales tools for developers.
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Click here to see new applications
in the Warehouse
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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 to make computing fun again and spurring on a renaissance of creativity
in software programming.
-- Michael
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