| Developer(s) | Canonical Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Initial release | May 2009 |
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | Python[1] |
| Operating system | Ubuntu 9.04 and higher, Android 2.1 or newer, iOS 3.1 or newer or Windows XP or newer |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Cloud Service |
| License | Server-side: Proprietary[2] Client-side: GPLv3[3] |
| Website | one.ubuntu.com |
Ubuntu One is a personal cloud service operated by Canonical Ltd.
The service enables users to store files online and sync them between computers and mobile devices, as well as stream audio and music from cloud to mobile devices.
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Ubuntu One has a client application that runs on Ubuntu 9.04 and later or Windows XP or newer. There is a Ubuntu One music app for iOS devices, but not currently one for OSX computers. [4] A free Ubuntu One account offers 5 GB of storage. Users may increase their storage by adding additional 20 GB "20-packs" for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.
“Ubuntu One Music Streaming” offers music-streaming apps for iPhone and Android phones. The “Music Streaming” package costs $3.99 a month or $39.99 per year.
The Ubuntu One service is similar to services such as SpiderOak, Dropbox, Box.net, Mozy, Wuala, Amazon Cloud Player, Google Music, Humyo, iDisk, Jungle Disk and Live Mesh. Its client code is written in Python. It uses Twisted for its low-level networking and Protocol Buffers for protocol description.
Additional features like the integration with other services sets Ubuntu One apart from the other similar service-providers. Examples include the automatic upload of photos taken from Android mobile devices for immediate sync across computers; integration with Mozilla Thunderbird for contacts and with Tomboy for notes due to the access to the local CouchDB instance.[5] Further possibilities include the capability of editing the contacts, as well as the Tomboy notes, online via the Ubuntu One Web interface; synching contacts with mobile devices; and purchasing DRM-free music while synchronizing them automatically with an Ubuntu One Account via the Ubuntu One Music Store (in partnership with 7digital).
Ubuntu One publishes APIs for developers wishing to build applications utilizing file and data synchronization or music streaming.
Ubuntu One has been criticized within the Ubuntu Community for its server software being proprietary[6][7].
There is not yet a native client integration for the Kubuntu variant of the Ubuntu operating system (as of June 2010).[8] Kubuntu integration is under development and has also received a grant from the Google Summer of Code 2010.
Further criticism concerns the choice of the patented mp3 format for the music of the Ubuntu One Music Store and the unclear revenue share that will be granted to the community. The Amarok development team has announced that they will not add support for the Ubuntu One Music Store to the Amarok media player for the moment, unlike what they have done with Magnatune media store, which funds the project with 10% of the revenue produced via the interface to the store built in Amarok.[9]
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