A different solution is being implemented

Jul 26, 2015 19:22 GMT  ·  By

The Ubuntu MATE distro will no longer ship with the Ubuntu Software Center starting with the next 15.10 Alpha 2 release, one of the project developers announced.

It looks like the developers of Ubuntu MATE have been asked questions about their choice of default package manager. Ubuntu ships by default with the Ubuntu Software Center and some members of the greater Ubuntu family are using it as well. Others chose to replace it with something else and now it's Ubuntu MATE's turn to do the same.

The truth is that the Ubuntu Software Center has changed very little in the past few years, with the exception of some patches closing vulnerability issues. It's a tool that does its job, but it's in a weird place right now. Canonical is not working to improve it, and it's probably going to be replaced with something else once Unity 8 lands as a stable solution.

Ubuntu Software Center will be replaced in Ubuntu MATE with something else

The Ubuntu MATE devs are not letting users fend for themselves, so they will provide an alternative, which hasn't been named yet. And it's not Synaptic if you were thinking that application would be the one replacing it.

"Ubuntu Software Center has been removed from the default install of Ubuntu MATE 15.10. There, I've done it. It will not feature in Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Alpha 2. You can stop sending me messages about it now. We have something else lined up by way of a replacement. No, it's not synaptic," wrote Martin Wimpress, one the of the Ubuntu MATE devs.

Some users have raised a very interesting point: What happens with all the users that have bought apps through the Ubuntu Software Center? Martin has assured everyone that they will still have access to those apps.

Now, all we have to do is wait and see what magic will be made in the Ubuntu MATE 15.10 Alpha 2 release.