For a long time now, we’ve been seeing issues come up in user testing with the fact that we have different services providing different functionalities which are all connected.
Three examples are Ubuntu Single Sign On (used to log into most services related to Ubuntu), Ubuntu One (the cloud syncing service) and Ubuntu Pay (a service that takes payments).
We continually see people expecting that they will get a coherent and integrated experience among all those services.
We will start taking steps in that direction by launching a new design that comes with a re-branding of the Ubuntu Single Sign On service, renaming it to Ubuntu One, under which we will be unifying our online services. Ubuntu One will therefore become your single account to access apps, content and services in Ubuntu.
This first step just changes the user interface and comes with a significant improvement of the general design.
Over time you will start seeing that the information these separate services gather and provide will start to be accessible all from the same place, removing a lot of the confusion we see today.
Nothing you are using today should change, you will just see a new face on the page you log into.
FAQ
What is this change?
Ubuntu is a convergent Operating System that runs across multiple devices and the cloud. One key part of this system are the many services that fit into it. This includes our software center, community services, and Ubuntu One file syncing, music, and photo services.
We are going to be performing a re-branding to the account that you use to access these different services and bring it under the Ubuntu One umbrella. This will simplify the terminology to ‘Ubuntu’ as the platform and ‘Ubuntu One’ as the account that provides access to this wide variety of services in Ubuntu. This doesn’t mean that the names of the services will change (e.g. Ask Ubuntu will continue to be Ask Ubuntu), but the account you use to log into these services will be your ‘Ubuntu One’ account. This will be simply a branding change; there are no functional changes and an Ubuntu One account will continue to be both free and optional.
Are there any functional changes?
None. This is just a re-branding.
Why are you changing it to Ubuntu One?
There is some confusion around terminology. ‘Ubuntu’ is the convergent platform being used across phones, tablets, desktops, and TVs. ‘Ubuntu One’ is a collection of services (e.g. file sync, music, photos etc) that plug into Ubuntu. We are simply unifying these different services with the same account name.
How does this affect our flavors?
This will have no impact on flavors.
Why was this decision made by Canonical and not the Community Council?
Canonical already operates the infrastructure in use today in the Ubuntu community. Canonical did notify the Community Council in advance about this change however.
Does this mean I will need to pay to use these services?
No, the service will continue to be free to use.
Contributed by Martin Albisetti
June 22nd, 2013 at 06:40:30 GMT+0000
Yay for eliminating confusing branding! I notice this move is similar to what Microsoft has done recently (“Windows Live ID” became “Microsoft account”).