this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2026
438 points (91.3% liked)
Linux
12850 readers
723 users here now
A community for everything relating to the GNU/Linux operating system (except the memes!)
Also, check out:
Original icon base courtesy of lewing@isc.tamu.edu and The GIMP
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The updates available through Ubuntu Pro wouldn’t have normally been available prior to Pro. It’s an added service, not something that was previously available that is now locked behind a paywall. There are plenty of reasons to not like Canonical but this isn’t one.
I didn't say anything about it having changed, so your "now" is disingenuous. Fact is, update support by Canonical for Universe is locked behind Ubuntu Pro. Non-Ubuntu distributions such as CachyOS/Fedora/Bazzite/openSUSE/Debian/... don't have this hostile behaviour.
They also don’t provide those updates. I am a Fedora guy by the way. I’m not defending Canonical, just pointing out that this is a silly reason to dislike them.
Fedora allows all updates that do not break compatibility. To update packages in Universe means adhering to overly zealous version number freeze policy, whereas leaf packages in Fedora can be updates without much fuss. I contributed a small number (only two or three) of updates to Fedora packages years ago. Nothing was a core package, only tiny stand-alone utilities, so the stuff that would be in Universe under Ubuntu, but they had new version numbers. Updates were accepted by the maintainers without much trouble.
So you should know that I'm right.
Right, but if you’re after the level of “stability” that Canonical is offering, where are you getting it for free? Maybe there is another place but none that I’m aware of. I think it is perfectly fine for them to charge for that, especially if enterprise customers are the target audience and those who aren’t don’t have to pay for it.
Fedora, Alma Linux, openSUSE Leap, LMDE,...
They’re giving you 10 years of updates on those packages for free? I know Alma is from Tux Care but that extended support comes at a price as well. Leap is two years. LMDE support ends soon after the newest version. Fedora gets 13 months after the newest version I believe. Maybe I’m wrong on some of those but none of those come close to the free support canonical provides on LTS or Pro.
And they do that without requiring anybody to sign up for a Pro plan. Ubuntu ships unmaintained software to people who don't sign up for Pro. That's a fact.
Wrong. They merely stop supporting it when a new version is released, just like everyone else. You can skip Pro and get the same experience you get with any other distro.
I'm 100% right.
And that's where you are wrong. Fedora etc. ship package updates for the entire support cycle. Ubuntu only for Main. Universe is left without formal support. Fedora etc. have no problems shipping updates. I already explained it to you. You just don't understand.
That is a fundamental difference, the Universe repository is community maintained outside of the Pro service. It always was before Pro too. I don't think Fedora has a separate repo for community-maintained packages. I still don't see the issue with offering something above and beyond what you traditionally have and charging a fee for it. They could just have easily never provided official support for Universe.
It's a "community" repository that's enabled by default and subject to Ubuntu's draconian version number freeze rules. Fedora isn't. I already explained that. I suggest you scroll back up and read what I wrote and try to understand what I wrote.