Support GNOME by shopping at Amazon

By , Published July 4, 2010

gnome-amazon

I have an ever burgeoning lmental list of things I’ve always meant to post and the following has been one of them.

The GNOME foundation provide Amazon referral links for your browser. That is, every time you search for a product using the referral link and end up buying something GNOME get a paid a referral fee based on the amount  you spend. The best bit is that it costs you absolutely nothing extra but helps keep GNOME in servers, ballpoint pens and developers.

And it'll make you feel good.

I've used it as my default Amazon search for good few months now and it's an easy way to 'give' something back in appreciation of all the great things that GNOME do – without it even needing any effort on your part!

Firefox & Chrome/ium

Install the GNOME Amazon plug-in directly in Firefox by clicking the link below and agreeing to to the pop-up that follows.

Chrome/ium users can use the GNOME referral plug-in by installing the €œFirefox plug-in€ as above.

To use start typing 'Amazon' into the smart bar and then hit the tab button to enable the Amazon GNOME-specific search: -image

Other browsers & methods

Users of other browsers, such as Epiphany, can add Smart Bookmarks from the GNOME site.

If you don't fancy installing anything extra but still want to help use the GNOME Amazon store @ gnome.org/friends/amazon where you can browse for items directly on the page.image

Article originally appeared on omgubuntu.co.uk

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  • David Ecs

    There is a way to search in all categories all once?

  • Anonymous

    this looks nice

    i wonder who am supporting right now, with the one that’s default in firefox within my ubuntu install? is it mozilla or canonical?

  • Anonymous

    Please don’t do it.
    Consider how Gnome rarely listens to users opinions, wastes it’s resources on unpopular projects, recoding other innovative projects (compiz), and their exclusion of popular projects like Nautilus Elementary, zeitigiest, GAJ, gnome-do.

    It would be better if Canonical had something like this in place.

    • Yi Sun-sin

      If you don’t like Gnome, then go for Kubuntu.
      If you do like Gnome, stop whining, they are giving you all that for free ! Show at least a little gratitude !

      • Anonymous

        Gnome is being selfish to other projects that used to work with/rely on it (compiz)… that, even if it is for free, a sad and low thing. I mean, they could’ve made gnome shell pluggable, but they say “h*llz no! We want ‘consistency’”, they sound like the brats to me.

        btw, everybody in every software community ever has always complained about something…thus, I complain about your comment

        • Yi Sun-sin

          I don’t get it. Why do you say that Gnome was selfish with Compiz ?

          • Anonymous

            they chose to lock out one of the very reasons why many stick to gnome to begin with (I mean, nobody can honestly tell me they think metacity is more productive)

            Since compiz primarily relies upon gnome users (KDE people tend to use Kwin) thus this lockout might result in hurting the compiz project.

            To be clear and simple, the gnome team is being selfish in thinking not about the other projects that have made gnome a success and in effect stifling their own and other’s success. that my friend is selfish.

          • Yi Sun-sin

            I started using Metacity with compositing a long time ago, and it fits perfectly my needs. I just don’t need the gazillions of configuration option that Compiz offers…

            And Compiz started as a stand-alone window manager. It was never meant to be part of Gnome, neither of KDE. Before KDE4, it was also used on KDE, but I never heard anyone bitching around when Kwin started to include it’s own effect !
            Compiz will still be usable with Gnome3 instead of Mutter and the Shell, as it is still usable in KDE4.

            So I don’t see anything selfish here. I just see Gnome evolving in the same direction every desktop goes !

          • lkm32

            But the shell interface is reliant on the mutter compositing, gnome made it clear nothing else can replace it and still keep the interface. So compiz won’t be able to do as you say. True, compiz was never meant to be part of a DE per se; however, it is extensively utilized in gnome for many things (blur, transparency, desktop productivity). The point is that most to all new users use it and most do stick with it for gnome.

            Metacity is a good fallback, but as far as I can say it is less than optimal when it comes to window management and switching (compiz scale and grid), and the ingenious and simple dragging between desktops on the go (even shell lacks this).

            So until anybody can prove to have a higher quality window manager than compiz (even Kwin is kinda subpar) I would have to disagree with you. Please don’t get me wrong though, the new gnome interface is quite intriguing however, I would not use it if it meant for me to lose functionality and features that I use so often. This is not a jab against Gnome development per se, but a nitpick on something they should have learned from KDE… and that is you can have your own effects as long as you stay open to others.

            I mean, it only makes sense.

          • Yi Sun-sin

            So, you are telling me that the Gnome project is being selfish because they are developing something that is meant to replace Compiz ? They don’t even force you to use it. If you prefer Compiz over Gnome Shell/Mutter, just use Compiz !

          • Anonymous

            That is exactly my point! (you got it in a weird opposite way)
            It is that my option to use compiz with gnome would be taken away, so that i ca not “just use Compiz”. They are forcing me to use mutter (as for the DE I have already said that I wouldn’t mind using it). It is not that they are aiming to replace Compiz that has me frustrated it is the fact that they intend to win the fight by default.
            This is not me bashing gnome … just think of me as a concerned individual.
            However, I am pretty sure I am far from alone in what I think of this matter.

            P.S. I would like to thank you now for keeping your composure throughout this debate, much better than other forums/blogs on the net. It helps me get my point across ( I do so in parts).

          • Yi Sun-sin

            Well, you will still be able to use Compiz, just without Gnome Shell.

            (Actually, I personally plan not to use either Compiz or Gnome Shell ;) )

    • Anonymous

      Come on, let’s be fair here – Gnome obviously aren’t perfect, most organizations or companies aren’t. If you weigh up their pros and cons, I’m sure you’ll find that they are quite a cool group.

    • Anonymous

      consider how gnome has developed the desktop environment that millions of people use daily….

      free and open source can’t be about whether people work on stuff that’s popular, otherwise we’d have no wireless drivers and thousands of mix and matched compiz plugins.

      • Anonymous

        That is largely due to the other applications. Most people wouldn’t be using Gnome/Ubuntu if it wasn’t for applications like Firefox, Open Office, Compiz, Gnome-Do. While Gnome wastes valuable resources trying to compete with these free popular open source applications. When they should be concentrating on improving GTK, Nautilus and the base libraries that make up the Gnome Desktop Environment. They are the biggest culprits for letting Mono take a prominent role in Linux by not providing an adequate IDE, which the new generation of programmers expect.

        They are going to be the biggest obstacle in Ubuntu trying to a significant portion of the desktop market.

        • Zsolt Sándor

          Firefox and OpenOffice has nothing to do with GNOME. They are separate projects. GNOME is of course developing it’s own web browser but you’re not forced to use that, or have it around in an installation at all (unlike KDE’s Konqueror). Compiz, as I mentioned above, will be losing ground on Ubuntu as well with the new GUI developments, like the Unity interface which is based on Clutter. And it’s made by Ubuntu, not GNOME.
          Oh, and Mono. Ubuntu also ships with a bunch of Mono apps. Doesn’t that make the distribution one of “the biggest culprits for letting Mono take a prominent role in Linux”? There’s Vala for those who want a C#-like stuff. Homebrewed in the GNOME labs, and perfect for those with Monophobia. BTW Fedora ships with 0% Mono, and also one of the most vanilla-like GNOME desktops (and it has Compiz too).

          • Anonymous

            It has everything to do with Gnome, because they are free and open source applications that Gnome should try to assist them in building their application for the Gnome DE than wasting time building hopeless rivals with half baked features.
            The Gnome foundation should be about helping creating the best free DE. If there are free open source applications created by professional companies, they should be trying to assist them.

            Unity and clutter are for the netbooks and it is ridiculous if they expect most desktop users to use that interface. Compiz will continue to rule the Gnome Desktop market for a few more years. While the open source movement wastes resources trying to copy it’s implementation.

            Vala doesn’t have IDE that Mono has. It is also buggy and the development is very slow on it.

            Open source has become lets reinvent the wheel, for the 2163rd time, than let’s build a fully functional car.

          • Zsolt Sándor

            I wouldn’t call Epiphany a hopeless rival. Actually the progress made in Epiphany’s (and also the DE-independent(!) Midori’s) WebKitGtk is finding it’s way in other parts of the desktop where GtkHTML or GtkMozEmbed was used previously.
            And what do you think about Canonical’s decision to make Chromium the default browser in the netbook edition, and AFAIK considering to make it default in the desktop edition too later? Aren’t they betraying Mozilla and the open source world by giving in to the “evil Google”, instead of making Firefox better integrated into the desktop?

            On GNOME’s inclusion policy: Don’t forget that GNOME accepted the Brasero project, which was an Ubuntu-related development in it’s infancy. Now it’s official, upstream part of GNOME.
            The same goes for the similarly Ubuntu-related Simple Scan which is included in Fedora 13 for example, and AFAIK finding it’s way to the upstream.

            Back to Compiz: I’m really unsure if it will continue to rule the desktop, especially on Ubuntu, as the Windicators project will be based on Clutter too. And AFAIK Windicators will be coming not just for netbooks but also for desktops. Compiz might find it’s way to XFCE, though it’s compositing is quite good.

            What I don’t really get is that whether you are a Monophobiac, or Monophiliac, or an agnostic in this issue. But your previous statement on Mono makes me think you’re more of a Monophobiac. Which means you should blame Canonical for making Ubuntu One too much dependent on Mono, with Tomboy and the ever present consideration of making Banshee the default multimedia app. BTW I’m not Monophobiac, I’m just fine without it, as in Fedora you get Shotwell instead of F-Spot (though I exchange both for GThumb in the first place), and Gnote instead of Tomboy (the latter which I always remove in the first place, but I’m getting along with Gnote).

            I’m finding your arguments quite inconsistent, inadequate, and full of FUD against GNOME.

          • http://openid-provider.appspot.com/mark_c@markecurtis.com Merk

            “And what do you think about Canonical’s decision to make Chromium the default browser in the netbook edition, and AFAIK considering to make it default in the desktop edition too later? Aren’t they betraying Mozilla and the open source world by giving in to the “evil Google”, instead of making Firefox better integrated into the desktop?”
            Chromium is open source, so that’s not really “Giving in to the ‘evil Google’”
            Besides a better analogy to what pt3 is saying would be if Canonical decided to reinvent the wheel by making their own browser.

            Both sides of this seem so black and white
            pt3 seems upset if you say something good about GNOME
            Zsolt seems upset if you say something bad about GNOME

            You do all know an organization can have both good (DE for free) and bad (ignoring users) aspects right?

          • Anonymous

            It is funny you bring up Epiphany. It highlights Gnome’s unprofessional attitude towards applications. Epiphany using Gecko was a nice functioning browser. Then Gnome decided to change the backend to Webkit. They also decided they weren’t going to fix any of the bugs in Webkit-Gecko. They made this decision for 2.24, their webkit versions have been buggy and unbearable to use till 2.30. Which still is no match for Chromium’s webkit browser. So they left Epiphany users in the cold for 2 years, you wouldn’t be allowed to do this in a professional company. This attitude is also found in their various projects, including Vinagre (go and research this project). They are one of the main bodies holding back Linux from gaining a decent market share in the desktop market.

            All the Windicators demos posted here have been laughed at, Canonical still haven’t shown their usefulness yet. Compiz is one of the amazing projects that displayed how fast, lean and efficient a Linux project could be.

            I use Mono applications, they do fill a void that Gnome has left. But they also give Microsoft a great leverage in the future. Microsoft are no dummies, they will use it if a Linux desktop/netbook threatens their marketshare in the future. Until then they will just wait and let Linux’s dependence on Mono grow. Just go and study the patent cases against Tom Tom and Salesforce, Microsoft are cunning.

            As for Mono’s performance, when Microsoft decides to write their main applications (wmp, IE, new Windows Live) in .Net, then only you have a case for using it in Linux applications. .Net is aimed for business applications.

            Your arguments are rather lame, you bring up the worst examples like Epiphany, Windicators.

          • Zsolt Sándor

            At least I’m not a troll. :]

          • Anonymous

            a pathetic way to end your weak arguments

          • http://www.manishsinha.net Manish Sinha

            Shit! I give up against these arguments. I can’t waste so much time on these debates. It won’t end. All I would see is more whining. And yeah, I am not abusing you pt3. I just stating my opinion.

        • Guest42

          pt3 wrote: “When they should be concentrating on improving GTK, Nautilus and the base libraries that make up the Gnome Desktop Environment.”

          If you would follow GNOME upstream development you’d realize that they are working very hard on improving the base libraries for 3.0. Additional income like from the GNOME Amazon store can help organizing hackfests, etc.

          • Anonymous

            Most of their resources are wasted on Mutter, their copying of Compiz. They didn’t need a 3.0 to improve GTK’s deficiencies.

        • http://www.manishsinha.net Manish Sinha

          “”They are the biggest culprits for letting Mono take a prominent role in Linux by not providing an adequate IDE, which the new generation of programmers expect.”"
          You are trying to tell that evil people have taken over because GNOME let him do so. Mono and Monodevelop devs have done a great job in filling the void. When it comes to Monodevelop, very few IDEs actually compete with it (read Eclipse).

          Stop whining about Mono. Those who want to use it, let them use it. If you don’t want it, uninstall it from your system,

          • Anonymous

            You fail to see what Mono gives Microsoft, and how Microsoft will use it in the future.

          • http://www.manishsinha.net Manish Sinha

            ….and you fail to see what it gives to the Linux world. If mono was so bad, why would people have picked up? That too in such a large number producing so many awesome apps?

          • Zsolt Sándor

            And fails to see while trolling against GNOME for their attitude towards Mono (letting it take a prominent role), he’s also trolling against GNOME for not including GNOME-Do, which is actuall written in Mono. So, either way, no matter what they do or don’t, GNOME is the shish…
            So, essentially he’s just trolling around the clock. Period.

          • Anonymous

            lol look who is trolling Zsolt.
            Manish doesn’t understand the patent implicaton behind Mono. Why Novell signed a patent pact with MS.

          • http://www.manishsinha.net Manish Sinha

            pt3,

            I know all the legal environment around Mono. Dude! Never think that the person in front of you doesn’t know anything. That is making fool of yourself. I know everything, but the thing is simple – I am advocating for awesome apps and it is the thing which comes to my mind first. Not the patent thing. When it comes to apps, I think like a developer even though I can think like a lawyer.
            You should vote on technical merits rather than voting with your foot.

          • http://www.manishsinha.net Manish Sinha

            Zsolt,
            You need to go and lookup the meaning of troll in the dictionary. My words are pretty straightforward. For a normal person who is not a geek to handle Emacs but still wants to contribute – Monodevelop rocks. I have used many IDEs and I can say it confidently.

            GNOME-Do should be included. It’s license is open. It is an awesome application. You need to use it and stop hating Mono every now and then to actually feel the awesomeness of GNOME-Do.

            As David Siegel said to GNOME-Do/Mono haters – “Haters gonna hate”

    • Zsolt Sándor

      I feel like Canonical is doing this at a more autocratic level.
      Just consider the bugreport on indicator applets (http://bit.ly/adResL – see ti’s not just me who’s complaining about it), or the Notify-OSD (http://bit.ly/3eRk6m – wonder why there is a patched version for it in the Elementary Desktop PPA), and don’t forget that Mark was asked about the inclusion of Nautilus-Elementary, and he didn’t even know about it’s existence.
      BTW the future development of Ubuntu will be omitting Compiz as well. The new Ubuntu GUI projects will be based on Clutter, which conflicts with Compiz.

      And on a sidenote, it’s the project governing polity that made me switch to Fedora recently. It feels more like a democracy, even if it has a strong sense of meritocracy. On the other hand Ubuntu feels more like an autocracy, with a slight sense of meritocracy. And I’m not liking that. :(

  • Anonymous

    nice…I used to use something like this for UNICEF…

  • Mrstm9

    I don’t know guys about you but I just can’t use KDE 4 series,if it wasn’t for Gnome I could not be using any linux distro(and forget about other DE’s they just don’t cut it)!The thing is I don’t want my Gnome 2 series to be hurt,like KDE did it with it’s move to qt4 ruining KDE 3 series and many apps,on that matter !

  • Bigby James

    So, perhaps I’m confused…does the GNOME group not accept independent donations? What’s the point of ceasing to support my two favorite indy bookstores and going to this faceless giant to support free software? One freedom at the expense of another; seems to put the ‘ass’ in ‘asinine.’