Ubuntu has taken another step that, honestly, leaves me scratching my head. While most distributions try to offer as many convenient GUI tools as possible to help users manage every part of their system, Ubuntu… apparently sees things a bit differently.
I say this because Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (scheduled for release on April, 23) will no longer ship the long-standing “Software & Updates” graphical tool by default on fresh desktop installs, following a change proposed in Launchpad as bug 2140527.
The adjustment replaces the software-properties-gtk package in the desktop seed with software-properties-common, effectively removing the visible GUI while keeping the underlying repository management tools in place.
However, what really impressed me was the argument used to make this move:
“software-properties is an old gtk application essentially focused on deb/apt world. Many of its features are dangerous or too complex for normal users (removing main, enabling proposed, source without specifying what, …)”
I’m speechless. Many of its features are dangerous or too complex for normal users. Really? Am I missing something, or has Canonical started treating its users like certain closed operating systems do, just point-and-click users who can’t be trusted with an accessible tool for managing their own systems? Dear Canonical, This is Spa…, sorry Linux!
Yes, I know that this change actually does not remove the application from Ubuntu’s repositories. Users will still be able to install the Software & Updates utility on their 26.04 LTS systems manually using APT, and those upgraded from earlier Ubuntu releases will retain the tool if it was already installed. But that’s not the point.
The point is about the broader direction of Ubuntu’s desktop strategy to its user base and the fact that Canonical (once again) forces them to a more curated, controlled user experience. Which, whichever way you look at it, is difficult to reconcile with what Linux is supposed to stand for. And which, at some point, could turn Ubuntu into Closebuntu.
