With Ubuntu came a new feature … Ubuntu One. I chanced on it at pretty much the same time as Dropbox, and ended up opting to use Dropbox instead. However, there was Ubuntu One instantly integrated with all of my Ubuntu installations … there was some merit in this system.
Did I purchase it, no. I did not pay for this service since for the same price (free), there were far many other services providing more space (Dropbox can give you upto 20GB, so can Copy). Suffice to say that I am aware about Ubuntu One, but never really depended on it for my file sharing/saving needs.
Today, I saw this mail in my inbox –
Hi,
We are writing to you to notify you that we will be shutting down the
Ubuntu One file services, effective 1 June 2014. This email gives
information about the closure and what you should expect during the
shutdown process.As of today, it will no longer be possible to purchase storage or music
from the Ubuntu One store. The Ubuntu One file services apps in the Ubuntu,
Google, and Apple stores will be updated appropriately.As always, your content belongs to you. You can simply download your files
onto your PC or an external hard drive. While the service will stop as of
1 June, you will have an additional two months (until 31 July 2014) to
collect all of your content. After that date, all remaining content will
be deleted.If you have an active annual subscription, the unused portion of your fees
will be refunded. The refund amount will be calculated from today’s
announcement.We know you have come to rely on Ubuntu One, and we apologise for the
inconvenience this closure may cause. We’ve always been inspired by the
support, feedback and enthusiasm of our users and want to thank you for
the support you’ve shown for Ubuntu One. We hope that you’ll continue to
support us as together we bring a revolutionary experience to new devices.The Ubuntu One team
Lesson to be learn here –
Even if you are closing down, do so with grace and always inform your customers about when you are closing shop.
I will not say I am sad to see this, that would be lying … in fact this is the nature of things, either you consolidate into a bigger service or you go down.