As of July 23rd, Xojo is now available in the Ubuntu Software Center. Did you know you can also easily make your Xojo-created Linux apps available in the Ubuntu Software Center?
The first step is to register as a Ubuntu developer at their web site: http://developer.ubuntu.com/
After you are logged in, you can click “My Apps” in the top navigation bar for the site and then choose “Submit a new application”.
From this point, you are walked through a multi-page wizard where you can specify details about your app.
In the “Your app” section you will specify the app name, tagline, price and app package or zip. A really nice feature is that Ubuntu offers a free packaging service. You can just submit your app as a ZIP file and they will create a Debian package for you. This is most welcome because creating Debian packages is rather tricky.
Regarding pricing, Ubuntu/Canonical uses PayPal to pay you for your sales and they pay 80% of the price. You can also submit free apps, but you will still have to link to a PayPal account. Note that the Ubuntu Software Center does not implement DRM to protect your paid apps, they just handle the sale of the app.
Next is the “Finding your app” section where you specify keywords and categories.
In “Showing your app” you include icons of various sizes, screenshots and even a video demo.
The “License & support” section allows you to specify links to your web site, support and licensing details.
Lastly, the “Preview and submit” section is where you will see how your app will look in the Software Center and where you can submit your app.
After your app is submitted it goes into a series of review processes:
- Moderation: The submission is reviewed for errors.
- QA: Some basic testing is done.
- Ready to Publish: Once your app passes QA, it is ready to publish.
- Published: The app is now available in the Software Center.
For Xojo, all these steps took less than a week.
So if you have an app created with Xojo, you might want to take advantage of all the features of your Desktop license and create a Linux version to sell in the Ubuntu Software Center.