Why is Elementary OS not free to download?

noob555 · 04-27-2022, 11:00 PM

Hello,

I wanted to try out this distro but it requires a donation of $10 minimum.

I don't mind paying for it, but I would like to preview it before buying it.

It would be great if they let you download it free and see if your hardware is supported for 30 days. Then registering it for your donation amount.

chrism01 · 04-27-2022, 11:34 PM

No idea, but:

1 they do have a 'Custom' amt, so you could try zero in there ?
2 d/l mirror https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?re...sortorder=name ?

mrmazda · 04-28-2022, 12:30 AM

I tried 0 for custom, and the credit card charge proposed was $20.

ondoho · 04-28-2022, 01:21 AM

I put in 0 for custom and was given a download link immediately.

boughtonp · 04-28-2022, 06:45 AM

With third-party scripts blocked, entering 0 in custom leaves it on the default (20) and pressing the button doesn't do anything.

If scripts from cdn.jsdelivr.net are accepted, entering 0 is accepted and displays a download dialog.

(The scripts appear to be jQuery plus a dialog plugin, and completely overkill for what could be done with just a couple of lines of native JS.)

sundialsvcs · 04-28-2022, 10:08 AM

Pretty sure that's not "kosher," but with so many other distros available why bother?

noob555 · 04-28-2022, 12:12 PM

@ chrism01, @ ondoho

The 0 hack worked. It didn't even prompt me for a credit card. Thanks

SlowCoder · 04-28-2022, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrism01

2 d/l mirror https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?re...sortorder=name ?

This is how I got it. Verified still works.

boughtonp · 04-28-2022, 12:21 PM

It's not a hack, it's a deliberate feature:

Quote:

Originally Posted by https://blog.elementary.io/payments/

Payments
Or, “Why we make you type $0”
...
Right now we have ambitious $10, $25, and $50 buttons along with a “Custom” button that lets you type anything—including $0.
...
While we could rightfully disallow free downloads, we don’t want to. We believe in the pay-what-you-want model and want to see it succeed. Most importantly, we don’t want to lock out people who may not be able to afford pricey software, especially in volume.