Canonical will no longer send out Ubuntu CDs for free.

Canonical Communications Director Jerry Carr announced on Tuesday the closure of ShipIt. This program allowed anyone to order a disk with Ubuntu completely free of charge, with Canonical even taking delivery costs by mail and customs duties.

As Carr explained when the program was launched in 2005, broadband Internet access was still just a marketing promise even in the most developed countries. Canonical considered this a serious obstacle to the spread of new technologies and invested in distributing free discs with free shipping anywhere in the world. Since then, the company has delivered millions of disks to all points of the globe.

By now, technology has evolved significantly, and we can already say that the ShipIt program has lost its meaning. For the last two years, Canonical has gradually limited the terms of the program, and already with the release of Ubuntu 11.04, it will be absolutely impossible to order a free disk.
')
However, this does not mean that there will be no disks at all. Canonical is still going to make available a large number of disks for local communities (Ubuntu LoCos). You can also order packages of disks (5, 20, 100 or 200 pieces) in the Canonical store, which are sold at approximately cost (plus shipping).

In addition, Jerry Carr said that Canonical will soon launch a free cloud-based online service that will allow, in particular, Windows users to get acquainted with Ubuntu. Also this year, the company will make more efforts to cover the main markets around the world. These measures are expected to lead to a new wave of Ubuntu users.