Ubuntu One Music Store has been in closed beta for a long time, but today it finally entered the public beta so everyone can start using the new service which is available as a plugin for Rhythmbox, the default music player in Ubuntu Lucid (but soon, other music players will also support Ubuntu One Music Store).

Ubuntu. Ah Ubuntu. My old friend. That operating system that, despite being one of the best (if not THE best) desktop operating systems available, still can not gain any traction. But that can change. In the newest release of the Ubuntu Software Center you will find an “iTunes-like” music service.

One of my biggest complains about Apple is iTunes. Why? Because everything the UbuntuOne Music Store is is what iTunes is not.

Symbolic links really shine when it comes to a dual boot system. This is especially so in the case of linking your /home/Music folder in Ubuntu, to your Windows iTunes folder. Doing this means only one folder needs to be maintained and any music program you installed on Ubuntu will load your Windows music library.

mt-daapd is a DAAP server that works with most POSIX compatible operating systems. It allows you to share your music collection over the local network using the same protocol iTunes uses, so real iTunes users may peruse your music.

Nokia's Comes With Music includes a year of access to music with the price of the phone. Currently, the service is available in about 30 countries, but in those countries the music, unlike in China, is copy-protected. Nokia isn't commenting on whether that will change in the future, according to a spokesman.

As British Telecom plans to roll out their new music subscription service to its 5.5 million broadband customers, FSFE asks them to make user freedom one of the product's key features.

During the Ubuntu 9.10 launch a few weeks ago, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth hinted that Ubuntu may ultimately gain music and entertainment store capabilities - similar to offerings from Apple (iTunes) and Amazon.com. Fast forward to the present, and Canonical appears to be preparing the Ubuntu One Music Store. Here's why.

In Mac and Windows, you can easily sync your iPhone/iPod Touch with iTunes, but in Linux, there is no easy way to sync your iDevice’s music library with any of the media player. Even if you are willing to jailbreak your phone, there are still plenty of complicated steps that you need to do to get the syncing to work. With the release of iFuse (and a bunch of other library), things have changed.