Video Lens connects to internet when it shouldn't ("Local Videos" is only filter active)

[nick rundy]

The Video Lens is still connecting to the internet even when the only filter enabled is the "Local Videos" filter. This should not happen.

Users wanting to control internet connection behavior for privacy reasons or to conserve bandwidth (e.g., because of mobile broadband usage limits) need to be able to perform Lens searches (e.g., Video, Music) from the Dash WITHOUT having an internet connection occur. It is natural for users to assume that if they select the filter "Local Videos" that the Lens will NOT perform an internet connection. Why does the Lens initiate an internet connection when the user simply wants to search for "LOCAL" videos on the harddrive?

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: unity-lens-video 0.1.1-0ubuntu1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-17.26-generic 3.2.6
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-17-generic i686
ApportVersion: 1.92-0ubuntu1
Architecture: i386
Date: Wed Feb 22 19:16:32 2012
ExecutablePath: /usr/lib/unity-lens-video/unity-lens-video
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 11.10 "Oneiric Ocelot" - Beta i386 (20110901)
InterpreterPath: /usr/bin/python2.7
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: unity-lens-video
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to precise on 2012-02-21 (1 days ago)

[David Callé (davidc3)]

Hello, thank you for raising this question. The Lens connects to the Internet to request a list of sources from a Canonical server. In the Sources filter of the lens, "My Videos" is hardcoded, but Amazon, Ted Talks, Vimeo, etc. are gathered from the server when your open the lens for the first time during a session.

[nick rundy (nrundy)]

this is a serious bug for people who want to control internet connections (e.g., for privacy, mobile broadband usage limits etc). The Lenses should be configurable so they do NOT connect to the internet. In addition, opening the lens for the first time during a session should NOT result in an internet connection.

It would be advisable to have the lenses default to "Local Disc" only (i.e., no internet connection occurs) until/if the user activates a filter that necessitates an internet connection or the user changes a setting that "authorizes" an internet connection to be made.

[David Callé (davidc3)]

Part of the bug is going to be solved by restricting everything strictly to local calls when the local source filter option is the only one selected. Nevertheless, the first call for sources is unlikely to go, as it is needed to present sources options to the user.

Currently, the only way out of this situation is to uninstall unity-scope-video-remote, but I'm going to work on a less drastic solution.

[Melissa Newman (melissa-l)]

The underlying problem makes no sense. In a settings application, the user should be allowed to choose "select sources". All of the available sources should be selected. There should be the ability to say "Website A, selectable"; "Website B, not selectable". Once the user sets this up, the selection of sources should come from a local configuration file, not the internet. Hence, no need to access the internet unless the user actually initiates an internet search.

For example, if the following video websites are available:
* Wikimedia
* YouTube
* EducationalVideos

I should be able to say
* Wikimedia - not selectable for user group "children" selectable for group "adults"
* YouTube - not selectable for user group "children", selectable for user group "teens", selectable for user group "adults"
* EducatonalVideos - selectable for all users.

Then if I am in the adult user group, the local video searches come up first and I have to option to select from Wikimedia, YouTube or EducationalVideos. If I belong to the "children" users group the only option for internet searches is "EducationalVideos". Even though the program has the ability to search YouTube and mediawiki, since I do not have permission to search those website, those websites should not be available for me to search.

Also, isn't the availability of the websites to be searched controlled by individual add-on files, so end users can add or remove a website by simply adding or removing the library file? Isn't that how most of the gnome-shell, firefox, and other applications work? There is a core functionality and then the ability to add in add-ons?

[David Callé (davidc3)]

The initial reported bug has been fixed and released (when "My Videos" is selected, external sources are not called from the lens).
Please open a new bug for the group idea (as it's also related to a Unity bug where additional lenses and scopes (sources) are installed system wide and not for a specific group or user).
Thank you for your ideas.