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I've been reading on the news, forums, and different websites that the new version in 12.10, which i'll eventually have to upgrade to if I plan on using Ubuntu, has a lens/amazon function on the dash that sends queries to amazon. Now, this disturbs me a bit, since I don't want to see "shopping recommendations" everytime I look for something, be they from amazon or from "future partners".

Does this new "function" only apply to the Unity desktop? If I switch to the Xfce desktop, will I be able to "save myself" from sending search data to amazon and/or shopping recommendations from them? Or will I have to entirely switch distributions, in order to evade this?

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The Amazon ads are specifically part of the Unity shell. Xubuntu uses the Xfce desktop, not Unity; Xfce provides its own panel and run dialog. So yes, the feature will not be activated when running an Xfce session.

Alternatively, it's possible to use Unity with the Amazon search results disabled: How can I remove Amazon search results from the dash or disable the feature?.

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    Thanks, that clears it up. I sometimes forget that it is, after all, Linux, and we have the option of turning things on and off. I guess I was overly impressed by all the media articles regarding this subject.
    – Boricode
    Dec 2, 2012 at 12:12

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