| Times damns Ubuntu with faint praise |
Jan. 12, 2009
[Updated Jan. 13] -- The New York Times has published a story on Mark Shuttleworth, apparently made during Canonical's Ubuntu Developer Summit last month at Google's Mountain View headquarters. Ashlee Vance, author, appears to view Ubuntu -- despite many successes -- as the flashy, flawed plaything of a quixotic billionaire.
Vance, who like Shuttleworth hails from South Africa, but lives elsewhere, does give Ubuntu some due, noting that about half of Google's 20,000 employees use a lightly modified "Goobuntu" version. He notes that 11 percent of U.S. businesses use Ubuntu, according to IDC research. And, he points to large-scale deployments in Macedonia, France, and Spain as evidence of Ubuntu's growing reach.
Yet, Vance is not above the stereotypical wisecrack about Linux developers' facial hair. Nor is he above chuckling over what he portrays as Linux developers' interest in revolting against Microsoft's hegemony.
As for the actual technology, Linux is clearly flawed, in Vance's view. He writes, "While relatively easy to use for the technologically savvy, Ubuntu -- and all other versions of Linux -- can challenge the average user. Linux cannot run many applications created for Windows, including some of the most popular games and tax software, for example. And, updates to Linux can send ripples of problems through the system, causing something as basic as a computer's display or sound system to malfunction."
The last "point" seems especially ironic, given that Windows systems rarely survive upgrades without developing serious bit-rot. Then you have Ubuntu, which actually supports (technically and commercially) in-place upgrades between successive releases or between every other release, for long-term release users.
Vance ultimately characterizes Shuttleworth's devotion to Ubuntu as "quixotic." He quotes long-time embedded Linux executive Matt Asay as suggesting that Shuttleworth will one day have to re-evaluate his faith that "give everything away," and "always open" can serve as practical cornerstones of business. Ultimately, Ubuntu comes out looking like the flawed plaything of an eccentric billionaire, an OS likely to appeal only to the disaffected, marginalized, deeply technical, or all of the above. The story can be found here. Another perspective on why it's so disagreeable can be found here.
-- Henry Kingman
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