Canonical: Biting Off More Than it Can Chew with Ubuntu?

by Sam Dean - Oct. 31, 2011Comments (5)

Is Canonical staying focused with its Ubuntu strategy? As we've noted, Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth has made clear that he is extremely focused on business users, and specifically cloud computing. The next version of Ubuntu is to be loaded with enterprise-focused options ranging from cloud computing features to extended support. At the same time, Canonical seems to have a very Apple-like focus on tailoring the OS for consumer devices. For example, CNet reports that Canonical is pushing aggressively toward putting Ubuntu on smartphones, tablets and even TVs.

According to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols:

"Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, will announce at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Orlando, FL, that they will be taking Ubuntu Linux to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs."

Vaughan-Nichols also writes that users can expect to see the Unity interface on these new devices, which explains a lot about how Unity looks and works. It's doubtful that Canonical ever intended it as only an interface for personal computing.

Steve Jobs' biographer has confirmed that if Jobs had lived, his next technology conquest would have been smart TVs. And, of course, tablets were one of the last big Apple successes that Jobs helped steer. So Canonical appears to have a very Apple-like consumer focus at the same time that Mark Shuttleworth is pushing for enterprise and business usage of Ubuntu.

The issue for Canonical is whether it is wise to pursue both of these goals concurrently. That's certainly not the story of Apple, which built its success on appealing to consumers and, earlier, niche markets such as the educational market.

In five years time, could Canonical be steering a ship that appeals as deftly to businesses as it does to consumers? Not many companies have pulled such a goal off, but it looks like we'll see Canonical give it a shot.

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by Paul Joseph on Oct. 31, 2011

Great News. Tablets are the future & Glad to see Ubuntu there.

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by Shawn Corey on Oct. 31, 2011

Well, Mark is wrong. The needs of a workstation are very different from the needs of a smartphone or tablet. The keyboard is the fastest, most-reliable way to enter data into a computer and nothing in the foreseeable future can complete with it, not voice, not gestures. One OS does not fit all. If Mark wants Canonial to get into smartphones and tablet, at the very least, create a separate division. Or better yet, create a new company.

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by Coffee on Oct. 31, 2011

For the most part Ubuntu's first 7 years were a success story. But things have been changing dramatically over the past 2 odd years, during which Canonical's ever more erratic and autocratic strategy changes have driven the distribution to its warty and for many rather disappointing present state. At the root of this development lies an age-old conflict ... on one side there's a rich man, who in this case happens to be a likable and enthusiastic individual, willing to invest a part of his private fortune in a project but ultimately expects a return on his investment ... and on the other side there is a large crowd of mostly unpaid developers who are no less likable, probably even more enthusiastic and who have their own ideas of what's wanted, what's needed and what's desirable in a GNU/Linux distribution. Traditional labor relations are based on coercion and blackmail. But this doesn't apply in a project where the majority of the contributors are volunteers. What's more, thanks to the GPL existing code cannot simply be appropriated, as Apple has done with the idiotically licensed BSD kernel.

So, what is Mark Shuttleworth to do? I think, if he wants to fulfill his dream of a GNU/Linux distribution that acts as a commercially viable sales- and communications platform, he'll have to gamble even higher and invest more of his fortune to employ a far larger team of properly paid developers who can be "directed" ... no more troublesome community to manage, no more benevolence necessary and the "dictating" comes naturally in such a setup.

Needless to say that I rather stay with the friendlier, less excessively managed, more free and more open original ... which is Debian.

1 Votes

by linuxcanuck on Nov. 01, 2011

There are always nay sayers. People have doubted Canonical before and been proven wrong. When they announced that they would develop Unity, people said, they will never do it. It can't be ready in time. Blah blah blah.

Listen to his UDS keynote address on Youtube and you will see that he and Canonical have a vision, something lacking in Linux at large.

Have you walked into a computer store lately? Desktop computers are disappearing from the shelves and are becoming scarce. Tablets and one piece desktops with touchcreens are on the increase.

AND ... Shuttleworth is not abandoning the desktop. He says that he is working with OEMs to have Ubuntu preinstalled and have more hardware support and sees a big increase in enterprise Ubuntu, including the cloud. His vision is for a common interface. BTW, that is the vision of Microsoft with W8.

The potential market for integrated devices is much larger than the declining and moribund desktop market. Canonical is not sticking its head in the sand on this one. Yes, the desktop needs support. Yes, there are problems with Unity. But, there are problems with GNOME Shell, too. There were problems when KDE switched to KDE 4.

We need to take a deep breath and wait a bit before running around saying the sky is falling.

I am NOT a Unity fan, nor an Ubuntu user, but am a KDE user. In case you are wondering. I just happen to like it that someone has stepped up to the plate and showing some leadership. That is a refreshing change. And contrary to prevailing opinion, I think that users have more choice and not less since Unity came onto the scene. Ubuntu dis not remove anything. The death of GNOME classic was not their doing. They were proactive and decided not to dance with GNOME again. Been there, done that. It was less fun than they thought.

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by an anonymous user on Nov. 02, 2011

Mark Shuttleworth is not interested in making money of Ubuntu. He could have made much more money in other ways. Ubuntu is his lovebaby. All distros are started by people with some kind of vision, so is Ubuntu. Yes Ubuntu is about Mark Shuttleworth's vision on things, and gladly so. It is this vision and the professionality with which Mark drives it, and his talent to share it with other people that makes it a huge succes.

If people do not like it? There are enough alternatives that may be more to their liking. Nobody needs to feel forced by Ubuntu. For me, Ubuntu is what I like.

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