Ubuntu is Everywhere at OSCON

by Lisa Hoover - Jul. 23, 2008Comments (5)

The Ubuntu community hit the ground running at OSCON this week. Scarcely a couple of days into the event, there's already a new version of the distro to peruse and updates to the code hosting platform Launchpad to talk about. In the meantime, the project's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, still found time to deliver a presentation at the event and meet with a local tech group to talk about his vision for the future of Linux.

Let's start with Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a complete distribution designed to run on Atom-based Netbook PCs. The main difference that sets it apart from it's big brother Hardy Heron is the Ubuntu Mobile Edition (UME) Launcher, a user interface created specifically for use on the teensy screens and keyboards of today's popular ultra-portable computers.

PC World's Robert Strohmeyer tried out Netbook Remix and says "Although the Netbook's Atom processor is decidedly anemic even by subnotebook standards, the OS booted quickly. Navigation in the simplified UME menus was quick, and applications such as OpenOffice.org Writer, Firefox, and Pidgin launched about as rapidly as I would expect. Though not terribly snappy, it was competent compared with other Netbook OS installations (including Windows XP)."

He says that though Canonical reps remain mum on where Netbook Remix will make it's first appearance on retail devices, they say it will be on store shelves by the end of the year.

Also making news at OSCON is the upcoming release of Launchpad Version 2.0, also expected to be available within the year. The Register is reporting that 2.0 will include "a beta version of a planned API that'll allow third-party applications to authenticate, query and modify data in the massive Launchpad database, without a user needing to manually access the system via a browser."

The new version of Launchpad will also include GPL plugins for access to Bugzilla and Trac bug tracking systems, as well as an updated Bazaar version control system that will support a greater number of projects.

Mark Shuttleworth has been meeting with reporters to talk about everything from the evolution of leadership in the open source community to who he considers his heroes. Despite the busy schedule, he still found time to give a presentation to a local group, Legion of Tech, about space exploration (he says it should be mainly unmanned) and his ongoing mission to deliver Linux to the masses. He then went on to give a talk at OSCON itself, where he suggested Linux could gain better market share it if had better eye-candy than Apple.


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5 Comments
 

Cosmoboy never said Linux could gain better market share it if had better eye-candy than Apple. He meant the desktop.

Because if he did mean eye candy, then he is wrong.

I run a few differents distros on my laptop but whenever I want to show off what I can do with Linux, I take out the pimped out KDE with Compiz. Never use the stuff myself but the reaction it gets is unbelievable. I run Vista, OS X about 50% of the time at work, depending on the projects we are working on and nothing comes even close on those OS to what my pimped out laptop can do. Even our Mac guys drool over the mindless options that they can only dream of.

Aesthetics, style are different things than eye candy but my KDE can be anything I want it to be. What desktop is he talking about? Dull, boring and stable Gnome? KDE3.59 which stable and amazingly configurable? KDE4.1 which is excatly what Shuttleworth is talking about? XCFE?

But eye-candy? Apple has nothing on Beryl,Compiz,Fusion,etc. .

1 Votes

The link should probably be changed to read "tried out Netbook Remix"; 'remix' means nothing more than "a customised version of"; therefore "Netbook Remix" is a customised version... for Netbooks and "remix" (to customise) on its own doesn't make sense as it's a verb with no context.

0 Votes

Mark should wake up to reality, Desktop enviroments what have be available for Linux OS, has got more eye-candy than Vista or Mac OS X in few years. He should not try to pose a "leader" what "we" should do for desktops, because we have already done it. He is few years late of whole thing and now tries to speak as leader what direction we need to take.

KDE 4.1 desktop environment blows both OS's, Windows and Mac OS X away. Only problem with it is that most important applications are still on the KDE 3.5.x series and it will take time to port them to new desktop. Same thing goes to Gnome + Compiz-fusion.

Linux is great OS, you get it to handheld machines to supercomputers and you are not in vendor lock-in with it. You can choose Linux OS from multiple distributors to get their customized system. Currently Ubuntu users believe that Gnome is someway the "OS". only those who dont know, believe that marketing and wants "eye candy" for their "OS". I like very much how I can choose how I configure my OS and what kind system I build top of OS, and if I dont like to build own system, I just grab the already build system for me :)

I love that I can just choose what desktop environment I want to use on my PC. I can choose different OS too, like OpenBSD or OpenSolaris if I dont like Linux and run those desktop environments on them.

Then when I want to convert Windows or Mac OS X user to Linux, I just show them a kwin (4.1) and compiz-fusion with KDE 4.1 and Gnome and they really fall in love with it. I have user account for showing the eye-candy so it is very easy just log in with other user and show them. Windows and Mac OS X users have learned that they are forced to one desktop, but when they try other OS, like Linux, they notice they are free to run what applications they want run top of OS, they can even choose the Desktop Enviroment what they run top of OS.

0 Votes

Thanks for catching that oversight, Paul. I've made the correction.

Lisa

0 Votes

I hate to be an English nazi, but I just keep seeing the same silly mistake on blogs and professional journalists' webpages. Watch out for the difference between it's and its!!!

it's = "it has" OR "it is" but never "it's color" OR "it's big brother"

Think of it this way: yours ours his hers its ... all of these possessive pronouns end in an s without an apostrophe

0 Votes
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