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For better or worse, it becomes more and more sensible to think about Ubuntu as a separate operating system, built on top of technologies like Linux, Debian or

by senko 16y ago

For better or worse, it becomes more and more sensible to think about Ubuntu as a separate operating system, built on top of technologies like Linux, Debian or GNOME. Sort of like Android is built on top of Linux and Java, except less extreme, or what HTC and other handset makers are doing on top of Android. And on the more extreme example, one could argue Apple did the same with BSD and Mach. If the platform is commoditized, it's relatively "easy" for companies to build a new personality in the way they think will add value. Canonical's great push forward was and is realizing that one of the biggest problem with Linux desktop nowadays is UX, and they're trying hard to fix that. Personally, I prefer GNOME Shell and I think it's going to rock, especially on tablets. I've tried Unity in Maverick on a few netbooks, just for a few minutes each, since it's default for live install image. I do think it lacks polish and stability and, compared to Moblin/Meego, it's still got a long way to go towards tablet friendlyness. But I love the fact that there are options [0], and that Linux Desktop, aside from never having its year, is a viable platform on which people can experiment and build cool stuff, even if the end users never learn that under this Ubuntu (or Fedora, ...) operating system there's something geeks have holy wars about. [0] Then there is, obviously, KDE, which a great many people use and love. But this is a comment about GNOME technologies :) EDIT: markup

rbanffy 16y ago
> it becomes more and more sensible to think about Ubuntu as a separate operating system, built on top of technologies like Linux, Debian or GNOME It's as if other distros can't use whatever technology Canonical develops (or, more like it, integrates into its own stack), as long as it's free.
djacobs 16y ago
> But I love the fact that there are options. In a year when we've seen iOS increasingly restrict its own ecosystem, limit options it doesn't like (see the current story about Jobs nixing the orientation lock on the iPad) ... and even start to take over The Mighty Desktop (see OS X Lion), that thought is a breath of fresh air. Nuff said.

by senko 16y ago

rbanffy 16y ago

> it becomes more and more sensible to think about Ubuntu as a separate operating system, built on top of technologies like Linux, Debian or GNOME It's as if other distros can't use whatever technology Canonical develops (or, more like it, integrates into its own stack), as long as it's free.

djacobs 16y ago

> But I love the fact that there are options. In a year when we've seen iOS increasingly restrict its own ecosystem, limit options it doesn't like (see the current story about Jobs nixing the orientation lock on the iPad) ... and even start to take over The Mighty Desktop (see OS X Lion), that thought is a breath of fresh air. Nuff said.