Senior Member
You are a rare case.Originally Posted by Fazer
Senior Member
I think it's a valid point of criticism. Not necessarily directed at Ubuntu users but more at the for-profit company Canonical. They seem to invest a lot of time and money in doing their own thing and leave the core of what is Ubuntu (kernel, xserver, gtk+, gnome, gstreamer,...) mostly to others upstream. Legally they're entitled to do so, but you don't make any friends that way. So IMO Ubuntu/Canonical deserves a little bashing for that.
Phoronix Member
And they got the unprecedented number of users this way and had significant share in improving Linux PR. How can that be bad? They're trying to make a distro that "just works" and they're doing it better than anyone else.
Not to mention Bazaar, Upstart, Notify OSD, etc. Nothing, really?
Canonical specializes in enhancing user experience, not on low-level stuff like kernel and services. Somebody has to do this, too.
Senior Member
It's not so much Linux PR but mostly Ubuntu PR. There are already people out there that call it Ubuntu OS, think it's developed by Ubuntu developers and have no idea at all about Linux.
So it's not so bad for Canonical/Ubuntu. But for others working upstream I don't see much benefit.
Phoronix Member
OK, I can agree with You they could put more emphasis on Linux itself. I've just looked at Ubuntu homepage and the word Linux doesn't appear there even once...
Senior Member
For ages there were people saying they'd like to see Linux be easier to use. They said this would help adoption of the platform. Many saw the potential of Linux and associated projects and wished it was packaged in a more easily digested way. Thankfully someone came along with a very strong focus on these aspects.
And then...
People started to bash them for doing it.
Senior Member
There's nothing wrong with that. Why do you expect computer users to know what kernel their OS is based on? Actually, why do you want computer users to even know what such a thing is a kernel? Who cares, really, outside geek circles? It makes perfect sense for people to refer to the stuff going on inside their computers as 'Windows', 'Mac', 'Ubuntu' or whatever.
As for the benefit of Ubuntu gaining mainstream acceptance, I think it's clear: the more presence Linux has in the market the more hardware support all of us get, more software, more developers and in general more resources poured into it.
I don't use Ubuntu because I don't like it, but I'm pretty sure I have already benefitted from its growing number of users.
Senior Member
Get over it: Ubuntu is just some glue that sticks and tapes FLOSS software pieces together so that end users can have a great Linux experience right now. That is their contribution.
And it is not as if Canonical creates a lot of software and then turns around not to release it. Yeah OK that cloud thing, big fscking deal... If that makes Canonical have some income than so be it. There is also an official Ubuntu spin that has FLOSS only.
Phoronix Member
No there aren't. Ubuntu are very clear it's Linux (it's always been referred to as "Linux for Human Beings!" in all their about docs) and everyone who uses it eventually comes to understand it's Linux, no matter how green or naive they may be to start with.
A successful Distro improves Linux viability, especially in the desktop arena.
Senior Member
We're verging on off-topic here but I'll bite.
I agree that many of Ubuntu's features are great. Software Center, Jockey, Update Manager, and most of all, Ubiquity are Ubuntu contributions that have made the lives of many users much easier. But many of Ubuntu's strengths also come from Debian and this has been often forgotten.
The developers of Ubuntu have to understand that even though they are the largest Linux distribution, they still have to contribute back to the community. I go around and see Debian, Red Hat, and Novell developers everywhere contributing to the core projects and drivers. I have seen VERY few Ubuntu developers. They seem to be on their own little island and have pretty much stopped talking to the general Linux community.
Ubuntu has to understand that even though Ubuntu is the largest Linux distribution, it is not the entirety of Linux. And they have to do more than just backport code.
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