Ubuntu's Lucid Lynx (10.04) isn't out yet but Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and Canonical, and his team look toward the October 2010 (10.10) release they're calling Maverick Meerkat. On his personal blog this morning, Mark wrote, "It’s time to put our heads together to envision 'the perfect 10'." Mark, himself, has a new vision for the upcoming release already knowing that 10.04 is almost "in the can." His new vision is one of lightness-lightness in footprint, in deployment and in support requirements. A grand vision but can he do it?
You already know that I think Ubuntu is the "Ultimate Distribution" but how much better can Ubuntu be?
Mark believes quite a bit better.
"We’ll embrace the web, aiming for the lightest, fastest web experience on any platform. The fastest boot, the fastest network connect, the fastest browser. Our goal is to ensure that UNE is far and away the best desktop OS for a netbook, both for consumers and power users."
I'm glad that Mark wants to continue to develop the desktop while others, namely Novell and Red Hat, have all but abandoned the idea. Oh, wait, aren't those two companies the ones that signed major agreements with Microsoft? Yeah, I think they are. And neither wants to put any real development into a desktop system. It's probably just me. I digress.
But just in case you've forgotten, read about Novell's and Red Hat's desktop disses.
Mark's views on that front:
"It’s not all about work. We don’t just want to be connected to the internet, we want to be connected to each other. Social from the Start is our initiative to make the desktop a collaborative, social place. For the past five years, we’ve all been shifting more and more data into the web, to a series of accounts and networks elsewhere. Now it’s time to start to bring those social networks back into our everyday computing environment. Our addressbooks and contact lists need to be synchronized and shared, so that we have the latest information everywhere – from mobile phones to web accounts."
and,
"This is a time of change, and we’re not afraid to surprise people with a bold move if the opportunity for dramatic improvement presents itself. We want to put Ubuntu and free software on every single consumer PC that ships from a major manufacturer, the ultimate maverick move."
I'm glad that someone like Mark Shuttleworth is fighting the good fight, shunning the other distribution's lack of interest in the Desktop, not making "deals" with Microsoft and heading in his own direction.
It is his visionary sight that propels Ubuntu. People like Mark make the most differences in this technology-based world of ours.
Ubuntu, the ultimate Linux distribution? You bet it is. And now you know why.
I hope Mark never loses that Maverick spirit and always maintains his vision for something better.
Microsoft, your days of Desktop dominance might now have an end.
What do you think of Mark's visions? Do you think it's possible to take away Microsoft's desktop dominance and "put Ubuntu and free software on every single consumer PC that ships from a major manufacturer?"
