Can Ubuntu Become A Beauty Compared To Apple?
- 3
- Add a Comment
Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Canonical and the very popular Ubuntu Linux operating system, has challenged developers to improve the GUI of Linux to surpass Apple in looks. At a recent conference he stated that he wants Linux to actually reach the status of being art. He also states in an article that:
“There is an emerging emphasis on services - that is the engine to invest in free software applications,” he said. “We [Canonical] are hiring guys to work on the desktop… the rationale is online services. This must be a shared platform.”
According to Shuttleworth, open source provides unparalleled opportunities to generate wealth and create change through innovation. He supported open-source projects like Firefox, which rely on plug-ins to harness other people’s ideas and extend the underlying platform.
He warned that a few challenges exist on the road to greater innovation, wealth and social change via open source.
He also stated that this needed to be done within the next two years. So what do you think? Can open source catch up with Apple? Is pretty what Linux needs to become popular?
Comments welcome.
3 Comments
Wolfhard
July 24th, 2008
at 5:30am
I think no single company has the potential that open source (and especially such a great distro like ubuntu) has to offer.
I’m sure they will surpass Apple!
And yes, for the end-user the look and feel is most important - in the end that’s why apple is so successful
Bobzilla
July 24th, 2008
at 7:59am
Ubuntu has made Linux a nice user friendly OS. And yes, look and feel for the user needs to be addressed. However, Ubuntu has to reach the end-user so they can experience the look and feel first hand. Ubuntu has to be an option for the consumer when purchasing a new PC for Ubuntu to thrive and be the OS of choice.
geek0091
July 24th, 2008
at 8:02am
As for Linux and Ubuntu goes, I grew up learning terminal. I remember installing my first version of Slackware when the desktop environment provided by xserver/xorg where first created. When I use Linux (99.99% of the time), I am accustomed to the terminal environment. Sure the desktop environment creates a pretty and useful environment, but it just doesn’t suit what Linux has a legacy for, and that isn’t the ease of use. It is its stable, has a tough learning curve, but still makes is very usable to use once learned. Not to say that I don’t like an OS to be successful, but I would rather almost like the Linux to community to stay how it is. I know its free and open source, but once people gain interest in it, it will begin to attract the bottom feeders and nubs of the computer communities. Not to mention more distributions like SUSE will become more apparent because bigger companies will begin to sink money for profits into the operating system. I just would hate to see it end up like another Microsoft or Apple, both all about profits.