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Google Working on Desktop Linux
paulmac84 writes "The Register reports that Google is working on a version of Ubuntu, known internally as Goobuntu. Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for. Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?" Update: 02/01 00:11 GMT by SM: chrisd is the first among many to point out that this is just more fodder from the Google rumor mill and isn't something they are currently planning to release.
This has been talked about for quite a long time and even supposedly seen but what can Google do that would make this more special then any other ubuntu release/spin off?
Also a more worrying question,would you see ads incorporated?
this will rule.
It's all a conspiracy to take over the world.
because Google has a great track record, but I don't think Google is the right company to get all excited about when we find they're working on Linux. IBM, yes, as they have extensive knowledge and experience working with both hardware and OSes.
Google is good at... gathering and indexing information. I don't see a Google Ubuntu being much more than Ubuntu with bundled linux versions of their various apps.
Ballmer throws a chair.
I think it's a waste of Google talent. They should concentrate on data collection, aggregation, and dissemination tools.
Google has many fingers in many pies right now, presumably trying the
chuck-it-and-see-if-it-sticks approach. No doubt this is another of
those types of projects. If it works they'll hail it as a true MS rival,
if it doesn't it'll quietly get put down in a back room a year from now
and forgotten about.
First, the Google PC at Walmart and now this. I heard that Google is going to buy Windows and release it free to everyone including Office!
http://religiousfreaks.com/Plough in massive amounts of cash and resources. I know Ubuntu is backed by Mark Shuttleworth but the more funding/resources the better.
init 11 - for when you need that edge.
Fucking Revolutionary!
This, if any, will be THE Desktop Linux.
Perhaps this also means they will port apps like gtalk and picasa to linux, albeit just to goobuntu. Although I'd probably still use kopete or gaim, since gtalk doesn't do any session encryption with the native client (plese join me in submitting feature requests and bug reports for every release of gtalk so that they'll consider adding it)
It's been said before but I feel needs to be repeated.
There is no way this is going to be an "alternative to Windows" unless it can run *every* currently available (and even "out of print") piece of software, nor will this work unless it can work with every piece of hardware that Windows supports (as it were).
bork bork bork!
kthx
An Indian-American Hindu committed to non-violent thought/speech/action alarmed by the global explosion of radical Islam
"Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?"
Could it be released as anything else?
GNoo/Linux?
i, for one, welcome our new Goobuntu overlords
Gnoogle.
What if Google is planning on combining this with a virtualization product so that it can be installed under Windows? Your average user is not going to be able to replace Windows. However, Google could release this as a "security zone" which people would install on top of Windows. That, combined with perhaps an improved UI and a suite of desktop software may get a more typical user to install it.
My desktop linux would be a very specifically limited Linux for securely browsing the web from an unprivileged account, for use by cybercafes, etc., with a default search engine of google of course. They really don't have any business getting into the OS business as such, but the web-appliance defaulting to their pages might be another thing.
--Parity
'Card carrying' member of the EFF.
Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?
That's tot likely. What would be more likely would be releasing a dedicated internet hardware device running Linux behind the scenes that provides some combination of Internet based TV, VOIP, Browsing, and Email.
set softtabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 expandtab nocp worlddomination
What'll make this "sell" isn't technology but brand. Name recognition counts for everything in big business. Just their name alone can sell a decent product. We know they'll have to make a decent, relatively simple, interface. But other than that their brand name is enough to make this a huge success.
Developers: We can use your help.
The majority of the world either don't know what Linux is, or associates it with people like us(!)
If Google can make the installation simple, the desktop pretty, and break the "freak" tag that Linux has (and don't kid yourseldf - Linux is only for us freaks), then I think this is a great thing.
We should support this.
I saw this reported some where else last week, but I thought it wasn't true.
As a supporter and user of Ubuntu GNU/Linux since the first release, Warty I am pleased. More resources thrown at this distro is great news. Currently Ubuntu Breezy 5.10 works perfectly on my two machines (including P4 laptop) and Ubuntu has a great philosophy and community, along with great progress with making the Linux desktop experience better for everyone.
I wonder what exactly Google could bring to the table to help further along this great gem.
What is interesting to me is not that they are making a new version of Linux. It is the possibility of Google pack tools, being ported over to Linux. If this is true, their plithora of tools provided by google might finally start working on Linux (read: Any Linux). :)
Tools like google-Earth, desktop search(GDS), picasa are sure welcome
Everyone was expecting this.
From TFA:
"The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries."
I mean, come on. The author can't make the miniscule mental leap that "Goobuntu" is a combination of Google and Ubuntu?
"Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
-Marilyn Manson
Goobuntu? I certainly hope that won't be the final name.
:-D
Imagine someone's face when they hear I'm going to put some goob on their hard drive...
Dependency hell? =>
Wall Street analysts have made a sharp upward revision in earnings forecasts for manufacturers of office furniture, citing an unexpected upsurge in demand for chairs in the US Pacific Northwest.
All other Google apps have looked like crap. The only one that is nice is Picasa and that wasn't made by them.
Add their name to it.
That might not seem like a big deal, but I think it might be. Google is huge compared to most companies that put out a Linux distro. If they did this, they could very well become the standard.
And IMHO, that would be a huge blessing. The #1 complaint you see from developers outside the Linux world seems to be "there isn't a Linux standard". And I can kind of see their point - Windows doesn't suffer from the whole RPM vs. DEB vs. whatever problem. Some systems use devfs, and some don't. Each distro has different /etc structure for storing network settings. And so on.
But! If Google were to become the standard, we wouldn't have that as a problem anymore. Think of the possibilities! We might have more manufacturer supplied graphics drivers and more commercial software on the shelves for Linux.
And Google is big enough to make this happen. Go Google!
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
There are already alternatives to Windows which, in many ways, are better than Windows. (I'm sure many of you are saying DUUU right now, but I'm talking about Mac OS X, not Linux.)
Mac OS X is certainly prettier than Windows (and that's very important from a marketing perspective), and it has most of the basic applications that 95% of the people out there use.
Yet despite all of this, it doesn't succeed. Why? There are lots of answers to this question. Some involve Microsoft's market dominance and the fact it is a defacto standard. Some involve Apple's typically more expensive hardware. (Although this seems to be slowly changing.) Some involve the fact that Windows has a far larger software library available. Some involve people being more comfortable using at home what they use at work, and that is almost invariably a PC with Windows.
Whatever the reason, how does Google's OS overcome these? What about Google as a company makes us all think they could do any better? Sure, they have tons of money... but Microsoft will always have more, and they have a 20 year head start as far as market share goes.
I would have rather seen GooGentoo myself.
*insert derogatory joke using "goo" and "linux" here*
Googlix is better than Goobuntu :P
Give me a beowulf cluster and I'll give you Google!
Seriously, today google is good but nobody knows when the
feds will pay a -on a mission from god- visit to the google
CEO and ask them to change history. Because history is what
google sais it is. And he who controls the past....
You see what happened to wikipedia. Unfortunately the government
is controled by a bunch of lobbists who want to get richer; and
they can move the legal mechanism against you if you get in their
way.
IF, and a big if, google released a linux distro, I wouldn't see it as an alternative to windows directly as much as an alternative to all the other already released linux distros. Indirectly it would be, at least in the initital stages. Later on it would be of course. There's a dozen or so top distros, then hundreds of smaller ones. And we also have macosx and solaris, both backed by big companies. None of them, or even collectively, have made it beyond 5% or so desktop market penetration compared to windows, even though they exist. The main problem is, none of the big hardware vendors wants to take much of a chance on any particular linux distro because they don't want to support a subset, with no guaranteees the project might be abandoned, etc. With google on the other hand, you could see the big vendors "taking a chance" on at least a parity linux offering.
think the article title meant that Google ran *their business* on Ubuntu desktops?
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
The name "Goobuntu" sounds most like:
(1) A sinful dessert.
(2) A Final Fantasy monster.
(3) A Swahili word meaning "booger".
(4) Baby babble.
(5) A natural companion to "sed", "awk" and "grep".
With spending like this, exactly what are "conservatives" conserving?
It's gonna be Goonix...no Goobuntu
Sig Nature
that it were the OS companies that were moving to "web as a platform"...
Will it be available in China?
GetOuttaMySpace - The Anti-Social Network
I don't see why google wants to create a whole new distro, why can't they just work on software that will make all distros better. Before you start talking about Google having it's fingers in too many pie, I think it should be noted that they are carefull to maintain a certain amount of their time to their main business, a different amount to spin-offs, and the other 20% to whatever a developer feels like. This is one of the ways google stays great. Considering how in Gnome(Ubuntu's Gui) everything starts with G, I wonder if they will call everything Goo-. I wonder if they will make their own Goo-ey.
Btw, I heard that they are also working on a robot that makes hamburgers.
Microsoft tried to beat Google at their own game with their new search systems, it would be funny if Google becomes a threat to Microsoft's age-old game of operating systems and office packages. They've got the financial backing and positive reputation.
Like Ebaums World? You'll love Shizzville
All I want is Google Earth for desktop Linux.
(Oh, and Photoshop, but that's another story...)
Sigs are so 1990s. No way would I be seen dead with one.
No, not by a longshot. We might speculate all day long, but I cannot imagine anything making a dent in Microsoft's hold... at least not yet and not with Google's influence... not yet.
If anything, I would guess it could be yet another free software offering to install at WalMart and Fry's stores competing more with Linspire rather than Windows. It could also just be a way of weening itself away from anything Microsoft. (I suggest this without knowing what the average Google employee desktop uses.)
If Google were to attempt to replace Windows now or even in the near future, it would fail miserably and tarnish Google's image. Now is not the time.
With Google's habit of tracking and recording every bit of information it can get it's hands on (it's actually their *mission*), why would anyone trust a Google provided OS to allow privacy? They already track surfing habits through their toolbar and google-analytics, why is it a leap to think that they will use this to get even more marketing data?
NeverEndingBillboard.com
If it were BSD based, would it be GooS/X?
500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
More functionality is good, right? It's obviously not going to jump out of the box and replace Windows, but it will be a good next step for damn sure. Google has a lot of power and influence now, and I, for one, am giddy that this massive corporation is so pro-linux. Google has developed some pretty radical stuff.. If you're in to linux, how can you not be excited (or at least curious) about what google + linux distro = ?
I use gentoo + fluxbox myself, but I have a lovely vmware window waiting to try it.
http://cubemonkey.net/quotes -- fortune-mod quote generator
LOOSENING ms hegemonic, emperial grip on the software market, thereby creating and opportunity of release and fresh air for Google AND others to create service-based product or income streams.
Would be quite a relief for MANY innumerable entities I am sure.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Has anyone stopped to consider the impact this will have on the linux world? Average Joe computer user likely doesn't know anything about linux, if they have even heard of it at all. However Average Joe computer user has more than likely heard of Google and uses it quite frequently. If Average Joe is upset with Microsoft and their OS (which many of them are, even if they do just accept it as a fact of life) and hears that those Google folks have a replacement there is a good chance they will check it out. Sure there is a learning curve, but I have seen quite a few people that don't know much about linux or administration happily switch to Ubuntu because it lets them do all the basic things a computer is good for (Surfing, email, word processing, etc) and doesn't turn into a sluggish piece of junk after 6 months. This really could be a big deal if it catches on.
The only change I can believe in is what I find in my couch cushions.
I don't see Google coming with a Microsoft-killer yet. If I look around me only a handful of people actually use their GMail address, the rest keeps sticking to their Hotmail (which is *very* popular in the Netherlands). If they can't even get people to switch away from Hotmail, forget about getting them to switch away from Windows.
"The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries."
Obligatory Stewie Quote: "that's funny to me."
Anyway, the idea that Windows desktop installations will be wholly or mostly eliminated isn't likely. So this means that Google is going after a minority stake in the marketplace. Apple stands a greater chance of offering resistance to Microsoft than any Linux distribution does.
Google could develop its suite of internet aps and make available seamlessly from anyone's desktop - this seems more intuitive to me because you avoid a litany of issues that come with the old school download - install method.
Frankly, isn't the download - install method really old school right now? Isn't that the whole point? Ubiquitous computing - permanent connection - no one has your source code - when patching you only have to apply once to your servers, etc?
I can't understand wanting to fight a war over the desktop when that war's been won already. Not only has the war been won, but the OS empire has grown stale and decadent - and will destroy itself.
I can't help but think that Microsoft is doing some smoke and mirrors play with google and has them spooked. First, they goad google into giving a billion to AOL so they could keep what they already have. Now they have Google developing a OS solution. Isn't that kind of like developing a [insert obsolete technology here] alternative?
A cohesive, easy to implement, networked suite of applications that run both on full-sized browsers and and on mobile browsers for those progressively mobile asian kids. Once Google can reliably get geographically useful ads pushed to a mobile, then they start eating the local advertising lunch. And once they become that pervasive an advertising tool, the game is over. Google wins. But they can't get distracted; Microsoft is fucking with them.
un burrito me trampeó.
This could be good for growing the number of Linux users out there. The only reason I say that is because there are a lot of people out there who aren't complete nerds, and don't know much of anything about Linux, but they are heavy internet users and enjoy computing in general. This audience might not be brave enough to try and install a Linux distro on their own for fear that they'll screw something up. However if there was a link to install a flavor of Linux on Google.com it might tempt them. Furthermore this demographic might be more likely to trust a large company that they've heard of when it comes to their OS, i.e. Microsoft, Google..... whereas they have never heard of mandrake, red hat, ubuntu, or whatever. Now obviously I'm not saying that expert users are going to go install this because they trust Google, you could probably argue the exact opposite, but I do think that these sort of wannabe geeks might try installing Linux if it was provided through a known site to them.
nothing
Why would Google (and any company competing with Microsoft) want to run Windows internally?!
Is Google about to release this as an alternative to Windows?
No, it's an alternative to OS X. No, wait, Solaris. DOS? Pen and paper?. In other news, McDonald's is experimenting with adding another slice of cheese to the cheeseburger. Are they about to release this as an alternative to the chicken sandwich?
The question is not "will this be an alternative to Windows" but rather "how will this affect the push towards a Linux desktop?" Will it further fragment the efforts or will it provide needed standardization? After all, standardization is a big part of why Windows remains successful. Windows provides a common platform upon which other things can be done. The amount of time looking for libs or recompiling or choosing between competing shells is minimized. If Google can build concensus and momentum then we're all better off (and I write this as someone who prefers Windows). If they come out with something too different or they can't build a backing then the adoption of Linux on the desktop will suffer.
Personally, I don't think they're interested in the desktop so much as they'd like to have something to support apps run on the server. Why install Open Office when you can click this icon and run Google's office right off their server?
look at the bottom of the google labs website http://labs.google.com/, and you'll find everything they're planning to do:
algorithms, artificial intelligence, compiler optimization, computer architecture, computer graphics, data compression, data mining, file system design, genetic algorithms, information retrieval, machine learning, natural language processing, operating systems, profiling, robotics, text processing, user interface design, web information retrieval, and more!
Kaetemi
Including the sparse failover functions? Screw Windows, I'll replace Sun and AIX!!!
But seriously, Ubuntu itself is based on all the hard work of Debian. Making a derivative of a derivative distro seems goofy to me. And we have no reason to think Google can make Linux suddenly become an appealing option on the desktop for the average user. Actually a lot of the problems with Linux on the desktop have to do with the nature of open source itself, e.g., the inability to force everyone to accept a decision, which has led to Linux's goofy, inconsistent GUIs for different apps.
Find free books.
I know that Google seems to have "strategies" instead of "strategy." But if you look at Gmail, Maps, etc., these are web based apps that have the bells and whistles usually reserved for desktop apps. So, if they can provide an OS to run them on, you quickly have a completely MS-free web-box. The dumb-web-terminal never quite took off, but now that web apps are richer, maybe some version of it will rise again.
What it takes to get MS and all the virus checking stuff out of my house:
1. web browser - ready
2. itunes (my wife is an addict) - Not sure if this works via WINE. But works on MAC
3. WOW (my kids are addicts) - check
4. wordprocessor, spreadsheet (Open Office, close...) - check
That is all my family needs.
I've recently switched to MAC. So I can honestly say that Microsoft is barely holding on to the other 3 desktops in my house. Apple or Linux, it's pretty much a done deal. As each piece of hardware wears out, it's being replaced by non-MS at this point.
Push the button Max!!!!
All they could do (thanks to the GPL) is add their touches to it. And for it to become a standard, they would have to specify that standard so other people could write to it.
And once they did that, any other group could implement it. It would be like Mandriva(Mandrake) vs. Red Hat. Both use RPM, but people will pick the distro they like. If you like the way Google does things, fine. Use their distro. If not, use some other compatible one.
And yeah, you'd get some people complaining about "those heavy handed Google goons" not setting up /etc the way they like or some other picayune point like that, but so what? The good that would come from this would far outstrip the occasional config gripe.
Also, just as food for thought, what if Google decided to drop 5% of their R&D into Wine? Just 2% then? The Wine guys have done miracles so far on a shoestring. Imagine what the result would be if Google paid a few of those guys to quit their day jobs and work on Wine full-time.
The results would be impressive. Probably amazing even.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Am I the only one who noticed that the article mentions that they plan to bundle Trillian? Trillian is not available for Linux. I can only assume they were referring to GAIM.
Everytime I try Ubuntu (or other Linux distros), I cannot get it to work with my ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon Card (the X600 chipset) with a GUI. This puts me in a bind for desktop use. Me, a person with LINUX OS on his state issued license plate, would like to use it on his best PC without having to finagle a working set of binary drivers from ATI. Until such time that it works, I guess I won't be jumping on any Google release. Changing my hardware is out of the question because I rely on the TV/Video features on the ATI card.
Just a guess, but it makes sense for Google to standardize on one desktop OS for everyone. Using Ubuntu as a base to build a Google-internal OS just makes sense. A number of other companies do the same thing - Cisco is a good example. It'll never see the light of day outside their offices because of the support cost.
****
"I'd never want to join a club that would have me as a member" - G. Marx
Google is making a proof of concept here. They design an LTPS-like desktop that can be remotely managed. This could appeal to companies or organizations that need to continue using legacy (cheap, good, working, no-need-to-upgrade) hardware.
If Google can pull off a GoogLTSP coup, then they could do sort of what Slashcode does for people wanting to use their own internal user service.
If Google provides web-enabled copies or services of OpenOffice.org and other office tools, then it will be a matter of time for ms to see the writing on the wall and start writhing.
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
I'm just plain sick of these guys. They are like an evil Virus lurking through everything. At least with Micrsoft you could chose not to buy their OS or their poducts, with Google they have made it their duty to stick an ad anywhere and on anything possible. It will never stop. The Internet is so cluttered and junky now because of their AdWords that I have resorted to going to the public library and using the dewey decimal system to find information I need.
There appear to be 2 websites uncluttered on the Internet by well placed ads to make you click on them accidently while sorting through a bunch of worthless information written to produce ads, Slashdot and the Google Homepage.
SICK OF GOOGLE!!? START SPEAKING UP!
My guess is that they are tinkering with a distro for a Web tablet, a 'next great thing' that hasn't really caught on fire as of yet.
Ughhh, to hear the words 'Ubuntu' AND 'blog' all day long makes my skin crawl.
Blog post on the subject
Essentially, they could bring a "Spotlight"-like functionality to Linux, tie it into the package manger, and leverage their partnership with Sun to get a really easy-to-maintain desktop. . .
So.. it has come to this
I have to post anonymously, and I won't say *how* I know this --
:)
(which I know lends zero credibility to this post)...
But Goobuntu is being developed for internal use by Google's Linux-using employees.
Makes a lot of sense if you think about it, no?
The wild speculation on this thread amuses the hell out of me.
I'm sure that the Google engineers working on it will spin some of their work back to the community though -- so it should benefit everybody, despite being meant for Google's internal consumption
How can you all not see this? "desktop" is quickly coming to mean "tv-top"
Google has been moving toward organizing the world's information, and providing it in the living room, not the office desk. Google video, phone, music, book, photo, map, weather... just about everything myth's got right now plus more.
If I nailed this one, and google is watching, do I qualify for an interview? I've been linux only since '98, mythTV hacker since 2k1, and ubuntu lover since warty.
Before I part with'em: two pennies weigh ~4.996+/-0.014g, have a zinc core, and the face of Lincoln. You can keep 'em.
is to get the damn thing on my PC. A PC that has barfed on Fedora, SuSe, and Ubuntu. Unless Google can succeed when those others failed, no dice!
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
I agree...the rabid Google-fanboyism is really getting on my nerves, especially since I don't see much in anything Google does, to be impressed by. Google maps, for example, wowed me with the drag-around map, but I can't save addresses. The magic is very much gone from Google Mail. They can't even get the branded search to work right (broke a month or so ago, still hasn't been fixed, returns a fraction of the total results.) They're falling very heavily into the same hole Apple did years ago, getting their fingers into every little cookie jar. Anyway, getting off on a tangent, sorry...
How would creating a Linux distribution even come *close* to being a Windows killer? And, more importantly, how would that make them any money?
Well, it wouldn't be a Windows "killer" for the public, it'd be a Windows "killer" for them internally. If they can lower licensing costs and have easier to maintain, more secure desktops...that sounds like a pretty big win to me. Training issues are largely moot- many of the kinds of employees that would appeal to Google already know Linux, and they don't exactly have a shortage of resumes coming in the door.
Here's hoping they don't fork it...contributing everything back to Ubuntu/Debian, and just changing logos et al on their internal version.
Please help metamoderate.
Maybe they should call it "Banshee", and let the name survive release. It indeed would be a hell ride for mshaft...
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
Google Linux Live CD/DVD.
.) it'll install directly to your drive.
Includes:
OpenOffice.org
Firefox
Flash
Xine (with *licensed* DVD support)
Evolution
Opera
GNOME
Google Earth for Linux
Picassa for Linux
Hello for Linux
Google Desktop for Linux
Google Talk for Linux
Free!
Optionally avaliable for $25, with a combination USB flash drive/802.11g wireless card. Free access to Google Wi-Fi.
Run the live CD, it tests all your hardware, if everything is determined to be compatible (wireless, etc. .
That addresses 80% of users right there, while "saving" them from all the security hassles of Windows. Google can run an update service, and dump newer versions of these apps right on to people's systems.
Then Google can become one of the world's largest software stores, too; (like Linspire) think iTunes for Software, only have it all served by Google, and be designed to work on the Google Linux distribution.
Sure; it won't be slick as OS X. But it'll be way, way slicker than XP. And think about Google's expertise; Google is good at serving lots of customized data. No one will run a better network package management system that Google, especially if Google only has to contend with ONE "stable" version of OS. They could permit other users to access their software, but it would be unsupported; if you wanted it to guaranteed work, you'll be restricted to the Google distribution, which will be tamper resistant (think root account disabled by default, administrator only enabled for power users, requirining a specific interaction with Google (please submit a request to poweruser@gmail.com if you want your system to be unlocked).
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
Um...duh? Cuz it's a combo-word "Google" and "Ubuntu"?
Idiots. The rest of the article is probably based on the same deep fact-checking.
I think goosadbriuntuebnuwhatevertu is the worst name ever. Googlix would be much better.
All hail our new google overlords!
... so the chief asks the explorer, "Death or Goobunto?"
The explorer replies "Death".
To which the chief shouts "Death by Goobunto!".
By your logic, most of the Linux distros wouldn't exist. The point in free software is exactly that: anyone can fork a new project, if a need for improvement is perceived. Maybe Google needs something the Ubuntu community isn't willing to do, or maybe Google feels the changes they want wouldn't interest the Ubuntu community.
Let every real God-fearing American instantly reject this nefarious Marxist subterfuge!
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
If I were Google I would use my massive market capitalization to acquire two companies that would help insure the success of this push:
1. Novell for a "secured" distribution and the experience to back it. Novell is shipping AppArmor in OpenSuse 10.1, and it's quite nice (and finally open as well as free). Another alternative might be Red Hat, for its pioneering work in SELinux.
2. VMWare, for control of "VMWare Player". Users aren't going to uninstall Windows overnight, but they may be happy to launch a Google "machine within a machine". If you haven't tried VMWare Player, check it out, especially the Browser Applicance. Yes, hardware based virtualization is coming, but most people won't be throwing their old hardware away for quite some time, as it is adequate for web browsing and word processing. One of the first things a Google acquired VMWare should do is expand their platform to the Macintosh.
I think those two acquisitions would cement a way to deliver and secure a Linux platform.
GNU
Google's Not Ubantu
Reason #32767 not to use VB6: Integers are 2 bytes... Think about it!
In other news, Google recently purchased Dell, the world's largest manufacturer of personal computers. The combined company will be called Doogell (the 'e' pronounced similarly to that in 'Dell').
And in other other news, Google plans to purchase General Motors, General Electric, my house, and 2 of my children.
So Google are producing a Ubuntu-based distribution. This isn't news as most large companies do this (hell, my last job had 10 staff and we were about to produce a Debian customisation). Google used to use a Red Hat distribution but are have been switching since at least November last year according to https://lists.dulug.duke.edu/pipermail/dulug/2005- November/016656.html.
I'll eat my dog if this ever is released to the world as a "consumer" distribution, designed to take Windows marketshare.
they may as well do it now. You know, with vista at the gates and all.
Who would have thought it would take Google of all companies to finally take Linux out of Beta?
How to use coral cache: http://slashdot.org.nyud.net:8090/~oscartheduck
another thing to take in to consideration, are companies like Adobe.. now that they see a huge name like Google, developing their own flavor of Linux, will other software giants start developing brandname software for Linux?? Because if I can run the Adobe CS on my Linux box, you can kiss anything microsoft related goodbye..
*plays the Apogee theme song music*
I guess since it wil be open source someone can discover if Google builds any nonauthorized information gathering into the system, but with all of the stuff in the news about Google would you trust an OS, for your privacy, from Google?
I don't see much indication that Google has the experience or inclination to play ball in the hardware market, though. They might partner with someone to do it, but their whole focus has been in software.
In some ways, I think gaming consoles will ultimately be what topples M$ as they evolve toward a more multi-purpose consolidated media device in the home. Of course, people say it will come from the computer end, but the cost model for consoles is pretty compelling to a consumer because vendors are subsidizing very nice hardware and recouping the cost in software revenue. That's not the model that computer hardware is designed around (everything is components and the software and hardware vendors are loosely couples).
Anyway, I don't think Google would go the device route at this point. Might be interesting if they partnered with a console company to bring all that functionality to an HDTV though.
Well... I think the answer is simpler than it looks. I would think that revenue from Ad Sense, etc. is all secondary to this project. My thought would be that Google wants to create an OS that it will distribute for free, on the basis that unused CPU cycles are "donated" back to Google to use for its own internal processes (ie. indexing, crawling, etc.). Think about it, Google would have the worlds largest distributed parallel computer crawling and indexing away at their command all for a cost of near peanuts to what it would cost to build by purchasing all the necessary hardware.
The myth of "The Corporate Desktop".
There are lots of corporate users that run Linux on their desktops. There are lots of corporate users who could use Linux, but don't know about it, are afraid to switch, or don't think it's worth the effort. There are also coporate users who simply couldn't do their job if they were forced to run Linux.
Don't tell me that Linux isn't ready for the corporate desktop just because there are people who won't or can't use Linux. I don't use Windows at work...does that mean that Windows isn't ready for the corporate desktop? Of course not.
*sigh* back to work...
...It's a masterplan step?
Ok, ok...Bare with me here as I take you on a fantastic journey to the land of make believe...
What is Google's biggest threat? Microsoft. (Not that they'd admit it..)
What is Microsoft's source of power? Money and Marketshare (replace with "Monopoly" as appropriate).
What's the basis for this? Desktop share and Public ignorance of alternatives.
What is Google's power? Branding. Search engine aside, Google is riding a wave of buzz!
Sooooo...A link to a Google branded OS on the main search page...possible follow-up links to Ubuntu or other FOSS sites... Come next upgrade cycle, more users turn to non-Windows operating systems...
*Sigh* Well, I can dream, can't I?
"...So I hung back and lurked. For 18 months. Can't beat a good old-fashioned lurking."
"any OS that locks you out of all OS's for installing it does not have high "usability" and so forth"
So, if you're installing Windows on a computer that already has Linux on it, and it fails, does your Linux distro still work (without fixing anything first)?
When you have problems with Windows are the free Windows forums better than ubuntuforums.org?
I won't try to claim that any Linux distro has high usability, because that's a matter of opinion.
However, since Windows fails in the same two ways that Ubuntu does, what OS do you consider to have high "usability"?
I'd rather see Google spend resources getting the WINE project more fully compatible with lots of Windows (and DOS) applications. Thát'd give a boost to adoption and give software vendors a smoother road to transition.
This might be the goods. Grandma buys a Google-branded flash drive from Wal-Mart and plugs it into her crotchety old win95 box and viola! She can take it to the kids' houses and have her environment follow her around. She's got a bunch of AJAX apps running local CGI when she's offline and syncing up with her Google account when she connects to the world. The apps access OpenOffice libs to render and edit M$-docs. The jump drive appears as a data drive under M$-Ware and even has the same AJAX utilities with the same look+feel and syncing capabilities. Grandma just plugs in and goes. She can boot from the drive or just use it under the Billyware or whatever. Done right, she would neither know nor care about the OS layer. She surfs the net and sends electronic greeting cards via email. That's the extent of Grandma's computational skill set. The whole environment fits in Granny's reading glasses case. Life is good.
As far as Google working on this, they immediately gain market share because people are such die hard fans of Google. Ubuntu is clearing going to benefit from this and so is the opensource community. As stated earlier, all of a sudden, linux becomes 'trusted' with the Google trademark. Good move for Google and the opensource community.
[%] Cingular Ringtones
We'll finally get a frick'n Google Earth client for Linux?
Oh yes, I can see people flocking to use this as soon as they discover they must get used to [Cancel] [OK] thanks to GNOME's unique Human Interface Guidelines.
I can actually think of nothing more annoying and more likely to put people off after just a few minutes...
People knock KDE for "becoming a Windows clone" but if it seems familiar people will be more than happy to use it.
+1 Damn funny
And in other news, the popular search engine booble is also working on a Linux distro called boobuntu
Seconds later, Bill walks in and places a box of Kleenex on Ballmer's desk.
www.linuxpenguin.net
Does it run Linux?
Two things that guarantee such a thing will not become a product for general distribution:
1. Lack of complete and seamless multimedia support
2. Support infrastructure
I'm sure many will want to argue with #1, but don't kid yourself. Linux doesn't support the most popular formats completely, and the integration w/ the system and browser is not seamless.
On a computer or under a hood.
Martin Fink tells it like it is!
Perhaps this is just another step in Google's effort to build the [distributed] machine that will pass the Turing test (as previously mentioned http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/12/194 7227)?
A) Put ads on the desktop
B) Charge for the OS - A sure fire way to make all those Ubuntu people REALLY happy.
I do not pretend to underestimate the amount of clout the Google name has. But how much of that clout will be used in ways which don't violate the "Dont be evil" rule?
I'm a fiscal conservative, it's a pity we don't have a political party anymore
Could this possibly be related to the $100 laptop project that google is involved in.
:)
Contrary to many people who have laughed at the idea of google getting involved in an OS project, the $100 laptop project could result in a fairly large install base of Goobuntu. No doubt it will also involve the installation of a lot of google desktop stuff(crap?) and the viewing of the odd Adwords advert...
Although Google is no longer looked on quite so favourably I'm still quite excited at the prospect of a major Linux push in developing countries. So I say Go Go Google!
Matt.
when their operating system is as secure as Linux, but works like a Mac. Easy folks, easy easy easy.
/. disagree.
Simplicity is at the core of Google.. Linux is a bit complex for your 'average' joe -- regardless of how much the zealots on
The price is always right if someone else is paying.
Hey! Dats a gob-a-goo-buntu to you f*#& face.
$ whatis msft msft: nothing appropriate
Why? You fail to say what Apple has that is so great.
Frankly, isn't the download - install method really old school right now?Only if you ass-u-me everyone can afford always-on internet or works/lives/travels where it is available and never fails. (rural, poor, travel) You also have to trust your provider and the web for security, availability, staying in bussiness.
Never trust a man wearing a coat and tie!
Debian is acceptable, and Google knows how to make a decent UI, so if they're writing their own window manager for this, this could be the best linux ever. Too few details to get excited about, but the concept has potential.
--The universe will not be altered by forum threads, even those which are very wry. --Tycho Brahe (Penny Arcade)
Google's online stuff is fantastic, but I downloaded their "google pack" and was less than whelmed. "Google Earth" won't fit my 800x600 screen (my vid card and monitor disagree about higher resolutions), and there are a lot of folks who still run 640x480.
The screen saver won't save your screen; it is a reproduction of one of the screen savers that comes with Windows, except "Google" stays on the screen when the screen is supposedly being saved, guranteeing that "Google" will be burned into your screen. Kinda defeats the whole purpose.
Picassa is likewise a joke. I wound up deleting the whole shebang; it slowed my 1700 mhz machine (with a brand new windows install) to a crawl.
If Google fails it with Ubantu like they failed it with their "Google Pack," I fear they could kill Ubantu.
mrc?="disarm"
I'd be careful about singing Google's praises at this point. People tend to think that Google is a super-hero of sorts in the computing world. Sure they came up with some great stuff, but so did Microsoft (Ok, Microsoft came up with ONE thing, but it still revolutionized the industry) in the beginning. Remember, all the "Do no evil" chanting in the world doesn't change the fact that thay're a multi-billion dollar corporation, with an extremely over-inflated stock price I might add. Their job is to make more money first, period. That's why they're bowing down to China faster than a Vietnamese hooker (so much for "do no evil"). With an OS in their hands, they have the potential to do a LOT more big-brother type spying on EVERYONE, including Americans. Sure, competition is good, but when more than one monolith corporation exists in the same market, there tends to be a feeling of Mutually-Assured-Destruction. The two could form an alliance, and we'd be screwed for sure. Just look at the oil companies and their "competition."
The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries.
Please please please tell me they were kidding.
120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
If what you say is true, it will have to supplement Windows, otherwise the first thing out of Joe Sixpack's mouth when he gets this "backend system" will be "Where's Word at?".
"The Goober". (:
I saw a few comments about how Google is a public company and how would making a new distribution make them any money. A Google branded linux has instant brand recognition, and corporations/individuals looking for a Microsoft replacement are more likely to trust this brand name. Google could then decide to sell support to those who indeed install the Google branded linux operating system.
If a Google OS forces MS to lower the prices on Windows, it destroys a critical source of free cash that MS uses to wage war in other areas. Google may have well decided that, in addition to serving as useful advertising, a Google OS may be just the thing to put MS on the defensive. It hurts Microsoft's cash flow, presents a real threat to their financial operations and prevents them from attacking Google's own profitable areas.
Apple has an operating system with trusted mindshare for stable and easy computing. Linux does not. Hence uphill climb.
Re: the ass-u-me comment. Trust my provider: like other commodities like power, water, gas, etc? To not go out of business? like the aforementioned utilities? Security? You walk the streets believing in law enforcement without actually seeing a cop, don't you.? Not going out of business - like your cell phone company? I don't understand what you're asking.
Re assuming that most can afford it and or lives in a place where it's available: urban centers in the US alone gives me 50 million users. In China, urban centers alone gives me 300 million potential users. the mobile connection is ALWAYS on, buddy. Maybe you ass-u-me no change in the marketplace so you see it as it is now.
un burrito me trampeó.
A full Googlized version of Ubuntu only makes sense if it was geared explicitly toward search: much like Apple's Spotlight on steroids. But that can be accomplished with an application, not a full-blown operating system. Google is not interested in building a product if it does not align with their core mission, which is search. They have no interest in destroying Microsoft completely, they do not want to get into an OS war, and they certainly don't want to start diversifying to the point where their "One Thing" becomes "One Thing In Each Market." They want to do search, and do it well.
Google also does not want to replace the infrastructure in any given market; that's too much hassle. They just want to work within it. Notice, they have no interest at all in entering the cell phone or PDA market, but they certainly make their products work very well with existing technology in those markets. I think the same will hold true of OSs: they don't want to REPLACE your OS, they just want you to search with Google FROM your OS, and hopefully click on some AdWords along the way. If that means integrating their search directly into the OS so you don't have to open a browser (a la Google Desktop) then that is a step toward their goal. Replacing the entire OS is unnecessary complexity.
My guess is that the OS is being developed exclusively for inhouse use, since Google has only confirmed its existence, not it's purpose. Everything about releasing this Goobuntu to the public is pure speculation on the Register's part. Companies roll out custom OSs for inhouse use all the time; even companies using Windows have IT departments that build their own images to propegate out to the client machines, customizing which services and programs will be available. That's a "custom OS", too.
For security, the MD5 hash of this message and sig is 09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0.
If Google is working on an actual OS, and not just something to work in the background of, say, a cybercafe computer, then this may be the push Linux needs to become a major Desktop player.
Not that many people know about Linux. A lot of people know about Google, to the point that "google" has become a verb ("search for"). If someone suggests putting a Linux OS on a computer, the common man will be unsure and wary of it, knowing little about Linux, despite how much it's used regularly. However, say you want to put a new OS from Google on it, and a lot of people will open up. After all, they're used to the Google web search interface, a well made, easy-to-use thing. Surely they can make an OS, too.
If Google does it right, a lot of people will migrate. "Goobuntu" (which is a stupid name) will be a gateway drug, as it were. Those who are fine with what Google offers in its OS will stay there, while those more interested in digging deeper will move on to other distros.
Google's main hurdle is being user-friendly. Yes, yes, I'm sure you can get exactly the same result for $X_COMPONENT in Linux as you do in Windows by putting $REALLY_COMPLICATED_STRING in at the command line/terminal, but regular users will be easily confused by that. Hell, most won't even want to know about the command line/terminal. A sleek interface where most common tasks are either easy to do by the user, or done automatically, is what will push this forward.
And, if the user just has to go into the terminal line, make the commands easier to understand and more intuitive. Move instead of mv, delete instead of whatever is there now, list instead of ls, find instead of grep, help instead of man, etc. With the processing power we have these days, short (and unintuitive) commands really aren't necessary, and if anyone wants the Linux desktop to experience growth, they need to go.
I know that I, in my limited knowledge and use of Linux, routinely get frusturated having to search (I mean, man -k) again and again for a simple command.
Only time will tell, however.
Folks, it's all well and good to talk about how Google can help Linux. I didn't see any threads talking about how Linux would help Google - cuz if it didn't make them money, they'd be better served donating and taking the writeoff.
Will it watch your commands so as to offer ads? Will it monitor your data so as to offer ads?... You get the picture.
Do we want that?
google got into trouble with copyright infringement once with their trying to copy all the books in libraries, i can see them being sued by hundreds of companies who will say that the code for linux uses some similar algorithm to something they have patented and everyone has forgotten about. think SUSE Linux for the template for whats going to happen
I remember reading an article here a couple months back. It talked about Google's future plans and mentioned them of looking into cheap (I think they gave the estimate of about $100) home PCs running a Linux based OS. This could very well be what they are working on.
Any thoughts?
Apparently they're working on a GooI.
Perhaps for a media center PC?
"Probably because the world so desperately needs something to kill windows."
2001...2...3...4...5...6 is the year that Linux kills Windows.
"Mac OS X is a great alternative, but Apple's giving no indication of any intention to ship it on the generic x86 machines."
Revenge is the OSS heart. Not Jobs.
To me the main problem is ERP, HR and accounting software. Office is no problem now, and email is easy. Linux has some really good replacements, but ERP, HR and accounting software are mainly Windows based. OK, Oracle will run on anything, but most companies do not use, or want to use Oracle. Apart from that, ADP is Windows, and most accounting software is pushed by the CPA's, so they use Windows too.
This to me as an IT guy is the main problem. Get ERP, HR and accounting on Linux, and most companies in the world will jump on it. Until then Linux will not get over 10% of the market.
Flame on...
Indeed, they are highly motivated to never, ever release OS X for non-Macs. Apple is a hardware company. They make much more money from a Mac sale than an OS X sale. MS makes its money from software, without any hardware to sell with it. It's no surprise that Google would want a slice of that pie. And, like Apple, they are using a solid open-source operating system and making it usable.
Google OS helps Dell sales. If it runs on Macs (and why wouldn't it?), it will also help Mac sales, so expect Apple to embrace this project. The only person this hurts is MS.
...that what they're building isn't a general OS, it's an in house standardized desktop distro. An OS by Google, for Google. Not for outside release!
Seriously, these are the smartest people in the world, why would they waste effort on an obvious loss?
Why would google tarnish their image and shake their investors with this move? Afterall, unless you're running some archaic kernel/GNU suite stable enough for a server box only, all linux distros (including Ubuntu) are awash in bugs and instability in comparison to Windows (as a desktop); flash/mozilla cpu spikes, "beta" hal/dbus quirks, laptop IDE device burning, video/audio codecs, et cetera.
For those who can read between the lines, this is just an investor pump to keep the stock ticker moving upwards. No news is bad news in the financial world, and the energetic creative Google image relies upon always "being on the move". I wouldn't even consider this a "trial balloon", but just as the article cites "as a hobby by their staffed developers on the weekend for possible in house use only" with the added benefit of dangling market carrot sticks before the public.
If google wanted an OS, they'd develop it from scratch and not rely/lag on third party developers like Mark's team, as good a job as they do. They would, however, have their own. A google OS is worth more to their image than all their tools combined to date. Why on earth would they partner with Microsoft or Ubuntu or anyone else? That's just plain market folly...
I have Goobuntu invites, 50 of them to give out to friends. If you are interested then post a reply with your e-mail address.
Thanks, I'll be here all week... be sure to tip your waitress.
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
So GoogleOS looks like Windows XP, but with annoying transparency and Google's name plastered everywhere? No thanks...
Why is Google putting together a distro? Because it's the first step in a longer-term plan.
Note that Google recently hired away a Microsoft engineer who believes that Microsoft no longer knows how to ship software and believes in the web-services model. He was one of the principal architects of Hailstorm.
Here's what I see Google doing:
1. Create a usable, simple, Google distro that the masses can use for web/email/etc.
2. Market the hell out of it until they get a certain viable user base.
3. Start equipping a few thousand public libraries with a few Google Distro machines each, and monitor their usage
4. Here's the key step: in all high-bandwidth installations, CONVERT THE GOOGLE DISTRO MACHINES TO DISKLESS TERMINALS with the same UI.
5. People get used to having 'their' desktop available to them in multiple locations, spanning a disked install with networked-synched customizations to the diskless terminals.
6. The era of disk-based installs of OSs dies a well-deserved death.
7. Profit!!
If you think about it, a lot of Google's products (Gmail, the Google Toolbar) are introducing portable features. A new OS distro that they can eventually deploy as a diskless terminal version for high-bandwidth locations is the next logical step. And there will be more tears in Redmond when that happens.
Read the best of all of Slash: seenonslash.com
The biggest cost of a Windows PC is rapidly becoming the Operating System itself. Google can undercut Microsoft by "adopting" a distro and selling a branded PC. This would go a long way towards slowing the MS advance.
Microsoft, Google's biggest natural enemy, is fueled by the unnaturally high price of its products.
Google needs to fight Microsoft on the OS front for two reasons:
Google has the marketing arm to push the product, the credibility to attract buyers and the cash reserve to handle problems.
The way I see it, this absolutely has to be done; to ignore Microsoft's desktop dominance is foolish and to assume they won't use it to unseat Google is suicidal.
MjM
XKCD:Xeric Knowledge Comically Dispen
I suspect that once again more is being read into Google's actions than what they are really going to do. I recall their was quite a bit of speculation and excitement when Google and Sun announced a joint project. It turned out to be nothing more than an offer to install Google Toolbar when Java is installed on Windows. It is a good move for Google but nothing to write home about.
As long as speculation is allowed, perhaps they are going to release some sort of "Safe Browsing" system. If it were something like a VMPlayer image then it would require very little effort on end users' parts. A Google-branded replacement for VMware's "Browsing Appliance" is what I'm thinking of.
Even that is probably far more exotic than what they are really up to. Another possibility is a set of packages that easily installs on Ubuntu that gives quick access to things like GMail and perhaps a browser toolbar. Ubuntu probably has a enough mindshare that the minimum effort those packages would take would yield a decent return.
Whatever it is, I doubt it will be mind-blowingly fantastic or any sort of stick in MS' eye.
Does this mean Google earth and talk will finally be available for linux?
"More to the point, what does Google plan to do that Ubuntu isn't already doing? The Ubuntu project has already made good progress in terms of usability and so forth; why would Google want to mess with a good thing?"
Google has a lot of the best and the brightest to throw at Linux. I like Ubuntu and use it on my desktop but what have they done in usability? They use Gnome and frankly have one of the worst color schemes on the planet.
I like Gnome but I feel it is FAR from prefect.
Ubuntu is nice and is okay to install but try to play MP3s or videos without editing a text file first.
Google could do a lot.
I think this a myth but Google could do a lot with Linux. Maybe this is just someones side project. We will see.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Its all about the Windows API. For anything to become a Windows killer, the API must be extended nearly perfectly. For machines running on x86 or AMD hardware, this is simple. The API must only run pipes from the Windows system calls to the comparable Linux system calls. When there are no system calls, the machine just runs like it should. However, other hardware adds another complexity, although that can be solved relatively efficiently (a la Rosetta). Instructions can be translated across architecture at the machine level and then execute the code natively. Obviously this would run (O)2n versus (O)n on a native machine. It wouldn't really be emulation, because the entire processor and memory structure would have to be "emulated".
Why the API, you may ask? Because the API is what gives Windows its power. Now how can I be so sure? Because most Windows users out there admit that they really dislike using their computers. But they keep coming back to them. Why? Because Windows runs the programs most users want to run. In fact, Microsoft has taken great pains to ensure the WAPI runs almost completely backward compatibly, even building in certain performance "bugs" (improving them so they run efficiently) simply so that applications that worked with Windows N will work for N++. If the popularity of an OS depended upon security, efficiency, process management, and the other technical details that we geeks care about, Windows would have died before its birth. Bill Gates' genius came from marketing, in which he persuaded all the IBM-clone companies to license Windows. Then, once a solid legion of PCs had been produced, the Windows API became ever important. Windows was always a fairly "popular" operating system, but it really took off with Windows 3.1, which led to the infamous Win95. The relative ease of use, requiring little to no DOS experience, and built in software packages, such as Works, all contributed to the overall attractiveness of the system. With the legions of developers salivating at the opportunity to pounce at all those IBM-clones, the Windows API provided the foundation of Microsoft's continued growth. What's the result? 90% (guess-timate) of the world's computers run Windows OS. Mac, Linux, and other various flavors of Unix make up the remaining 10%, along with obscure systems like OS/2 and Amiga and mainframe systems, running very old software and systems.
The WAPI isn't easy to fall. Most notably, WINE, the application for Linux and various x86 Unix boxes to run Win32 apps, is a fairly good match for Windows, but has definite bugs to be ironed out. WINE has some problems like rendering windows not completely obeying the Windows API (like QuickTime). If Google hones in on the API issue, they will be in like Flynn. To live in a post-Windows world, we need to adequately match the Windows API. We all know how far superior a Linux or Unix experience is to Windows. We also must realize that Windows is king for a reason, and to behead the king, we need to beat the king at his own game. Google is the first company to be zealous enough to really attempt a coup. Apple is too proud (though I love Apple and am running a Mac right now).
My reaction to this news about Goobuntu is, well, "WAPPPPIIIII!!!!"
To a distributed datacentre on top of a nicely distributed filesystem. I wouldn't bother releasing a linux *distribution* if I had N thousand machines that I could run Linux desktops on. Run common applications like word processing, accounts, web, basically anything you can run on your machine just now.
Suddenly people can sell dirt cheap little $20 VNC data access devices. Have adverts scroll across the bottom of the desktop when people have logged in.
Deleted
Google's Dan Kegel will be speaking at SCALE 4x on the subject of Linux on the Desktop. Google will also be exhibiting at the show.
I hope to see Google Earth on some goobuntu repository.
davejumpers.com
Since 'Google' is a household name, it is more likely to be accepted and has the best chance of any Linux company taking a sizable niche of the OS market away from Microsoft.
Forgive the ad hominem-iness of this, but that's among the most ridiculous and / or soft-balliest tosses ever seen here on Slashdot (that's saying something ...).
Three things that immediatly come to mind are 1. billions of US$$, 2. some of the most brilliant and directed engineering minds and 3. humoungous gobs of clout of several stripes (e.g. marketing; visibility; corporate).
Regarding the "trust" it'd bring to GNU/Linux as a platform, allow me to play Devil's Advocate and say it would also bring out the foil hats: would a running a GoogleOS mean they have deep knowledge of your search and other online activities, but also of your application preferences and usage patterns, even the specifics of your local docs, log files, etc?
For my own use and reasons, I would not have an issue with this presuming this the Value of this (speculative) OS outweighed the privacy concerns AND said privacy concerns were fully documented and published.
It's all moot until something actually comes out of Google Labs for use by the public; presuming there even is "Goobuntu / Goonux / GNUgle" work going on, who's to say it's not intended for Internal Use Only?
(I see there's been quite a good, informed dialog sparked by this initial question while I've been thinking / writing / spell checking (silly me ...); forgive the -1 Redundancy)
This has been leaked before by none other than Bill Gates.
Why ubuntu and not something.... better?
Or is there something of ubuntu that I'm missing. It default configuration seems
incredibly sluggish when compared to Suse 10 or even MS's crap, especially when
launching new applications. Is there some way to fix this?
Non sequitur: Your facts are uncoordinated.
And I saw them here.
I doubt this is any more than a crude WindowBlinds mock-up skin.
Both Google and Ubuntu will be exhibiting at the Southern California Linux Expo February 11th and 12th at the Radisson hotel at Los Angeles Airport. In addition both Chris Dibona and Dan Kegal from Google will be speaking at the show.
If you select Chinese for the UI, it logs all your e-mail and web browsing and sends a copy to a central server for indexing?
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Excellent. Now maybe I can figure out how to get Beagle and Dashboard working.
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/5729?wlg=yes
Chris
Co-Editor, Open Sources
Open Source Program Manager, Google, Inc.
I'm dreaming I know, but here's what I'd want in it:
1) PAM module to authenticate against GMail's account database.
2) The backing store for GMail is made available via WebDAV, much like Apple does with DotMac.
3a) When you log by booting a Goobuntu Live CD, your WebDAV folder is mounted as your home directory.
3b) When you log on to a system that's installed on a hard drive, it syncs it with a local disk image instead. When you log out, the synced disk image is encrypted immediately, and deleted after enough time without use.
4) I want a browser interface for some of the stuff in there, for when I can't get to a Goobuntu box. Much of this is already covered (bookmarks, mail), but I'd like more (contact list, documents).
Then, I could have a desktop machine at home, a laptop, and a Live CD. I could log in to any of them and have the same environment, with all my content ultimately stored on (and indexed by, sure) Google's servers. A buddy could come over and just use it. I could go to a buddy's house and just use his system. And so on. And if I'm at a kiosk at a conference, I can still just bring up a web interface and get some things done.
(While I'm at it, can I have SyncML too?)
It's true that IBM has extensive knowledge and experience in the OS area, but the problem with big blue is that desktop (consumer) Linux will probably never be a priority. IBM's business model is based around two things: business hardware and consultants. Because consulting is a major part of their business they don't have much incentive to improve the usability or ease of install for Linux. Instead, they'll focus their efforts on stuff that helps them in the server market: portability, performance, reliability, etc. Don't get me wrong, this does help Linux, but not in a way that results in it being preinstalled on a consumer desktop or laptop.
764 hits (total)& start=10&sa=N
l ang_en&sa=X&oi=lrtip9
http://www.google.com/search?q=goobuntu&hl=en&lr=
7 hits (English only)
http://www.google.com/search?q=goobuntu&hl=en&lr=
It would be interesting to see the rise in # of hits over lets say next 1-2 month on this FUD..
Far bigger brands than Google have failed to push product. Do we recall Ford's Edsel or the "New" Coca Cola any more? Further Google is not that big a brand. Perhaps most people kinda sorta remember it. But you can bet that most of those associate that brand with the niche market of web searches not providing a new OS. Frankly, IBM has far more weight here.
Finally, is there any reason to believe that Google's brand will have the same impact ten years down the road when this hypothetical OS would compete with MS? It's not even clear to me that Google will stay in business that long. Recall that Google itself is a bit over seven years old.
As stated in other posts, Google's focus is SEARCH. So why an OS and why linux? I can think of several reasons. First, MS is trying desperately to encroach on Google's search dominance. Regardless of your opinion of their probability of success, they can cause a great deal of harm to Google just by competing (to say nothing of the litigation that is sure to come out of it). MS gets most of their revenue from the desktop market, and they are using this money to fund their invasion of Google's turf. By "legitimizing" linux with the Google name (and any other intra-corporate agreements Google uses to promote their OS) Google is able to cut the legs off MS's financing machine and gets their biggest rival to go on the defensive. By using linux, Google is building on something that many people have heard of, and the free (as in beer) release of the OS ensures rapid encroachment onto MS's market share. Second, there will be ads, but they won't affect us. Google knows the importance of staying friendly with the techie community. By releasing their OS under the GPL, they make the "geeks" happy with fresh code for their favorite distro and the ability to modify Goobuntu to eliminate ads. Grandma and Grandpa, however, along with most computer users, won't want to bother with these modifications, giving Google a great increase in advertisement dissemination. Unlike AOL, Google knows that unobtrusive advertising is less likely to be rebelled against en masse. (Besides, how many users still use AOL ads nonwithstanding?) So the geeks and corporations get to protect privacy and tweak and tune to their hearts content, but the other 90% of society gets added to google's ad base. As far as a SETI-style use of spare processor cycles....I doubt it will be a "standard" part of the OS, but I certainly could see one of Google's developers setting something like this up on casual Friday! Long story short, it won't kill MS overnight, but it will put Redmond on the defensive. They'll actually have to be innovative on Vista++ just to maintain whatever remnant of the market they're left with after Goobuntu's release. Google doesn't want to be evil, but that doesn't mean they can't show a little business acumen. Google tends to release things that benefit both the public and their own interests at the same time. I see no reason to expect otherwise from a Google/Linux OS.
He who would be a man, must be a nonconformist. -- Emerson
If there is a demand for Linux tax software, someone will write it. There are already browser based tax things (eg UFile) that work on Linux, and, if all else fails, there's always H and R block.
What Google will do is what Apple done.. they will do a gadget.
:)
:)
Even if it is a whole OS it will be like Apple, they will have a control over the hardware.
Not that anyone will not be able to install it on normal x86 machine, just they will probably sold it as a piece.
So it still will be Linux but just a cheaper-gadget box with install new software by wire as Linspire do.
With this plan they can easly capture 5-10% of the current PC market.
I can even go further one day it can become i biggest-cluster-computer-network as we seen in many sci-fi movies, Terminator anyone
They dont need to attack head to head MS to beat them, MS is a thing of the past, unless they start to work google-style. A pure Desktop-alike OS needs much more money and involvement. The gadget like thingy need small amount of money but can return alot of cash.
The pure-Desktop will return more cash but need alot of cash to be invested.
So Google have piece of the cacke and if this thingy seems good as community-driven-Linux-OS, then Google can embarce it. They just need to sponsor some key figures of such community driven process..
If i can go small step further this gadget will be connected to the core Google buisness, plus some small additions
my 5c
Thanks to Slashdot, your post is archived.
I predict this will happen.
History will prove me right.
See you soon,
Booble is working on it's own distrubtion of Ubuntu. They will call it Boobuntu.
With so many investors mesmerized by Google, slapping the name on a Linux distribution might finally give it enough credibility for businesses to consider a full desktop OS replacement. The choice of Ubuntu isn't an accident either...it's by far the best at supporting things like plug-and-play hardware and all the other stuff that makes Windows easy to use for people.
The best thing they can possibly do is choose a single set of applications and stick to it. No regular user wants to run or learn to use three office suites, nine media players and 50+ text editors. Google could choose one vendor, plow huge amounts of money into the project and finally force some standardization in the Linux world. That's one of the chief complaints I hear from corporate IT people about Linux...their people just want one tool to get their work done. Microsoft accomodates this by maintaining IE, Office, Media Player, etc. and making sure they play well together.
There's something wrong with drivers on Linux, but there's something wrong with drivers on Windows and OS X as well. On Windows, many drivers that get shipped with hardware are already outdated by the time they reach the customer. And OS X supports a lot less hardware than Linux. On the whole, the Linux driver situation is pretty good relative to other systems, it's just that drivers suck everywhere.
The other points you observe are that binary-only distributions of anything (drivers or apps) are not well supported. That's deliberate. People who work on open source software believe that it is the economically more efficient model for the software business. That belief is no more and no less religious than your or Microsoft's that software should be binary only and proprietary. May the better business model win.
One would think they'd come up with a better name...
Oh, and why not gentoo? (it already has a g and two o)
and all the other tech companies that you mentioned. All those tech companies were big names in the IT field. Average Joe didn't know jack about them. Google on the other hand is a brand name that even Average Joe knows about. THAT is what I think might help here. I'm not saying it's gonna be a success because of the Google touch, just saying there is a lot more value to this brand than the other brands you mentioned.
-ItsME
We "Dyson" the carpets in my home.
It makes sense to me that Google make this a web based thing. So, I can have my desktop with some/most of the basic functionality of any other desktop and access it from anywhere. Not a Windows-killer, per se, but useful. Then they can integrate their other apps (Gmail, maps, search, etc) into that "portable" or "ubiquitous" environment. This may be nothing more than an application delivery device, and the applications as ad devliery devices.
I just hope Google isn't pussy footing around. Apple's Mac OSX (Darwin on top of what amounts to FreeBSD) is proof that a Windows killer can be created by a commercial entity other than Microsoft with open source software.
I think it is a mistake for Google to use anything GPL based, though. They should do what Apple did and use a BSD derivation, they tend to be lighter weight and it obviously has the potential to become something much more, as Mac OSX has proven. And, the BSD minimalism fits in with Google's image better than Linux which is rather feature bloated. I would suggest OpenBSD, since its rather secure and lightweight. Toss a Windows emulation layer (Wine) in, a customized BSD kernel and Google's own window manager/desktop environment and you have a product.
It's the presentation layer that needs to be impressive to pull people in. It needs to feel stable, useful, productive, pretty, and yet simple.
Games, music, browsing, downloading, development, movies, word processing, drawing and design, and various other tasks are things people are looking to do with a PC.
XMMS is a great alternative to WMP and WinAMP on unices, it *can* be stylish and plays lots of formats, even has visualizations. It's based on the original X11Amp which WinAMP was based on. Firefox is hands down the best browser in the market right now, and has been ported to every platform. Azureus is the best bittorrent client at the moment, and its Java so its platform independant. For other networks, there are similar appications for unix-based systems. GCC is a great, and so is Java, and Python which all exist on Linux/BSD, and Eclipse is a nice portable IDE that can work with many languages though it was made originally for Java, it's great to do C/C++ development with. And, KDeveloper is nice too, and there are others like Emacs and Rhide. As for movies I'm not sure because I haven't used linux/bsd in a long time but I'm sure there is something. Abiword and Openoffice can read Microsoft word formats, excel documents, etc. Gimp is almost as good as Adobe Photoshop, I guess, I've always preferred Photoshop though. There are also various CAD tools available, and Blender. However, nothing beats Maya, 3DSMax, Lightwave, Softimage XSI. Though, I think there are unix ports of some of these, cause unix boxes make good render farms.
Games is a rather big problem for unix systems right now, nothing can change that.
Perhaps they're modding it to be a home media server in a box (with Google providing the box if you don't want to be bothered) that can also act as a standard desktop at the flick of a switch. That would tie in with Cringely's ideas for all the dark fiber they're buying up and their current moves into more traditional media, as well as past speculation about them buying into TiVo. Imagine a nice Google appliance in your living room that does everything that TiVo, bittorrent, {insert media craze here}, etc. promise but don't quite achieve, supported by the initial purchase price plus actually useful advertising. And if you don't want to buy the box, which isn't a revenue stream anyway, just slap LiveGoobuntu on your generic box.
Google is doing this because they're smart, and they realize how dangerous it is to be competing with MS and relying on them simultaneously. They've learned the lesson that MS will do anything it can to crush competitors, so why take a chance that Vista will become incompatible with Google someday.
How pathetic are you that you follow me from topic to topic and waste all your mod points at once modding me down?
Rather interesting that 4 of the top 10 are either Debian or Debian based -- The heart and soul of freedom software. Goobuntu will only futher this trend.
Honestly, I'm only going to respond to a few things in this post to try and show you why Linux will never be on the desktop in its current form.
.app file which can be dragged to the trash. I was hoping the Linux community could come up with something more original though, and certainly something more "fancy" than "oh, just delete the directory it's in". Good work.
And this is one of the "features" of Linux vs. Windows. If you WANT "binary drivers that Just Work", go with Windows.
Just Work. Do you know why people want things that Just Work? Because it's a pain in the ass if they don't. Why can't drivers work? Don't give me bullshit about it not working with other kernels, I don't care, and neither does everybody else who just wants to use a computer. If it's not doing it now, figure it out. I don't care if it's not a binary, I don't want to see it compile, and I don't want compilation errors, or an error telling me to go get gtk or some other library.
No easy install/uninstall: Sounds like you are carping about the Linux systems themselves. As far as your BINARY APPLICATION goes -- keep it in a single directory (tree). Uninstall? Remove the tree. You want to get fancy? Combine that with bundling into a RPM.
Maybe after I "get fancy" I can get a GUI too, huh? Nobody knows what a tree is, nobody can manage directory structures, and why the hell should they have to? Make a fucking install/uninstall screen, have it manage it itself. Or just copy OSX, and have everything in a
Actually that's all I'm going to say, it's frustrating to see people who think like this. You can use bash? Great. vi? Great. Emacs? Wonderful. Nobody cares, windows is popular because nobody cares, and maybe you should understand that. No? Then don't bitch about Linux not being used.
Ubuntu installer can resize ntfs & fat32 partitions to make room for ubuntu... works pretty well.
ISVs generally don't like Linux.
Some of them went through a phase where they ported apps for Redhat 6.x - 7.x and declared their product as "Redhat Compatible". Ostensibly anyone shopping for 3rd-party software for Linux was supposed to look for "Redhat Compatible".
The problem was that Redhat broke binary compatability way too often, and this turned developers off to "Linux". Other distros also proved popular over time, and they had differing package formats and criteria that needed to be observed; targeting "linux" became increasingly difficult. So the corporate defacto-standard failed.
The LSB Desktop standard should be finalized later this year. If we start to see RPMs targeted at "LSB Desktop 1.0" then I would consider it a success.
Oh ! ok now even google want a piece of linux,you know why because , linux is becaming most popular desktop, daily i see ppl moving to linux , no matter what obstacle they face initially,in return what they get is freedom from viruses,adwares,malwares etc wares. If google keeps with the philosophy of linux , i do not mind , but if they try to dictate terms then they can go and fuck themselves. Google use to be a good search engine(site) , but now it only gives spam,but it is the only search engine(site or watever). So, wat will happen to other distros, will they loose out to google.
Bundling. It will take a hardware company to take Linux to the mainstream. What percentage of Windows users could do an install of Windows, much less Linux? They use Windows because that is what came on their pc. Once the OS becomes all crufted up, as it will inevitably do, they go buy another computer.
IBM is doing great things in pushing Linux in the server market. Now we need a desktop equivalent to that. IMHO, Wal-Mart should try this again. I know it didn't go over well the first time, but I still see them along with a cheap hardware supplier as the best answer for pushing Linux into the mainstream.
Provide a cheap computer that gets you on the web, gets your email, lets you look at pictures and listen to music, play a few timekiller games, and you've made 90% on the home pc users happy. Linux is ready for the desktop, and once it's a easily available alternative (already on the new computer) it will begin a new era of personal computing for the masses.
Ignore anything I said above, I actually agree with everything you believe - mod accordingly.
If they really are working on a distro, it would be great! I'll definitely pay for a very well done distro that supports most hardware and has a well organized batch of apps. Google has the resources to do this. Linux/OpenSource has the technology we just need a company with some serious commercial commitment, Google has the clout to get Linux on PCs from major vendors, something no one is currently able to do. Hope it is true.
I don't complain that people don't use Linux. Why on Earth should I care? Windows makes me more money, anyway.
I am writing from the perspective of a developer.
Yes, the application installer will be a GUI for you. Have you ever seen a modern RPM installer?
As to my driver contention -- have you seen the nVidea and VmWare drivers? They "Just Work". My contention was that AT LEAST partial source is needed under Linux to achieve this end. My contention is that if you are unwilling to do this, go with Windows!
And, in future, don't ascribe bias to me.
Ratboy.
Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
All you have to do is get a full-featured window manager and graphics/GUI API going using something really fast (which means something that DOESN'T use streams-hamstrung protocols like X11 does, such as DirectFB) to handle the graphics, and KDE and Gnome will start gathering the dust they so richly deserve.
If Google were to do this, the Linux desktop would most definately be in business.
What can google do to Linux?
A lot. Really a lot. If I am to think what Google generally do to UI design and mix that up with Linux, you get an incredibly usable graphical Linux distribution (assumably with Gnome, since they focus on simplicity like Google).
What's Googles main product? Now think of what Apple did with Spotlight. I bet there are engineers that would _love_ to do some work on linux that enabled better search.
In my opinon, "Beagle" has a loong way to go. It's nice, but the GUI, as it is now, doesn't really speak in favor of productivity if you ask me - more like "look, cool technology preview". But then again - I've never seen Beagle actually work properly, even on distros that ship it per default.
But let's see. If Google does half the good in Linux they do in many of their other projects, linux users are in for a treat (me being one of them). In a way - I think of Apple being *nix + [Graphics-Guru-Google], so I'm excited, how 'bout y'all?
C++ support: it does work. No, a single binary MAY NOT WORK. *Unless* you also distribute the needed libraries. Nothing AT ALL is preventing you from doing that. These libraries can and should even be installed privately for your binary-only application. Someone updates the system library? Doesn't affect you.
No easy install/uninstall: Sounds like you are carping about the Linux systems themselves. As far as your BINARY APPLICATION goes -- keep it in a single directory (tree). Uninstall? Remove the tree. You want to get fancy? Combine that with bundling into a RPM.
Excuse me, but ISVs are supposed to meld their application with their own copy of an OS right down to where it meets the kernel???
That's not how you solve binary compatabilty. Draw a line in the sand, call one side "Operating System" and publish specs for it. Everything else is applications and OEM drivers, many of which should be able to get installed by satisfying ONE dependency: The OS version.
As for drivers... Why should each vendor manage their own ABSTRACTION LAYER for Linux? That's the OS's job!!!
I agree with your view of DRM, but the rest seems like a cop-out to me.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=127091&cid=106 31039 Comment on 10/26/05
The Google OS doesn't need to run Windows apps right away. They probably don't even want to go down that road at all... If people really want to run Windows apps on "Goobuntu," then let them install a Windows emulator. This is all just guesswork, but this OS is probably going to be targetted at people who just want to do stuff on the web, e-mail, blog, whatever. There's no need for Google to jump into direct competition on every level all at once. Start by appealing to the average (non-Slashdot) user... Give them something that plays solitaire, browses the web, checks e-mail, displays the family photo album, and plays MP3s. And remember that all of that can be done from a very thin client, which is probably what they're shooting for. As other posters have suggested, they could basically make this whole thing run from a CD, with all the apps on the web. Imagine having a PC with a single 120GB hard drive, and actually having 120GB available for your data. Yeah, it's not really a huge selling point, but it is definitely possible.
Look at the other replies to your post...
Not one of them seems to mention LSB or their upcoming introduction of the LSB Desktop standard.
Do not count on a corporate defacto standard either. Redhat played such a role for a couple of years and failed: Much of the initial participation from ISVs eventually evaporated.
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=175746&cid=146 09148
internal use only.
Similar end user experience to ubuntu; different kernel.
As NexentaOS matures it might become the platform of choice for OpenOffice and Java. (Hint: all Sun products.)
Go to Best Buy, or Target, or Office Depot, or any other retailer of boxed software for consumers, and see how much will run on anything other than Windows. Hint: NONE.
CompareSoft
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Browsing through the posts on this topic, it appears to me that most seem to think this is for real.
Why?
The Rapture is NOT an exit strategy.
According to this quick follow up from ArsTechnica Google have denied plans to distribute Ubuntu. According to the article a company spokeswoman said: "[w]e use Ubuntu internally but have no plans to distribute it outside of the company."
Next rumour please!
But from what I understand of it, Google is making more of a bare-bones type of system, not the all-in-one-out-of-box thing that Microsoft does. There were also rumors that Google was going to team of Wal-Mart to sell computers under its own brand name. I'm not sure about Google strategy, maybe its overextending itself. Its Forte is in the internet advertising market where all their profits come from. I'm wondering if this will actually hurt their bottom line. On a side note: Google's shares fell 15.5% today for failing to meet analyst expectations.
This could possibly be the most disturbing image I've ever seen. Am I the only one who recognizes this symbol... the red, green, blue, and yellow squares all put together... it sort of looks like a stain glass WINDOW. So much for "Don't be evil." http://www.kernelnet.com/fotos/googleos1.jpg
Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?
thanks for the link! Neat to see all the older OSes and the commercial unixes. There's even some 95 holdouts! Too bad though, I don't see any Mac classic there.
But ya, back to the point, I think linux adoption has hit a very hard plateau now (hit it around two years ago really), there's just too much fragmentation, reinventing the wheel, etc for any large vendors (whole computers or various peripherals and the big gaming guys) to take it seriously for a mainstream desktop offering. If some company like google releases a polished distro, and makes noises like they are in it for the long haul, it would create a "standard" where no other "standard" exists now, despite all the attempts. Some company like Dell looks a linux and shrugs, they would have to support dozens badly or one sort of badly and still be taking a big risk and dropping cash for no apparent gain. On the other hand, if Google did it, that would be something they could count on for their support measures, and they would at least seriously consider it.
Your post modded funny, but one of the reasons Google (and others) have agreed to bend to demands of China is that it is a huge market. To have a cheaper (or free), but nice alternative OS would be very attractive to them, I would think. I know that there is already Red Flag Linux that is specificly targrting China, and I seem to recall that TurboLinux was also heading in that direction. China as a "consumer" country is growing at a very fast rate. The population of China is like 1.3 billion (that's a lot of potential customers)
waiting for ad.doubleclick.net
Agreed!
Driver API. Centralised driver development doesn't work - period. Assume the existance of a totally awesome vendor who is happy to release GPLd drivers with their new widget. They put a penguin on the side of the box. They immediately get their ass sued off by people who buy the widget, plug it into Goobuntu or whatever, nothing happens
Actually, I've been quite pleased with the driver scene with Linux. The few drivers I need, that don't come bundled with the kernel, have been a breeze to install. Mind you, this comes with kernel 2.6, which seems to have the infrastructure to build drivers without kernel source. For example, I need to install drivers for my wireless LAN (madwifi drivers), wireless internet (iBurst), graphics driver (ATI), and BIOS system management (tp_smapi).
... when it work, it works really nice, but when it doesn't work, it is hell on earth to figure out and fix. Linux seems to take the middle road ... making the easy things a little harder, but the hard things easier.
Sure, it isn't as convenient as windows, in that you still have to do a make, make install. But at the same time, it's worked very reliably. I can't tell you the number of headaches I've had trying to get some drivers working in Windows. That seems to be the story with Windows
Yet the kernel developers do exactly this for drivers, and threaten (or actually do) sue random vendors who distribute binary drivers (except not nVidia, as that'd cause mass civil war). Worse, the kernel developers are getting more militant not less. This is simply not a tenable situation for desktops which deal with far wider variety of hardware than servers. In its current state Linux can never be a desktop kernel, unless you redefine "desktop" so far it loses all meaning.
Well, speaking as an end user, like I said above, I'm quite happy with the driver situation in Linux on my PC. Almost everything is catered for with the kernel, and the few external drivers I need, work flawlessly. Yes, I use Linux on my desktop, even at work. As a desktop, it works wonderfully for me. I can read my exchange email via Evolution, I can read and edit Word and Excel files with OpenOffice, I insert my USB mouse, keyboard, hard drive, and flash stick, and it's picked up on automatically, I can access windows shares, remotely mounted (although this took a little bit of work to set up, but now works automatically).
As far as binary drivers are concerned, I can't recall any developer that has sued a vendor because of their binary drivers. Can you list examples?
C++ support. It doesn't work. It's unbelievably slow, the glibc developers refuse patches to fix it, and is only reliable as long as you use "pure" binaries built with the same compiler that everything else is. This makes robust binary distribution of C++ apps impossible and as nearly every large desktop app is written in C++ this is a problem.
I'm not a C++ programmer, but I have heard of the changing binary ABI under Linux, causing many headaches for older programs. So you've got a good point here. All I can say, is that hopefully the ABI has stabilised now with the latest gcc, and it should be compatible from now on. I don't know too much about this scene.
No easy install/uninstall - if you're comfortable with partitioning etc then you can get Fedora installed without too much bother, but Ubuntu doesn't even have a graphical installer, and as far as I'm aware no distro today offers an easy way to remove it and put Windows back to 100% disk usage. Who in their right mind would try a program that ate 10gigs of disk space and didn't come with a way to uninstall it?
Geez, what operating system comes with an uninstall?! That's the f
I for one welcome our new ooperating system overlords.
If the parent is funny (as the mods decided to mod it when I wrote this) let me add another joke.
Though it's actually meant as a quite unfunny question.
From the grandparent down its all about "What can Google do to foster Linux on the desktop" and "What would GoogleOS(hypoth.) do to corporate adoption of Linux on the desktop" and the likes.
Lots of wishful thinking and some handsfull of salt to go with it. Fine.
But shouldn't the first question point to Google's interests? Like, erm, "Don't ask what Google can do for Linux, ask what Linux can do for Google". Sorry for that. But Google _is_ a huge entity and investigating their interests and potential benefits of introducing a GoogleOS distribution may help more to clarify the issue than argueing the topic from the other end.
605413? Yes, it's a prime.
Will it be self-censoring for some of our favorite totalitarian regimes?
Developing Google Linux would distract you from what?
Making popup ads?
Participating in censorship?
Missing shareholder expectations because you've saturated a finite market?
Not wanting to step on Red Hat's toes is a completely laughable excuse for at least two reasons: RH is a bit player compared to Microsoft (whom you pick fights with every other day), and as has been mentioned numerous times in this thread, Google has a much stronger brand than Red Hat.
Everyone else has already done the heavy lifting. All we're asking you to do is slap a purdy GUI on it and throw your name behind it, but you can't man up.
If you're going to come in here arguing with reason, logic and facts then you can just sod off! We like our arguments emotional, uninformed and blinkered by hatred thank you very much!
:)
Nah, seriously - well said
I asked a bunch of people who use MS Win "If Google made a GNU/Linux distro would you switch?"
Over half said yes I would say that even 75% said yes.
And Why?... "Because they would make it easier to understand and we trust them." was the general answer.
I am. Lower your shields and power down your weapons, they are useless. Your biological and technological distinctivenes
Google lunar plans are no secret see http://www.google.com/jobs/lunar_job.html
I would not mind if Goooogle came out with an AJAX or even ActiveX (ouch that hurt) front end renderer for X so you could have a linux system on a Google partition and run everything nice and secure between there and wherever here is, on whatever size and shape device you are using at the moment. Then they should also buy into those e-ink guys too.