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Google Working on Desktop Linux

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the what-you-guys-are-surprised dept.

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.

4 of 785 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not to sound cynical by rizzo420 · · Score: 4, Informative

    aren't google's servers all running linux? aren't they all heavily modified customized? does google ever go down? sounds like they've got some good software and hardware engineers working for them... i think they know what they're doing.

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    please me, have no regrets.
  2. Re:hmmm by Black+Perl · · Score: 5, Informative

    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.

    That's a real barrier, and it's not just in the business environment.

    Why should I have to go to Best Buy or Target or Office Depot, when I can download my apps right from the OS menu?

    Install Ubuntu 5.10 and see just how easy it is.

    The "real barrier" you speak of is the mindset that you have to go to a big-box store and buy your apps.

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    bp
  3. Developing a Linux Desktop would distract us. by chrisd · · Score: 5, Informative
    Goobuntu is our internal desktop distribution. It's awesome, but we're not going to be releasing it. Unless you work here it wouldn't work anyway. If you haven't tried ubuntu, you should, I have the regular one running on my laptop and it really is fantastic. I'd say it was debian done right if I wanted to start a debian flame war. Also, know that Google getting into the Red Hat business would be kind of dumb, and it would distract from our moon teleporter and cold fusion projects

    Chris

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    Co-Editor, Open Sources
    Open Source Program Manager, Google, Inc.
  4. Re:What can Google do by ichimunki · · Score: 3, Informative
    You forgot Poland.

    Er, I mean, you forgot: Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Visio, .NET, C#, and for a non-MS example, Acrobat.

    Plus, Internet Explorer is a complete misnomer. It's a web page viewer. Let me know when it can do email, nntp, ssh, sftp/scp, or any of a hundred other typical things you do on the internet.

    As for Linux, most of those applications are sensibly presented in Gnome (and probably in KDE, too).

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    I do not have a signature