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Shuttleworth Says Ubuntu Can't Just Be Windows

Posted by timothy on from the bsod-screensaver-must-suffice dept.

ruphus13 writes "When Mark Shuttleworth was asked what role WINE will play in Ubuntu's success, he said that Ubuntu cannot simply be a better platform to run Windows apps. From the post, according to Shuttleworth, '[Windows and Linux] both play an important role but fundamentally, the free software ecosystem needs to thrive on its own rules. it is *different* to the proprietary software universe. We need to make a success of our own platform on our own terms. if Linux is just another way to run Windows apps, we can't win. OS/2 tried that ...' The post goes on to say, 'Linux simply isn't Windows (nor is Windows Linux) and to expect fundamentally different approaches (and I'm not just thinking closed versus open) to look, feel, and operate the same way is senseless.'"

2 of 710 comments (clear)

  1. But They Need a Story! by eldavojohn · · Score: 5, Funny

    Setting: press conference room. Shuttleworth is standing behind a podium with disheveled hair and sweat stains spreading underneath his arms. Reporters sit in chairs before him.
    Reporter A: So ... Ubuntu is trying to ... "be" Windows?
    Shuttleworth: Ok, for the last time, I am going to go over this very very slowly.
    *Shuttleworth writes Ubuntu and Windows on the chalkboard and puts a massive "does not equal" sign in between them.*
    Shuttleworth: Ubuntu cannot and will not ever "be" Windows. I've been over this for the past two hours, can we move away from Windows/Ubuntu comparisons here?
    Reporter B: But you want to be a widely used operating system?
    Shuttleworth: That is correct.
    Reporter B: And Windows is the most widely user operating system?
    Shuttleworth: Also correct.
    Reporter B: ... so you want to be Windows?
    *Shuttleworth lets out a long drawn-out sigh, massages his forehead and takes a drink from his glass of water*
    Shuttleworth: *holds up two pieces of fruit* In my left hand I hold an apple. In my right hand I hold an orange. Although both are round, the two taste different and have different colors and subtle shapes ...
    Reporter C: Hold on, an "Apple"? I'm not following you, are you saying you're trying to "be" OS X?
    Shuttleworth: This press conference is over!

    --
    My work here is dung.
  2. Re:Well, not quite... by smartin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Vista Home Basic Retail is around $180 [newegg.com]
    It's still about $200 more than its worth.

    --
    The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.