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Shuttleworth Answers Ubuntu Linux's Critics

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the what's-in-a-name dept.

climenole writes "Technomancer wrote: 'Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Linux's founder, maintains that he and Ubuntu are doing right by the Linux community and the even larger open-source community. In recent weeks, Ubuntu has been criticized for not giving Linux enough support. Specifically, the complains have been that Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, doesn't do enough for producing Linux source code.'"

14 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. Ubuntu is a distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Ubuntu is not Linux - it is a distro BASED on Linux.

    1. Re:Ubuntu is a distro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      I’d just like to interject for a moment. What you’re refering to as Linux, is in fact, GNU/LInux, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibs, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX.

      Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux”, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.

      There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

  2. Ubuntu users have more problems by tomhudson · · Score: -1, Troll
    FTFA:

    I might add, which Shuttleworth didn't spell out, that if you need help to do anything with Linux, you're more likely to find online help on how to do it on Ubuntu than openSUSE, Fedora, Debian, or any other Linux. Ubuntu's popularity combined with that attitude of helping everyday users get the most from Linux has made it the go-to Linux for users who want and need a helping hand.

    Ubuntu users haveStats say that more problems than all the other main distros combined, so I'm not buying it.

    1. Re:Ubuntu users have more problems by tomhudson · · Score: -1, Troll
      And yet the original article that I link to tried to imply that Ubuntu was more popular based on the same stupid methodology. The ubuntu fanbois need to realize that our concerns:
      1. the mis-presenting of linux as "as good as windows" instead of "better but different"
      2. the lack of upstream code contributions
      3. the flood of "linux sux" from people who used ubuntu and went back to windows (as a consequence of #1 above)

      ... they all seriously need to be addressed. Ubuntu is not linux, just a distro, and nowhere near the best for every use (and certainly not up to the quality of opensuse).

    2. Re:Ubuntu users have more problems by tomhudson · · Score: 1, Troll
      All that means is that ubuntu is mis-marketed - a serious mistake, because then all linux distros get tarred with the same brush

      Funny how distros like opensuse, in comparison, have almost no complaints. Shuttleworth talks about "bringing linux to the masses" - the stats show that the number of people ubuntu turns off from all linux distros is a serious problem. The most telling is that, if current trends continue, ubuntu will have more complaints than Windows in 2 years.

    3. Re:Ubuntu users have more problems by tomhudson · · Score: 0, Troll
      No, because it doesn't. Stop spreading lies.

      More people might "try" ubuntu, but then they dump it and go back to Windows. Or they complain to someone like me who then wipes the crapware from their machine and installs a real distro.

  3. Re:Proper link by HermMunster · · Score: -1, Troll

    You can, but I doubt anyone else would judge that as a worthy measure.

    --
    You can lead a man with reason but you can't make him think.
  4. Re:Proper link by StikyPad · · Score: 0, Troll

    Maybe I'm just unlucky, but my experience with Ubuntu has been a polar opposite. I can't boot into the Live CD on either my desktop or laptop, and about the only way I can get things to work seamlessly is to run it in a VM.

    To put that in perspective, I have OSX running natively on my desktop PC with 0 KPs since 10.6, with all components working except a PCIe NIC (which also doesn't show up in Ubuntu). Fortunately my onboard NIC shows up just fine in OSX, but again, not in Ubuntu, where I had to use a USB wireless NIC just to get connectivity to download my other NIC drivers. Even then, getting even binary video drivers working properly in Ubuntu is a chore, let alone the roll-your-own OSS variants. Which is no worse than other Linux distros, of course, but certainly no better.

    In my experience, Ubuntu is an overrated, overblown Debian fork that has added zero value, and possibly even removed value if the reports of demoralized Debian developers are true. I don't mind getting down and dirty with my OS, but if I really want to do that, then Ubuntu is not the best choice. On the other hand, if I want to keep things at arms-length (just to run a Linux-only app here and there for network administration) then Ubuntu is still not the best choice -- BT4 fits that bill nicely.

    I am only one or two data points, true, but searching for various cryptic error messages in Ubuntu App Center leads me to believe that I am far from alone.

    --
    https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
  5. any legit crticis? by harlows_monkeys · · Score: 1, Troll

    Almost all of the vocal critics of Ubunutu I've seen have been trolls, FUDsters, and other worthless people. Has anyone raised serious legitimate criticism of Ubuntu?

  6. Shuttleworth is a cocksucker. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I hope you read that Marky Mark. Your ego needs to be taken down a notch.

    1. Re:Shuttleworth is a cocksucker. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      You should have gone with the gnaa "Mark Shuttleworth announces Linux for niggers" troll.

  7. Re:Proper link by westyvw · · Score: 1, Troll

    Yes. They also help their users learn Linux due to Ubuntu's fragile nature. Well Done!

    Seriously, the clockwork new release takes some of that pain out, but as a long time user of Debian, and its derivatives, I do find that Ubuntu has some really bad problems upgrading and for long term stability.

  8. re: Your sig by jelizondo · · Score: 0, Troll

    This I can definately agree with

    When you challenge the world saying your post is worded precisely as intended, does that include misspelled words?

    This I can definitely agree with

    There Fixed That For Ya!

    So now, mod me down!

    But goddamn it, consult a dictionary or using a spelling checker before challenging the world!. Particularly if you tend to misspell words (I count at least three such mistakes, without going into proper grammar and such.)

    Now get off my lawn!

    --
    Be very, very careful what you put into that head, because you will never, ever get it out. - Cardinal Wolsey
  9. Shuttleworth's a parasite by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Shuttleworth's a parasite. Remember when the idiot tried to demand that Red Hat synchronize its kernel releases with him?

    Ubuntu takes the work of thousands of others and tries to take credit for it. Period.