Ubuntu Founder Plans to Rival Macintosh with Linux Desktop

Mark Richard Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical Ltd and a founder of Ubuntu Foundation, spoke at the O’Reilly Open Source Convention earlier this week. He announced plans to compete with Apple and talked about development of the Linux desktop (Ubuntu OS), as well as the integration of Linux into mobile development.

He sees Linux and Windows linked up together., “Linux is the platform of the future. But I think it’s essential that we learn how to work with Windows.”

Then a member of the audience asked would Linux desktop be prepared to deal with all the problems that come with open source software, such as instability, hacking, viruses, glitches, and never ending ability to protect it from hackers who would have full access to each piece of open source code. “The challenge for us is to figure out how to deliver something which is crisp and clean,” - said Shuttleworth.

“Can we go right past Apple in the user experience we deliver?, - asked Shuttleworth. “Certainly, on the desktop experience, we need to shoot beyond the Mac, but I think it’s equally relevant [in] the mobile space,” - he noted answering his own question.

The he talked about the need for a new business model. “We had the Web for quite a long time before we figured out how [to do] ad-funded Web businesses. I think advertising works very well in the search case, but I don’t think it’s the sort of final solution in terms of business models to drive investment in free software,” - he said. “A more general view of services is required.”

“It’s clear that Linux is going to be a leader in the mobile space,” - said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the foundation. “It’s just a nightmare to support all these different OSes and try to maintain some degree of compatibility… The iPhone is really the Mosaic of the mobile Web.”