Up to now you could go to the Ubuntu website and ask for a free set of Ubuntu CD’s. Been that way for 5 years. It was a great way to get Ubuntu into the hands of people. Especially in the Third World where they may have a PC but not broadband. Well that is changing –
“The ShipIt program has been at the core of the Ubuntu project since its inception. The goal was to make sure that there are no restrictions, as far as was possible, to people having access to Ubuntu. In the last five years we have shipped millions of CDs and seen Ubuntu’s popularity and reach grow in ways that would be impossible without ShipIt.
And that aim continues. We need to make Ubuntu available to as many people who need it, particularly those for whom the download options are limited. The goal has not been to supply a CD to every Ubuntu user of every version of Ubuntu. Remember, one of the coolest things about Ubuntu is the way you can upgrade from one version of Ubuntu to another – without the need for a CD!
While these CDs are often referred to as “free CDs”, they are of course not free of cost to Canonical. We want to continue this programme, but Ubuntu’s growth means that some changes are necessary. Therefore we are adjusting how we handle CD requests to try to find the right balance between availability of CDs and the continued viability of the ShipIt programme.
We will continue to supply CDs to LoCo teams and Ubuntu members. And we hope to make CDs available to everyone who is just discovering Ubuntu. And we continue to search for additional ways to make Ubuntu and Ubuntu materials available to everyone. But we are limiting shipments to people that we think have alternative paths of getting Ubuntu. For instance,
We will change the language on the ShipIt site to make it clearer what we are doing. We hope that you support this effort and realise that the intent is to continue to make Ubuntu available on CD to everyone who needs it.
Jane Silber, Canonical”
That’s one of the problems with success. Sometimes the things that used to be free become a cost burden. Especially when the volume grows at an outstanding rate. But Ubuntu is still sticking to the core of their purpose. All they are doing is saying, for those who have the resources please download it and burn your own copy or pay the small fee to get it. Those in less advantageous situations can still take advantage of the program.
Probably the best substitute to a considerable problem.
More bad news for Wintel. The Unbuntu version of the Linux OS is the world’s most popular free desktop OS, and it’s popularity is growing up - from the bottom. Ubuntu is adding native support for the super cheap, low power, low heat ARM processor in its next release. The release is not to be a Windows like “trust us, it’s coming soon”, rather it will be here in a little over a week. Great news for Tightwads!
The next iteration of Ubuntu, version 9.04 codenamed Jaunty Jackalope, is set to arrive on April 23, supplanting the former 8.04 and 8.10 versions with a host of new features and the latest 2.6.28.8 kernel. While this new version may be desirable for its feature set alone, it will also spice things up with an additional ISA added to the mix. In addition to the previously supported i386 (32-bit x86) and AMD64 (64-bit x86) ISAs, Ubuntu 9.04 will now natively include an ARM installation for ARM-based MIDs and low-end netbooks operating on the ARMv5EL and ARMv6EL-VFP architectures.
Why ARM? There is currently a battle taking place at the low-end. Intel has moved extremely fast with its low-power, high-performing Atom CPU, one which delivers more performance at a given clock speed than the original Pentium 4s did. Still, the battle at the low-end is in performance and battery life, with a heavy bent on battery life. With ARM, the technology is so pervasive that it has seen a tremendous amount of optimization. In fact, individuals can go to the ARM website and custom build their own CPUs in any quantity they want, thanks to the design efforts validating all of the available options. (Geek.com)
The Ubuntu Podcast guys have just posted a very informative interview with Mr. Ubuntu himself, Mark Shuttleworth. There’s more on the top desktop Linux on the show’s site.
The What? EC2 Like services on local machines.
The Who? Ubuntu server, next release.
What’s the fuss? Well if Canonical can pull it off it differentiates them from some of the server pack. Whereas most of the pack is keyed in on KVM/Xen/Parallels virtualization efforts. Canonical is moving to and of the cloud without forsaking some KVM capabilities.
Does that mean much? Well consider this. If Ubuntu can deliver a local variant of EC2 like services for development then is saves money on the R&D cycle. It provides a level of secure separation in the early stages of a start up. It also give many industry segments the ability to develop their own clouds as their legal requirements may preclude use of AWS or GAE (eg FINRA Dealer-Brokers).
That is one angle. There is another. Just as virtualization has ushered in the idea of compute appliances at the software level. So to could private clouds. A firm could open up its own 3 server cloud. Then buy off the shelf ‘cloud apps’ for things like mail, PIMS, VPN, SQL, Accounting, etc.
But there is another aspect to Canonical’s offer that should not be discounted. Website management attitudes could change radically. Right now website management when one is doing a makeover of only segments of a site can be tricky. Code segments, CSS changes, JScript changes all need to be coordinated, generally at once. With the ability to have an internal cloud base one can port down the db off the cloud, run one last validation test of all components then port the whole cloud assembly back to the cloud with minimal down time and know that it ‘works’.
For Ubuntu this might be the tool that many startup will consider using Ubuntu rather than any of the other server OS’s on the market. From these small beginnings they can capture a market.
When John C Dvorak, the elder statesman of tech journalism says something is ready for prime time, he’s usually right. Even more important is how his endorsement will impact the enterprise market. While all is still not perfect in the Linux world, his endorsement will surely a tidal wave of new Ubuntu desktops will appear in the next few months. I’m predicting that enough of them will be appearing in cubeville to shake the foundations at Microsoft.
I’m tired of dealing with Windows malware, patch Tuesday, and the never-ending deterioration of the OS as it clogs up like a drain in a greasy-spoon restaurant. I can’t take it anymore.
And there’s something else that always bugs me about Windows. I have an iMac that I use at the office, and a few times every month Apple has some patch that it sends out. With few exceptions, each time a patch is installed with the Mac OS, the performance of the machine improves. With Windows, the performance always declines.
I don’t think Microsoft has ever sent out a patch that improved the performance of the machine. Ever.
And of course, the biggest differences between Ubuntu and Windows are the cost and the subsequent headaches, because Microsoft is constantly fretting over bootleg copies. The company monitors machines to make sure they are running legal copies of software. There have already been instances of computers shut down by Microsoft HQ because of some glitch in the cloud. This is simply unacceptable. I don’t want to rely on a system like that. (PC Mag)
What is most interesting to me is that while the improvements in Linux have been plentiful, the fatigue from dealing with Windows is still a prominent reason to switch. In other words, while Linux has dealt with many of its shortcomings, Windows has not.
If you’re like me you’ve parted with $10 or so more than once for one of those handy laminated cheat sheets and tiny pocket guides that serve as an instant reference in operating software or a device. It’s a small price to pay to have all of the commands and their functions organized in a concise reference. When they are well done, the assembled and organized knowledge justifies the price even if the medium itself doesn’t.
If you’re an Ubuntu user, you’re in luck. The author of a great Ubuntu cheat sheet has made a PDF version of the commercial reference available as a free download.
The PDF Edition of Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference is available entirely free of charge. It is practically identical to the Print Edition. You can download it by clicking the link below.
You can share the PDF file with people you know, and even upload it to file sharing networks. Click here for more information. (Ubuntu Pocket Guide)
Oh the irony! Its a funny release name I will grant you that. But plays on myths tend to backfire more often than not I hope not. But I have some reservations for two reasons –
First goal of this release is to speed up boot times. That alone would be a challenge but a worthwhile one for Desktop. Not so much for server. Then,
Second goal is a move to Client Web integration. This is the one that has me concerned. It is an excellent goal but one is not going to get anything serious out in a period of 12-18 months.
Let us hope this does not turn out to be Jinxed Jackalope.
If you are a Ubuntu user and are considering going wireless you might want to hold back on the leap. Hardy is the current release and its LTS. But to get wireless support for anything other than 802.11b/g you will be doing the wget->.compile->.make dance. Not for the light hearted.
That is about to change. Ibex has been released in Alpha. Final due in October. The function that makes this distro important? 3G support! That’s right, load that PCMCIA adapter or buy a unit with 3G embedded. It would drive 3G adoption thru the roof. An OS other than Vista that ‘just works’.
Now will Canonical merge Ibex and Mid for the eePC to drive eratz Windows XP out of the UMPC market??
Ubuntu IS going after the NetTop market. There is already a Ubuntu Remix well underway. From Mark Shuttleworth’s blog –
The Canonical OEM team has been approached by a number of OEM’s who want to sell netbooks (small, low-cost laptops with an emphasis on the web) based on Ubuntu. Almost universally, they’ve asked for standard Ubuntu packages and updates, with an app launcher that’s more suited to new users and has the feeling of a “device” more than a PC.
There are some very cool launchers out there - AWN is a current favourite of mine - but people seem to prefer the more 2-dimensional tabbed approach, so the OEM team implemented a lightweight but still very classy launcher for this use case. The work received a detailed review in Ars Technica and has been covered in Free Software Magazine and elsewhere.
Is it a good idea? Probably. With some 10m units expected to be sold over the next few years; even a 20% take is a sizable installed base.
An article by the blog Practical Technology indicates that Dell is expanding its use of Ubuntu in to more of their product lines. A good move by Dell of course. The whole story here.
Up to now you could go to the Ubuntu website and ask for a free set of Ubuntu CD’s. Been that way for 5 years. It was a great way to get Ubuntu into the hands of people. Especially in the Third World where they may have a PC but not broadband. Well that is changing –
More bad news for Wintel. The Unbuntu version of the Linux OS is the world’s most popular free desktop OS, and it’s popularity is growing up - from the bottom. Ubuntu is adding native support for the super cheap, low power, low heat ARM processor in its next release. The release is not to be a Windows like “trust us, it’s coming soon”, rather it will be here in a little over a week. Great news for Tightwads!
When
If you’re like me you’ve parted with $10 or so more than once for one of those handy laminated cheat sheets and tiny pocket guides that serve as an instant reference in operating software or a device. It’s a small price to pay to have all of the commands and their functions organized in a concise reference. When they are well done, the assembled and organized knowledge justifies the price even if the medium itself doesn’t.
