Behind Ubuntu PC

In May 4, EWeek weekly interviewed Mr. Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of ubuntu, about some background about Dell's sale of ubuntu PC and some of his own opinions.

First, Mr. Mark clearly pointed out that "I don't want to think of Ubuntu and Linux as a cheap alternative to Windows". "Although Linux is a substitute for windows, but it is not a cheap windows "," Linux has its own advantages (strengths), users need it because of these advantages, it is not because it is a cheap copy of Windows ". Mr. Mark said, "running Windows applications on the Ubuntu platform can only be considered as a temporary policy, rather than a path to the future." In the future, free software will be used ".

When asked by EWeek Whether Dell could produce a "ubuntu and wondows dual-Boot" computer, Mr. Mark said: "This is a very interesting idea, this may not be implemented soon, because it may conflict with the existing contractual obligations. "For example, if two people sit in the same chair, a similar problem may occur, this conflict is not caused by our side. I have no objection to the idea of Averse. If someone wants to run Windows next to Ubuntu, I won't mind ".

When Mr. Mark said, "Currently, Linux is not (completely) prepared for the general consumer market," he added: "Dell decided to preinstall Ubuntu Linux on some of its consumer machines, which is an important milestone for the entire (international) open-source community ". Mr. Mark said: "This (pre-installed UBUNTU) is Dell's sincere response to the requirements of our customers." This is not caused by our side. Therefore, they may also pre-install other Linux distributions, because different users may have different preferences. "However, I am very honored that, their first pre-installed Linux is with us ".

Speaking of Microsoft's dominant position on the desktop, Mr. Mark said, "It is completely a kind of enterprise lock, not a (market advantage) caused by a specific (advantage) technology) "," in today's era, there is only one new alternative technology (we can freely give it to them (Microsoft )), it is impossible to change a certain kind of social behavior (that is, Microsoft's dominant position), but it can only affect Microsoft's pricing power and cannot drive them out ", "The power (things) that can drive dislodge is fundamentally different ways of working and operating, such as completely different Google work and operating models ".

Mr. Mark believes: "In a desktop environment, desktop applications are evolving rapidly, while the development of free software has accumulated many new functions, therefore, they should be provided to users in a timely manner ". Mr. Mark said, "Currently, canonical is preparing to focus on helping Dell to make the latest arrangements, rather than negotiating similar cooperation with other top hardware vendors ". Mr. Mark knew, "If Dell could not turn this latest arrangement (pre-installed UBUNTU) into a continuous business production line, everything would be zero ".

Microsoft asserted that the Linux ecosystem cannot be as strong as the windows ecosystem in any aspect, and Mr. Mark said, "This is a good story. In some cases, this is indeed the case. "I never asked people to deploy Ubuntu everywhere, regardless of the actual situation." In many cases, Microsoft has established a strong industry lock, as a result, many developers only work on one platform, "he said." In many cases, there are many free application software packages that are much higher than private software. We all see how the Internet is built on free software. The same is true for Google ".