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Posted on 01/31/2006 12:04:16 PM PST by N3WBI3
Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business - desktop software.
A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as 'Goobuntu'. Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for.
It's possible that it's just one of the toys Googleplex engineers play with on Fridays, when they get time off from buffing the search engine code or filtering out entries about Tiananmen Square.
It could be for wider deployments on the company's own desktops, as an alternative to Microsoft, but still for internal use only.
But it's possible Google plans to distribute it to the general public, as a free alternative to Windows.
Google has already demonstrated an interest in building a presence on the desktop. At CES Las Vegas this month, it announced the Google Pack, a collection of desktop software bundled together for easy downloading.
The pack includes many apps which compete directly with the Windows bundle, such as Google Talk, Google Desktop, Mozilla Firefox, the Trillian instant messenger client, RealPlayer, and Picasa photo management.
Going the whole hog and distributing a complete desktop software suite would merely be another step down the same path.
However, entering the desktop software world would be a huge step. Making Goobuntu as easy to use as XP will require a lot more development. It's unlikely to be ready for showtime any time soon, and it's possible Google itself hasn't finalised where the project should go.
Whatever Google's intentions, the input of Google engineers and developers, writing new features and fixing bugs, will be a huge boost to the Ubuntu project.
Ubuntu, funded by the South African internet multimillionaire and occasional cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth, is already emerging as a leader in the desktop Linux world.
It has built considerable momentum in the Linux community, and is starting to appear more widely. Shuttleworth is seeking to persuade white-box PC manufacturers to start shipping machines with Ubuntu preinstalled.
It is top of the Distrowatch download chart, is installed on up to six million computers, and doubling every eight months, according to estimates from Shuttleworth's company, Canonical.
It has spawned a number of different offshoots, including Xubuntu, Kubuntu and Edubuntu (for schools).
The word Ubuntu means "humanity to others" in several African languages, including Zulu and Xhosa. It's one of the founding principles of post-apartheid South Africa. The origin of the word 'Goobuntu' is not clear, though it does not appear in online Zulu dictionaries.
The Goobuntu.com domain has been registered in the past couple of days, though presumably not by Google. It now redirects to a Cuban portal. Perhaps Google will have to think of a new name for the system before they launch it to the wider public. ®
It's possible that it's just one of the toys Googleplex engineers play with on Fridays, when they get time off from buffing the search engine code or filtering out entries about Tiananmen Square.
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So its on again?
Google? Linux? Goobuntu? Balderdash!
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
If the article were by The Onion, I'd say this is the subtle hint planted to let us know that the article is satire. But this is from The Register, so we know it's just bad editorializing.
Actually, you SHOULD fear the penguins...., if you are a certain group of Seattle residents. Hope you didn't mind me stealing the gif. I love it.
That's fine. While Microsoft is busy worrying about *nix, Apple already offers a superior OS.
I still think the best option for linux taking on MS in the desktop wars will be thru VMware's free vmware player. I stuck it on a laptop last night and ran ubuntu under win xp whle watching some slop on TV with the wife. I was extremely impressed.
The ring is already on apple's finger, and they are already moved in together. It is just a matter of time before they announce. It is a done deal, at least for the concept of Apple and nix. The details will be like all prenups...., stuff only lawyers love.
Yes, but why pay a pile of money for an OS that doesn't run anything when you can get one for free?
Because the pay OS in question actually does run software--quite excellent pieces of software, to be sure.
Well, OS X has its roots in BSD, so I'm not sure what you're getting at.
I do wish Linux developers would take a cue from Apple instead of Microsoft, though.
What percentage of the OS market does Apple hold vs. Microsuck?
Not much. Really failing to see what market share has to do with relative quality, however. Good straw man argument, but Bush2000 and Golden Eagle are way ahead of you in the art of attacking Microsoft's competition.
Yeah--I really like VMWare. I use it on my FC4 laptop to run W2K and test out various flavors of Linux/BSD.
Hysterical, since Lunix versions of a lot of that don't even exist. Weren't you claiming a couple of months ago that Google was releasing a MS Office killer too? What's the release date on that now?
In both that and this case I posted a link someone else sent me. BTW wth does?
since Lunix versions of a lot of that don't even exist.
Mean?
I will grant you that Apple is superior in quality to MS, but they failed to capture the vast majority of computer users. In my opinion, Steve Jobs is no different from Bill Gates. Maybe only allowing his OS to work on his machines makes him a little worse.
I was talking about Linux taking a page from Apple's unified user interfaces, especially their HIG, not to mention the attractiveness of OS X's GUI. Just look at IE7's layout to see what "strides" Microsoft has been making in UI quality, and why it's inane for Linux developers to copy that.
It means what I said, there aren't even any lunix versions of most of those products in production, so there's very little chance they're about to be released as a bundled pack in this vaporware.
This was just some bs put out by google today because the real news - their earnings - didn't meet wall street expectations. Didn't really help, they're down $67 in one hour after hours trading to $365. Can you say "ouch"?
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