algeriatul team mailing list archive

[Mark Shuttleworth <1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Personal computing today is a broader proposition than it was in 2004:
phones, tablets, wearables and other devices are all part of the mix for
our digital lives. From a competitive perspective, that broader market
has healthy competition, with IOS and Android representing a meaningful
share (see http://www.zdnet.com/windows-has-fallen-behind-apple-ios-and-
google-android-7000008699/ and in particular http://cdn-
static.zdnet.com/i/r/story/70/00/008699/meeker620-620x466-620x466.jpg?hash=ZQxmZmDjAz&upscale=1).

Android may not be my or your first choice of Linux, but it is without
doubt an open source platform that offers both practical and economic
benefits to users and industry. So we have both competition, and good
representation for open source, in personal computing.

Even though we have only played a small part in that shift, I think it's
important for us to recognize that the shift has taken place. So from
Ubuntu's perspective, this bug is now closed.

There is a social element to this bug report as well, of course. It
served for many as a sort of declaration of intent. But it's better for
us to focus our intent on excellence in our own right, rather than our
impact on someone else's product. In the (many) years since this bug was
filed, we've figured out how to be amazing on the cloud, and I hope soon
also how to be amazing for developers on their desktops, and perhaps
even for everyday users across that full range of devices. I would
rather we find a rallying call that celebrates those insights, and
leadership.

It's worth noting that today, if you're into cloud computing, the
Microsoft IAAS team are both technically excellent and very focused on
having ALL OS's including Linux guests like Ubuntu run extremely well on
Azure, making them a pleasure to work with. Perhaps the market shift has
played a role in that. Circumstances have changed, institutions have
adapted, so should we.

Along those lines, it's good to reflect on how much has changed since
2004, and how fast it's changed. For Ubuntu, our goal remains to deliver
fantastic experiences: for developers, for people building out
production infrastructure, and for end-users on a range of devices. We
are doing all of that in an environment that changes completely every
decade. So we have to be willing to make big changes ourselves - in our
processes, our practices, our tools, and our relationships. Change this
bug status is but a tiny example.

** Changed in: ubuntu
       Status: In Progress => Fix Released

** Also affects: Ubuntu Dapper
   Importance: Undecided
       Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1

Title:
  Microsoft has a majority market share

Status in Club Distro:
  Confirmed
Status in Computer Science Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in LibreOffice Productivity Suite:
  New
Status in dylan.NET.Reflection:
  Invalid
Status in dylan.NET:
  Invalid
Status in EasyPeasy Overview:
  Invalid
Status in Ichthux - Linux for Christians:
  Invalid
Status in JAK LINUX:
  Invalid
Status in LibreOffice:
  In Progress
Status in The Linux Kernel:
  New
Status in The Linux Mint Distribution:
  In Progress
Status in The Linux OS Project:
  In Progress
Status in Neobot:
  New
Status in Novabot:
  New
Status in The OpenOffice.org Suite:
  In Progress
Status in Tabuntu:
  Invalid
Status in A simple player to online TV streaming:
  Invalid
Status in Tv-Player:
  Invalid
Status in Ubuntu Malaysia LoCo Team Meta Project:
  In Progress
Status in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in The Dapper Drake:
  New
Status in Arch Linux:
  Confirmed
Status in Baltix GNU/Linux:
  Invalid
Status in “linux” package in Debian:
  In Progress
Status in Fluxbuntu: The Lightweight, Productive, Agile OS:
  Confirmed
Status in openSUSE:
  In Progress
Status in Tilix Linux:
  New

Bug description:
  Microsoft has a majority market share in the new desktop PC
  marketplace. This is a bug which Ubuntu and other projects are meant
  to fix. As the philosophy of the Ubuntu Project states, "Our work is
  driven by a belief that software should be free and accessible to
  all."

  "Ubuntu software is free. Always was, always will be. Free software gives everyone the freedom to use it however they want and share with whoever they like. This freedom has huge benefits. At one end of the spectrum it enables the Ubuntu community to grow and share its collective experience and expertise to continually improve all things Ubuntu. At the other, we are able to give access to essential software for those who couldn’t otherwise afford it – an advantage that’s keenly felt by individuals and organisations all over the world."
       * http://www.ubuntu.com/project/about-ubuntu/our-philosophy

  Non-free software leaves users at the mercy of the software owner and
  concentrates control over the technology which powers our society into
  the hands of a few. Additionally, proprietary software stifles
  innovation, maintains artificial scarcities, and enables malicious
  anti-features such as DRM, surveillance, and other monopolistic
  practices.

  This bug is widely evident in the PC industry.

  Steps to repeat:

      1. Visit a local PC store.
      2. Attempt to buy a machine without any proprietary software.

  What happens:

  Almost always, a majority of PCs for sale have Microsoft Windows pre-
  installed. In the rare cases that they come with a GNU/Linux operating
  system or no operating system at all, the drivers and BIOS may be
  proprietary.

  What should happen:

  A majority of the PCs for sale should include only free software.

       * http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
       * http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines
       * http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd

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