back to article Canonical: Mobile OEMs are going to love our Linux

Ubuntu, the free and user-friendly Mac-a-like flavour of Linux, will be targeted at mobile phones, tablets and smart TVs. The new OS could chew into Google's Android market share, although it's not expected to hit devices until April 2014, Mark Shuttleworth (founder of Ubuntu developer Canonical) said in an interview ahead of …

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  1. Matt Bucknall

    The reason for the horror that is Unity becomes clearer.

    1. Change can be good
      Happy

      Unity + Cairo = Problem Solved

      Here is a very good suggestion for those who dislike Unity & for Ubuntu users who liked the 'good old' Ubuntu: Install Cairo / AWN Dock

      Ubuntu 11.10 + Cairo / AWN Dock = Awesome!

      This way you have the eye candy of Unity & Cairo Dock. I find Cairo Dock has some functionality & accessibility that has yet to come to Unity.

      1. amehaye
        Thumb Up

        Gnome shell

        I find Gnome shell to be much more polished and useful than unity. Plus, it got a sane notification system, which is what drove me away from unity in the first place. Give it a try, you will not be sorry.

  2. nematoad
    Stop

    What?

    "Canonical will start to focus on making a mobile Ubuntu".

    Bah! I thought that they already had with that Unity rubbish.

    The "Janet and John" of UIs.

  3. Change can be good
    Pint

    User is King!

    When there is competition, the User is King!

  4. Drew V.
    Linux

    It can't get here fast enough

    Android is not nearly open enough for my tastes, and way too Chocolatey Big Brother. This should be a step up.

  5. Mystic Megabyte

    I do not want to give even a penny more to Microsoft, so Android or Nokia is out for me.

    I wouldn't touch Apple products with a bargepole.

    I don't particularly want a "smart phone" that has to be re-charged daily, I have a mobile that is reliable.

    I'm happy to wait and maybe I'll get a 'buntu tablet, especially if the price is right.

    BTW I don't facebork or tweet and I am a grumpy bastard.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Jeez with those demands and the current state of things you might get something useful say around 2025?!

  6. The BigYin

    So...

    ...will Canonical have to pay a feu to MS, or will MS go after the OEMs?

    Canonical does not have the funds that Google has, so there is a good chance that MS could hit them with patent lawsuits.

  7. Nya
    Coat

    "OEMS ARE GOING TO LOVE OUR LINUX"

    Like they do with your desktop product?

  8. pieeater3142
    Thumb Down

    Ubuntu reliability is spiraling the drain. Hate to think what this will be like when it hits a mobile phone. Unity has destroyed the stability of Linux. Bring back a stable OS and I might have faith in a mobile OS from Canonical.

  9. jonoMT

    SPPFFFFTTT! Good luck on the mobile OS

    Would you like an ecosystem with that?

  10. Jim 59

    Get the Market right and they will come

    If canonical can produce a decent, quality-controlled Market Place, this might just work.

    Even better: make the OS capable in the first pace, so punters don't have to chase round the flea market for basic functionality that should be built in.

  11. AdamWill
    WTF?

    2014?

    2014? Hey, that's only about six years too late!

    (Disclaimer: I work for Red Hat. But, really...2014? And no, we don't have a competing mobile OS we're releasing tomorrow. As far as I know. I'm just throwing peanuts.)

  12. Manu T

    "a consistent platform with a tightly structured user experience"

    Funny that's NOT what these OEM's want. They want chaos, FUD and incompatibility. They sell this as 'diversity' and 'choice'. Even Microsoft will eventually allow this 'diversity' to creep in (it probably already has so with Nokia). Which in effect will lead them (again) to the same bad situation that they gotten themselves into with Windows Mobile years ago.

    And which is eventually the downfall of Android. In that case it's no surprise that Google bought Motorola. Because, if (actually the question is more likely: when?) partners cease their collaboration with regards to Android, Google can fight back with it's own hardware and software. The same way Apple does (and what Nokia used to do)

    Too much diversification all incompatible between one and another. And too much mix and match between old and new versions afloat the same market. Too much "UI-enhancements" which break a proper upgrade cycle. Which is bad for customers but is excactly what handset-makers and telecomcos want. They wrap this up with flashy swipes, shiny icons and swishy animations. They don't want lasting products that get properly upgraded as fast as the new version is released. They don't want a structured product cycle where all of their devices carry current top-notch OS revisions and where older products get rejuvenated with OS upgrades.

    And the majority of "the market" is too stupid to even notice this.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Just one question

    How much are they paying for those Ubuntu ad ?

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    2014?

    Not so much late to the party but more like getting run over by the cabs taking drunken guests home!

    Sorry Mark old son but the latest version with that a cursed Unity was the last straw. 10.10 was rock solid, but 11.x versions are chewing up my box like it's going out of fashion. Sticking to 10.10 until I find a distro of equal quality from another house.

  15. BinaryFu
    Linux

    Sorry, I can't read this article...

    Did you seriously just call Ubuntu Mac-Alike? Seriously? It shares (let's count them here) 1 common feature with a Mac - the top bar layout is the same.

    Personally, I wish them luck in the fondleslab and fondlephone arenas. More competition is always a good thing.

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