If Mark Dies, What Of Ubuntu?

[coolblue]

A very simple question: IF MARK DIES, WHAT OF UBUNTU? Will Ubuntu die too? Kubuntu is already having financial problems with Canonical and if something happens to Mark, it will probably become obsolete. And soon Ubuntu will as well, since Canonical won't be able to pay the developers.

Better stay with OpenSuse:) which has got a big name like Novell behind it and its been here for many years. Or Debian or Fedora.

Or is it that Ubuntu won't die with Mark but will stay? Kindly explain how that is possible!

Btw how does Mark plan to make money out of Ubuntu? Since the beginning, he's only been SPENDING on Ubuntu and probably not getting anything out of it!

So what is Ubuntu's future???

[aysiu]

Every rich person I know has investments, a will, and some kind of foundation. I would imagine the same is true for Mark.

[fuscia]

on the bright side: maybe you'll die first and you won't have to worry about it.

[GeneralZod]

A very simple question: IF MARK DIES, WHAT OF UBUNTU? Will Ubuntu die too? Kubuntu is already having financial problems with Canonical and if something happens to Mark, it will probably become obsolete. And soon Ubuntu will as well, since Canonical won't be able to pay the developers.


I thought I read somewhere that Mark had set up a foundation that would be self-sustaining (i.e. only the interest from the initial investment goes to fund development). Can anyone confirm or deny this? If true, then Ubuntu can easily carry on without Mark.

And since Kubuntu has always consisted of one paid developer, I doubt there's any real financial problems that they haven't been able to deal with already :) Plus, for Dapper, Kubuntu CDs will be distributed via Ship-it, which should ease the burdens slightly.



Better stay with OpenSuse:) which has got a big name like Novell behind it and its been here for many years.


As far as I'm concerned, Novell are running SUSE into the ground (many of the top SUSE guys have quit under the new leadership). Novell themselves aren't exactly in pristine financial health, either - the majority of their revenue last year came from the one-off settlement of a legal dispute. Neither Novell nor Mandriva are companies I would comfortable bet on being around in the next five years, to be honest.



Or Debian or Fedora.


Out of the three distros you mentioned, these are the two most likely to be around over the next few years :)



Btw how does Mark plan to make money out of Ubuntu? Since the beginning, he's only been SPENDING on Ubuntu and probably not getting anything out of it!


I can't remember the exact quote, but Mark said something about making money from support and, if that didn't work out, that was fine, too - he was happy to consider Ubuntu to be a donation to the Free software community which were of a big help in making his fortune.

In case you may have missed it, Mark is not exactly strapped for cash ;)



So what is Ubuntu's future???

Who can tell? It seems pretty rosy from where I'm standing, though :)

[KiwiNZ]

This thread is umm silly

[transient]

Read here, in his own words:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarkShuttleworth

.
e

[aysiu]

Read here, in his own words:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarkShuttleworth

.
e Here's the relevant passage:
If you don't make a commercial "Ubuntu Professional Edition", how can Ubuntu be sustainable?

We have some initial revenues from services related to Ubuntu. We have been contracted to produce customised distributions, and we participate in large-scale tenders for big Linux deployments, usually in partnership with local companies, where our job is to provide escalation support. In addition to widespread adoption in developing countries, Ubuntu may well be running all over NASA's Moffett Field soon... So we have the foundations of a sustainable project, and I'm confident that we have a reasonable chance of getting Ubuntu to the point where it funds itself for ongoing growth.

Exactly how it will all pan out from a business perspective is difficult to judge. I don't have all of those answers. That's OK, this is a risky (ad)venture, which is still at an early stage, so I don't expect to know. I can personally justify my investment in Ubuntu on philanthropic grounds (at least, the money we spend on open source development and on tools for open source developers, like Launchpad) because most of my good luck and wealth could only have been created using open source tools. I'm happy to give back to the community. Inasmuch as we start to spend money on suits, they need to be sustainable quickly. We currently make some money offering certification related services (certifying developers, administrators, applications, and hardware) as well as customisation services (you want your own distro, based on Ubuntu, let's talk). Demand for those services is growing. I'm pretty confident that I can get Canonical to break even on that basis. And breaking even is fine by me, because it means that Ubuntu will continue to rock even if I decide it's time to go back to space and pick the wrong Soyuz.

It's also important to distinguish between Canonical, which is a for-profit services operation, and the Ubuntu Foundation, which has capital from me, on a non-profit basis, to continue Ubuntu's work. With the announcement of the Ubuntu Foundation, I was basically saying "OK, this project has legs, I'll commit enough capital to keep the core going for a long time no matter what happens to me or Canonical". So we have plenty of time to grow sustainability around the project. If you want to help on that front, send work to Canonical next time you need something done with Ubuntu. We won't let you down.

[woedend]

ill pay for it :)

[ShanghaiTeej]

ill pay for it :)

If worse comes to worse...we can open source our kidneys on the black market to keep this thing going...eh???

[nalmeth]

on the bright side: maybe you'll die first and you won't have to worry about it.
haha

What if Bill Gates dies?

Ubuntu will carry on. Or maybe if Mark does die :rolleyes: a big company can just "fork" Ubuntu, and do development itself.

I think Mr. Shuttleworth was interested in getting Ubuntu off the ground, with the hope of eventually seeing it become somewhat self-sufficient.

ubuntu is getting so widely used, community support is building.

[woedend]

dude im durnk as can be, and right now i thin i have a million dollars dont ruin it :)

[aysiu]

The great thing about open source is that even if Canonical dies, someone can fork Ubuntu and keep going with it (Mepis will already be based off Ubuntu).

If Microsoft dies, so does Windows.

[tseliot]

on the bright side: maybe you'll die first and you won't have to worry about it.
I quote Fuscia's bastard reply :p

That's the right phylosophy :D

[Iandefor]

I agree with KiwiNZ.

[zubrug]

Coolblue, can I have your stuff if you die.

What a thread?

[briancurtin]

this is the wierdest **** ever

[engla]

Perhaps Mark has a big spot for Ubuntu in his will.

[mips]

I don't think it is polite or right to speculate around potential events after an individuals future death. It sounds so *^&**@&( selfish, what's happening to the world ?

[Mathias-K]

If Mark dies, Canonical's biggest problem would be finding a replacement with the same inspiring speeching talent :)

I think the development would go on, or Jonathan Riddell would become the next international playboy and spawn a new distro named RidelLinux.

[RavenOfOdin]

Morbid much, guys? :D

[RAV TUX]

Btw how does Mark plan to make money out of Ubuntu? Since the beginning, he's only been SPENDING on Ubuntu and probably not getting anything out of it!

So what is Ubuntu's future???

take a look at Impi Linux for your answer. I am downloading the Duty Free version now.

http://www.impilinux.co.za/

Impi Linux was South Africa's first desktop Linux distribution. It was created in 2001 by the Gauteng Linux User Group (GLUG).

Today it develops, releases, supports and maintains the ImpiLinux operating system and is the official representative of Ubuntu and the official Ubuntu support provider in Africa.

Primarily run, developed and funded by volunteers in its early days, the Impi Linux project became a (Pty) Ltd in March 2005, a step that marked its transition from project to serious player in the local OSS market.

In August that year, Mark Shuttleworth and Impi Linux announced a deal that would see Ubuntu and Impi joining forces to tackle the SADC region.

Impi Linux is today owned by Shuttleworth's HBD Business Holdings (65%), Khuselo Investments (Pty) Ltd (10%) and several minor shareholders (5%). The remaining 20% of the shares in the entity have been earmarked for BEE, in the form of The Impi Linux BEE Share Trust, which will disburse shares to previously disadvantaged employees over time.

Impi Linux is Ubuntu's commercial arm in the region, and the ImpiLinux distribution is based on Ubuntu.

:mrgreen:

[nalmeth]

hey yozef, thanks for that link + info

I had heard about Impi Linux before, but didn't look much into it.

Slick website, it's funny that it's good to know that Mr. Shuttleworth is pursuing profit, it seems to validate the Free Ubuntu way. OR at least, it is a less concerning possibility that Ubuntu is being used to push out the other popular linux distro's, then charge for ubuntu with a huge market share.

[jsgotangco]

The foundation was made specifically if such events happen (eq. Mark wakes up and decides to chase blondes again, go to Mars, etc.).

[RAV TUX]

hey yozef, thanks for that link + info

I had heard about Impi Linux before, but didn't look much into it.

Slick website, it's funny that it's good to know that Mr. Shuttleworth is pursuing profit, it seems to validate the Free Ubuntu way. OR at least, it is a less concerning possibility that Ubuntu is being used to push out the other popular linux distro's, then charge for ubuntu with a huge market share.

Good Welcome, here is a wonderful in depth article about the venture.

Shuttleworth invests in ImpiLinux

http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/8258/markshuttleworth5ju.th.jpg (http://img462.imageshack.us/my.php?image=markshuttleworth5ju.jpg)


New Linux distro to combine the best of Ubuntu's stability and Impi's local innovation.

*Cape Town - 28.09.2005 - *Mark Shuttleworth, together with ImpiLinux and various other investors have announced the successful conclusion of an agreement to combine forces in the South African and SADEC Linux market. The next version of Impi will be based on Ubuntu, and Shuttleworth will make a substantial investment in the new company.

The result will be a distribution of Linux, still called “ImpiLinux”, that draws on the robust and innovative underlying technologies prevalent in Ubuntu and the localised features and functionality prevalent in ImpiLinux. Impi will be a truly South African variant of the popular Ubuntu platform, which has in the past year become one of
the world's most popular desktop Linux operating systems. Ubuntu itself will continue to remain freely available on the global market, while Impi will offer additional commercial functionality not available in Ubuntu, as well as strong localisation for the South African marketplace. Impi will initially be available in English, Xhosa and Afrikaans, with the potential for translation into additional South African languages on the basis of customer demand.

Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical and the Ubuntu Linux project comments: “The Impi team are justifiably proud of their pioneering reputation in the South African Linux market. This additional financial backing, additional development resources through a combined development approach with Ubuntu, and a relationship with the global company Canonical, puts Impi in a very strong position to offer a world class product for the South African desktop Linux market” he says.

Gary Fortuin, current ImpiLinux shareholder, will take-up the role of company MD in the new entity, which will be named `ImpiLinux (Pty) Ltd'. Gary brings years of experience in the local IT industry, having worked with both Microsoft and the Impi Linux project.

The majority shareholding in the new venture will be held by
Shuttleworth's HBD Business Holdings, with an additional shareholding from Khuselo Investments (Pty)Ltd. Khuselo Investments will be jointly represented by Eddie Funde, current chairman of the SABC and Pumla Radebe, Johannesburg City Parks Chairperson. In addition, 20% of the shares in the new entity have been earmarked for BEE, in the form of a trust that will disburse shares to previously disadvantaged employees over time.

Fortuin says one of the biggest differentiators will be the Impi development team's local perspective and closeness to its customer base. “Because we are a South African organisation, communication between customers and ourselves takes place far faster than with any internationally staffed support offering and should a face to face meeting be required, this can be facilitated at far less cost and
hassle,” comments Fortuin.

“Also, as a local company we can make a strong commitment to Black Economic Empowerment. In terms of the localised features the new distribution will boast, Fortuin says the development team will start by working closely with South Africa's major broadband providers to build native support for their access devices and solutions into the operating system. “We will also be enhancing the local language support prevalent in Impi to ensure that Impi provides ICT access to South Africans in their home language, helping to preserve and strengthen South African
cultural heritage while providing the country with a technology platform for the 21^st century” Fortuin says.

“Other features will take the form of customising the environment to best suit the local user, through making the look and feel more visually appealing and more South African in flavour,” he says. “In addition, we will ensure that Impi can support global standard formats such as Adobe
PDF, DVD discs, and MP3 music files. Impi could potentially even run Windows applications, with commercial xtensions that provide for greater desktop compatibility between Windows and Linux.”

“Going forward, Impi will tailor its solution to the needs of the South African market, thereby taking the fantastic innovation made possible by Ubuntu into the enterprise space. We maintain committed to keeping local funds local, channelling all revenue into improving the ImpiLinux solution, increasing its sustainability and driving adoption of Linux and OSS in the local market. While these are bold commitments and aspirations, we believe they are more than possible,” adds Fortuin.

“This venture adds previously unseen depth to the local ICT market. The new team has the skills and the technology to create a Linux distribution that meets all the critical needs of corporates and government departments.” Shuttleworth concludes.

http://www.impilinux.co.za/article/impi

[KiwiNZ]

The OP has not responded in this somewhat odd thread . I am going to close it .

[easyease]

this thread is beyond selfish, thoughtless, and stupid.
it's like asking your mother what she is leaving you in her will.
then you have the cheek to tell us to use another distro...............dumbass](*,)