Comments on: Canonical Bolsters Partner Strategy for Ubuntu Linux

By: aikiwolfie

aikiwolfie — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:39:48 +0000

UNIX has been around for a long time. It had an established user base. It’s largely been replaced by Linux.

DOS, MS or otherwise had an established user base. The Acorn BBC Micro had a monopoly in British schools. The Amiga had been around for awhile and had an established user base. Likewise with Atari, Amstrad and any number of companies. Remember Sega?

The next gen console race used to be between Sega and Nintendo. Now it’s Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony!

Come to think of it. Apple with it’s fan boys has been around longer than Microsoft. IBM has been around longer than most!

In a commercial environment your user base counts for nothing if you’re not attracting investment in one form or another. Think partnerships, OEMs etc.

By: aronzak

aronzak — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:58:18 +0000

@ vm
Look at the stats:
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS8454912761.html

Sorry. Ubuntu 1, Suse 2. Mandriva? 3%. Pathetic.

By: TK

TK — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:16:17 +0000

I like the foundation being set with these materials. What I personally hope to see soon is advertising in “mainstream” channels, like TV and radio and newspapers. Having a few flash ads on technology sites doesn’t let the general public know they actually have a choice. Once these three key messages mature into solid offerings, there will be an excellent foundation ready for the masses to hear about GNU/Linux in more direct advertising.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:03:32 +0000

The point was different. The point is that it’s about perception, Joe.

By: The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:08:50 +0000

@VM: Your statement that Ubuntu is “all marketing and hype” is WAY off the mark. Did you know Canonical doesn’t spend a dime on advertising? What they HAVE managed to do is successfully engage mainstream PC makers (Dell, for one) to push the Linux desktop discussion forward.

The VAR Guy is not suggesting that Ubuntu is better than Mandriva, SUSE, Red Hat and all the other options. But The VAR Guy is stating that Ubuntu is for real and is gaining critical mass.

By: vm

vm — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:03:40 +0000

I bet there are more mandriva users than ubuntu in the real world out there. I am one of them.

ubuntu is all marketing and hype. True, marketing can get you some eyeballs but in an OSS world of choice, eventually people get wiser. Besides, mandriva has been around a long time and it has an established base of users.

By: Ampers Taylor

Ampers Taylor — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:37:52 +0000

Just typed in Mandriva, Ubuntu¨ into Google Trends and it is a sorry sight for Mandiva.

I think the basic difference is that Mandiva hasn´t got a ¨Mark Shuttleworth¨.

MS (unfortunate initials) has, apart from a degree in business management, and a proven track record by the time he was 25, tremendous flair and vision, coupled to imagination and doing things in the right order. He is, as they say in South Africa, a smart cookie.

If someone told me I could have a million dollars/pounds.yen or whatever (or 1,000,000,000,000,000,056,763.84 Zimbabwean dollars) as long as I invested in a Linux distribution, then it would have to be Ubuntu.

This is an example I often use to focus my thinking and I used it immediately I read the article before seeing the comments.(I added the Zim dollars for humour.)

Ampers.

By: Roy Schestowitz

Roy Schestowitz — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:56:27 +0000

[Mandriva user here (used Ubuntu for years)]

Having tried both, Joe, Mandriva is better.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:35:37 +0000

Ubuntu is a brand that’s going mainstream, backed by companies like Dell and to a lesser extent, Sun. Are any big mainstream computer companies backing Mandriva?

The question may not matter to true open source advocates. But for mainstream users considering Linux, brands like Dell matter.

By: tracyanne

tracyanne — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:28:20 +0000

Canonical are not offering anything that Mandriva http://www.mandriva.com/enterprise/en/products/overview is not offering, plus the fact that Mandriva Linux actually runs on more and different hardware than Canonical’s offering. See the Calssmate with Mandriva Linux support http://www.mandriva.com/enterprise/en/partners/classmate-pc-with-mandriva-linux or the GDium http://www.gdium.com/