Goobuntu!

WizZard

:eek:
From here

Google at work on desktop Linux
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.

Khannie

Can't say I'm massively surprised. I'm sure microsoft are sh*tting themselves. This could represent the biggest step forward for linux ever if they have it shiny when it's released.

WizZard

Yeah, there's been rumours for years now. I'm sure they've been waiting for a semi-polished distro that they can "tweak" and make ready for Joe Public.

AARRRGH

You might be shocked to know I own goobuntu.net and goobuntu.org...

I think it'd be great for Linux if Goobuntu really happens. Break the freak image and replace it with a friendly tag...

aidan_walsh

Google has been using its own custom version of Linux since they were still in Stanford. Its running their servers. They also have a custom file system, but I wouldn't worry about that doing damage to NTFS yet...

El Reg wrote:

it's possible Google plans to distribute it to the general public

Nothing but speculation. Its also possible that they are willing to sell their share for tuppence, but until I see it happen...

Frankly, this has been rumoured for far too long to be taken seriously without more to back it up.

dahamsta

The Reg is generally good with rumours though. And this article is specifically about /desktop/ linux.

If the Linux /and/ AJAX Office rumours were true...

adam

aidan_walsh

El Gringo got it wrong.

KeRbDoG

Why would it be so good if Google released this as an OS? 95% of people wouldn't have a clue how to install it never mind how to get their Windows apps working with the likes of Wine.
Trust me, Google would find it hard to improve on Ubuntu, the only thing they might do is make a custom version.

dahamsta

aidan_walsh wrote:

El Gringo got it wrong.

Well, Google has /denied/ it. They're not exactly open about their future plans. Although to be fair, it was pretty much an outright denial, and they don't tend to lie either. Although the flotation has changed them imho...

kerbdog wrote:

Why would it be so good if Google released this as an OS?

Two reasons:

1. Google is damn good at usability. Ubuntu has certainly made Linux more usable, but it still needs to be tweaked. Google could make it more usable; although of course they'd still be stuck with the same licencing issues everyone else has. (They do have a big budget though, and they're obviously not averse to giving stuff away for "free".)
2. Trust. Google is, generally speaking, trusted by the majority of it's users, and I'd guess that a lot more people would be willing to try Linux if Google provided it.

I'm not saying Google is going to do it, but they do have good reason to, which is why the rumour's being going around so long.

adam

Khannie

kerbdog wrote:

Why would it be so good if Google released this as an OS? 95% of people wouldn't have a clue how to install it never mind how to get their Windows apps working with the likes of Wine.
Trust me, Google would find it hard to improve on Ubuntu, the only thing they might do is make a custom version.

Eh, ubuntu, while more usable than other linux distros, is still horrifically complex compared to windows. Google have the money to make linux as usable as windows and the marketing clout to bring it to the masses.

jaqian

Khannie wrote:

...Google have the money to make linux as usable as windows and the marketing clout to bring it to the masses.

We can but hope.

aidan_walsh

Khannie wrote:

Eh, ubuntu, while more usable than other linux distros, is still horrifically complex compared to windows. Google have the money to make linux as usable as windows and the marketing clout to bring it to the masses.

But do they have the ability to provide the backup that Microsoft do, or would they stay dependant on 3rd party contributions? There is an awful lot that Google have to do in the meantime before they are anywhere near ready to put something like this out.

Khannie

aidan_walsh wrote:

There is an awful lot that Google have to do in the meantime before they are anywhere near ready to put something like this out.

Very true. Hundreds of engineering years I'd say. I reckon it'll be at least 10 years before linux is really ready for the masses, given its current (slow) rate of improvement in ease of use unless google intervene in the mean-time. I remember all the IBM rhetoric, and they certainly have helped, but mostly only at the enterprise server level.

dahamsta

This is the thing though, IBM's market is enterprise, and Red Hat's (and SuSE's, and most of the rest of the big player's) market has naturally progressed towards it because (they believed at the time, and they were right) that that's where the money is.

However Google's market - and Mark Shuttleworth's for that matter, at least at this stage - is at the consumer level, so there's a lot to be said for them working together to bring something like this to market. These days, desktop linux is much, much closer to being ready for a consumer market.

Remember, if they did, all the defaults would be set to Google, you'd use your operating system out of the box for the web, email, news, shopping, blogs, video, everything via Google. Maybe even office applications if they did follow through on the other rumour, i.e. AJAX Office.

Again, yes it's a rumour and yes it's wishful thinking (to a certain degree) and yes it may not come for years, but if they're not looking into it very seriously, I'd be very, very surprised.

adam

Syth

I don't think usability or tweaking is what Google could bring to a desktop linux. They can market it. If google creates Goobuntu, then there will be hype from the mainstream media and one single source to turn to for help.

I think there are no technical reasons why Linux is not a major desktop OS. There are social and political reasons, but not technical ones. And I don't think the goal of Linux is to turn into an open source clone of Windows. I recommend <a href="http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm">this article on why Linux is not Windows</a>

Khannie

Syth wrote:

I think there are no technical reasons why Linux is not a major desktop OS. There are social and political reasons, but not technical ones.

Can you clarify that? Do you include usability under "technical"?

I'll give you an example of why linux sucks (I actually love linux, but sometimes it pisses me off no end)....tonight, I brought my ubuntu box downstairs, hooked it up to the projector, booted it up, then tried to set the resolution to 1280x720. Immediate failure. Edit /etc/X11/xorg.conf, failure, repeat, etc.

Now, I'm sure a bit of a google and I'll overcome this (I didn't have internet access in the sitting room), but the point is that it's not very user friendly.

Windows, on the other hand, is very user friendly. People don't want to switch unless there's a clear reason to and, in fairness to them, microsoft have done a great job of removing any reason to switch.

aidan_walsh

Ken Shabby wrote:

all the defaults would be set to Google, you'd use your operating system out of the box for the web, email, news, shopping, blogs, video, everything via Google. Maybe even office applications if they did follow through on the other rumour, i.e. AJAX Office.

Again, yes it's a rumour and yes it's wishful thinking

I'm sorry, but didn't the last guys to do this get villianised to damnation because of it? They still can't do anything right in the eyes of most of the public. Yet if Google were to do the exact same thing they would be championed? BS.

dahamsta

Did I applaud the idea?

Khannie

aidan_walsh wrote:

I'm sorry, but didn't the last guys to do this get villianised to damnation because of it?

Who?

aidan_walsh

Khannie wrote:

Who?

Microsoft.

AndrewMc

aidan_walsh wrote:

I'm sorry, but didn't the last guys to do this get villianised to damnation because of it? They still can't do anything right in the eyes of most of the public. Yet if Google were to do the exact same thing they would be championed? BS.

Google have yet to be convicted on multiple continents for abusing their monopoly. It'd probably be a problem if that happens, but for the moment...

jaqian

Khannie wrote:

Windows, on the other hand, is very user friendly. People don't want to switch unless there's a clear reason to and, in fairness to them, microsoft have done a great job of removing any reason to switch.

Love them or hate them they have a very user friendly OS. Any device I buy will work straight outta the box with XP even old DOS printers from twenty years ago. I bought an Apple G3/G4 usb keyboard few weeks back works like a charm with no cd drivers needed.

Think about it if it wasn't for windows we wouldn't have all these pc's to stick Linux on. MS fulfilled their (borrowed)dream of putting a computer in every home.

Linux has some catching up to do before ppl can switch. I dabble with Linux but I can't make the switch yet as there is so much I don't know. When I started with win3.1 and later with win95 I was able to do everything from the get go. Install a program... easy. No apt-get and no compiling just insert disc, click on setup/install and away you go. Why doesn't Linux have that?

AndrewMc

jaqian wrote:

Love them or hate them they have a very user friendly OS. Any device I buy will work straight outta the box with XP even old DOS printers from twenty years ago. I bought an Apple G3/G4 usb keyboard few weeks back works like a charm with no cd drivers needed.

Think about it if it wasn't for windows we wouldn't have all these pc's to stick Linux on. MS fulfilled their (borrowed)dream of putting a computer in every home.

Linux has some catching up to do before ppl can switch. I dabble with Linux but I can't make the switch yet as there is so much I don't know. When I started with win3.1 and later with win95 I was able to do everything from the get go. Install a program... easy. No apt-get and no compiling just insert disc, click on setup/install and away you go. Why doesn't Linux have that?

Chicken v egg. Windows is on (voluntarily or not) nearly every PC sold, so hardware and software manufacturers support it by default. If every PC was Linux-based by default, MS would have a hard time getting manufacturers to bother supporting it. Practically nothing to do with the OS, almost everything to do with market share.

Much hardware support for Linux is done by volunteers, and often only after the product is released. Software, however, I've not compiled for a long time. On Ubuntu you can do a search on Synaptic, a few clicks later whatever you asked for is installed. It's actually easier than commercial software, I reckon, since it's the same procedure for everything.

Khannie

AndrewMc wrote:

It's actually easier than commercial software, I reckon, since it's the same procedure for everything.

Synaptic does have lots of advantages over windows installers. The general point remains though, that windows is a top notch piece of software (after many semi-botched versions) and is a user friendliness nirvana.

Aidan: Doh! I was thinking unix.