"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 14:52 UTC (Tue) by dbruce (guest, #57948)
In reply to: Ubuntu: "We have no plans to fork GNOME" (derStandard.at) by DYN_DaTa
Parent article: Ubuntu: "We have no plans to fork GNOME" (derStandard.at)

Is it just me, or does Ubuntu go to great lengths to minimize any mention of Linux? This isn't just the old "Linux" vs. "GNU/Linux" issue. Try going to Ubuntu's site as a newbie with no previous FOSS knowledge, and see if the word "Linux" ever comes up. Even the technical specs for the latest server edition avoid any mention of Linux - see this page:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Server/TechSpecs/1004LTS

The kernel is simply described as:

Default 2.6.32-server Tickless, No Preemption, Deadline I/O, PAE, 100Hz

Elsewhere, the server edition is described as "seamlessly supporting Windows, OSX, and Ubuntu clients".

I'm not sure what to make of all this. Are they afraid that people have heard that "Linux is difficult", therefore they intentionally distance Ubuntu from "Linux" to keep from scaring folks away?

DSB

(needless to say, the GNU project isn't mentioned either. But they aren't subtle about repeatedly emphasizing that they feature Firefox, and to a much lesser extent, OpenOffice.org)

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 15:27 UTC (Tue) by DYN_DaTa (guest, #34072) [Link] (3 responses)

Hum ...

I just made a little experiment related with your post. I have visited the home pages of the following Linux distributions:

Debian
Ubuntu
OpenSUSE
Mandriva
Fedora
Gentoo
Mint
Red Hat
PCLinuxOS
Sabayon
Slackware
Arch
Puppy
Mepis
CentOS
Tiny Core
Zenwalk
Ultimate
Knoppix

Can you guess which of them do not have a single mention of the word "Linux"?

Hint: it is the same that has a single mention of "Debian" through a tiny link at the bottom of the page.

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 17:02 UTC (Tue) by dtor (subscriber, #39360) [Link] (1 responses)

I just glanced over RedHat and Fedora pages and what do I see? "Red Hat Enterprise Linux", "Fedora is a Linux-based operating system..." - can you spot it yet? You need to read more carefully.

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 17:15 UTC (Tue) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link]

Of course they do. He's talking about Ubuntu.

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 17:16 UTC (Tue) by Trelane (subscriber, #56877) [Link]

How many mention GNU?

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 17:32 UTC (Tue) by jspaleta (subscriber, #50639) [Link] (4 responses)

Does Android announce itself as linux?

Does WebOS announce itself as linux?

Does Litl's OS announce itself as linux?

I really don't think you can knock Canonical for attempting to position Ubuntu as a strong stand alone brand in the consumer oriented device space. Linux is a weak brand. Linux is a confusing brand when put in front of consumers. I don't think Canonical is doing anything particularly wrong by building a strong brand in Ubuntu separate from _linux_. If anything its a necessary strategic move to differentiate products in the consumer device space.

-jef

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 18:17 UTC (Tue) by dbruce (guest, #57948) [Link] (3 responses)

"I don't think Canonical is doing anything particularly wrong by building a strong brand in Ubuntu separate from _linux_."

Just to be clear, I didn't mean to imply that Ubuntu should be called "Ubuntu (GNU/)Linux". The name is fine. Still, I find it really strange that they should avoid any mention of the name of the most critical component of their product. Sure, Android is not "announced as linux", but at Google's Android site, the fact that it is based on the Linux kernel is very easy to find. With Ubuntu, they list the kernel's version number and main config items without even saying that it is Linux. Doesn't that strike anyone else as being weird?

Furthermore, if a potential desktop user has heard of "linux", they very likely are not thinking of the kernel, but of a complete distribution.
Unlike Android and WebOS, Ubuntu is a perfect example of what the word "linux" refers to when used in the common, imprecise fashion. Why is their website so evasive about this? If "the common user doesn't know what a linux distribution is", fine, Ubuntu can provide all the same descriptions they have now. But it seems like Canonical does not want newbie users to associate Ubuntu with the rest of the Free/Open software community.

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 10, 2010 19:19 UTC (Tue) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link] (1 responses)

"Sure, Android is not "announced as linux", but at Google's Android site, the fact that it is based on the Linux kernel is very easy to find."

Come on, it's quite easy to find that Ubuntu is Linux-based.

BTW, people forget that "Linux" is actually "Linux" (r)(tm) and use of this trademark is actually NOT free for commercial use.

Even this site has: "Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds" note.

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 20, 2010 23:45 UTC (Fri) by TRauMa (guest, #16483) [Link]

Ubuntu.com -> "What is Ubuntu?" -> Ubuntu on the desktop yadda yadda, no mention of Linux
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

Android.com -> What is Android -> Architecture diagram featuring the Linux kernel
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android...

"Ubuntu Linux"

Posted Aug 11, 2010 4:15 UTC (Wed) by jspaleta (subscriber, #50639) [Link]

You have pretty much described why "linux" a weak brand and exactly why every single consumer oriented product is going to avoid using the word in its mainstream marketing materials. The dilution of its colloquial meaning to be equally and confusing applicable to the 1 billion+ different distributions on distrowatch means that from a product marketing perspective the meaning of "linux" is so that using it when describing your product to the target consumers is going to cause confusion. This is why consumer grade electronic appliances like network gear(NAS,print server, and routers) which use a linux based OS don't really mention it either.

Those of us who care about what products are shipping a linux derived OS ..those of us in the 0.01% tail of the technology consumer market...know how to find that information when we are looking to buy a NAS or router or phone or desktop or whatever (usually because we plan to hack it and extend its functionality) But, noone is going to build a viable consumer brand identity relying on the word "linux" as part of its core branding strategy, no one. There is nothing to gain in mainstream consumer purchasing culture by making it obvious that a particular product has a linux kernel in it. 99% of consumers frankly don't care.

-jef