[Ubuntu-US-CA] 2014 Ubuntu Phone (was Re: Edge Crowdfunding on CNNfn)

[Grant Bowman]

Is any press bad press? Having a presence as a lead story on
money.cnn.com is notable for anyone even passingly interested (or
disinterested) in Ubuntu. I think this cnet article is an important
follow up quoting Canonical CEO, Jane Silber.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57599754-94/canonical-ceo-expect-an-ubuntu-phone-in-early-2014/

http://twitter.com/ubuntu_os: Jane Silber, Canonical CEO: Expect an
Ubuntu Phone in early 2014... http://fb.me/365fdDqtM

It's certainly fashionable for people to deride Linux. It has been
fashionable for a long time and it still is in the US, but forward
progress takes on different characteristics at different scales.
Android and Chromebooks are putting Linux in the hands of US consumers
that don't even know it's Linux. Other markets find different
conditions right now which is where much of the desktop Linux growth
may be happening.

I think an essay from 1999 I reread recently can find new relevance
today. Even the wrong predictions can give a new perspective on the
present OS market. "In the Beginning was the Command Line" by Neal
Stephenson http://www.cryptonomicon.com/beginning.html He describes a
hypothetical intersection of streets with each corner hawking a
different operating system as if they were motor vehicles. How can can
the Windows OS still command the market offering overpriced, poorly
performing station wagons when Linux is offering free tanks that use
fuel at the pace of a subcompact car? From the essay...

    Hacker with bullhorn: "But if you accept one of our free tanks we
will send volunteers to your house to fix it for free while you
sleep!"
    Prospective Station Wagon Buyer: "Stay away from my house, you freak!"
    Bullhorn: "But..."
    Buyer: "Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?"

What do you think?

Grant


On Thu, Aug 22, 2013 at 9:32 PM, Grant Bowman <grantbow at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> FYI, this is THE headline on their website right now.
>
> http://money.cnn.com/2013/08/22/technology/mobile/ubuntu-edge-crowdfunding/index.html
>
> Grant
>
>
> P.S. Thanks to my brother in law for letting me know about this.