Ubuntu. Humanity to others. What is mine is yours. The ancient African word now applies to a new, free operating system for your computer. Download it for free, use it for free and pass it on. Mark Shuttleworth, the first South African in space, launched the system in Johannesburg on Thursday. He is convinced Ubuntu will conquer the world of software.
Ubuntu is part of a software movement called open source. This movement believes software should be free and accessible to everyone. Open source has contributed to making Shuttleworth the billionaire he is today.
“With Ubuntu I am putting something back into the community that enabled me to do so much [like paying a visit to space],” Shuttleworth said.
“I could not have built Thawte without open-source software.”
Shuttleworth sold Thawte, a company focusing on security for internet commerce, to VeriSign to make his fortune.
Open source
If you need something for your computer, such as a program to manipulate pictures, you can go to the shop and buy the latest version of Adobe Photoshop. Or you can browse the internet and download the The GIMP.
The GIMP is an open-source program that is free to use for everyone. Adobe Photoshop is what we call propriety software, which means that it is licensed and thus requires payment before you can use it.
The two programs work differently, but the same results can be achieved.
Open-source software is free to use for everyone — not only consumers, but also the developers of software have free access to these programs. They can see how they work and use that knowledge to create their own or amend and develop the existing software.
Open-source software comes in all shapes and sizes, from operating systems to word processors and pop-up blockers.
The engine behind open source is the belief that free software will generate innovations and stimulate creativity among creators, thus developing software further and further.
“I am convinced that open source will break the monopoly of Microsoft,” Shuttleworth said.
“I hope that Ubuntu will be appreciated and loved by the open-source community, and that it can be a tool for developing the movement.”
Shuttleworth thus encourages software developers to use Ubuntu as a building stone for the further development of open-source software.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is an operating system for your computer — similar to Microsoft’s XP or Mac’s OSX. In fact, its design resembles the style used by the Macintosh operating system. It is clean and simple, and the colour white is dominant.
The operating system has been developed for everyone, from computer experts to school kids. It is simple in layout and quite user-friendly.
The applications, such as a word processor and a browser for the internet, are also part of the open-source software.
There will be a new release of Ubuntu every six months. Security updates will be released constantly and can be downloaded from the web for free.
Computer geeks can create additional software that will work on Ubuntu. Shuttleworth simply doesn’t care if they sell these applications and get stinking rich or if they make this software part of the open-source community, such as The GIMP.
“I want to create a platform from which people can build their own businesses. I want creators to think about how they could make Ubuntu better and than build that application.
“I believe that the days of ‘one size fits all’ software are over. I would like to see Ubuntu develop into many different shapes.
“If people want to charge money for the application they build for Ubuntu, go ahead. If Adobe wants to sell Photoshop for Ubuntu, that is fine.
“My belief is that the open-source movement will develop the same applications as the propriety-software companies. Companies that sell propriety software will then simply not be sustainable because everybody will use open-source varieties.”
There are more operating systems available through open source. The software of these systems is free but they are mostly packaged with applications that still cost money.
Shuttleworth said: “I believe that all software should be free. Everything that is developed by Canonical [the company that sponsors the development of Ubuntu] will be free.”
Canonical deploys 37 people in 12 different countries. Which means that, due to different time zones, Ubuntu can be developed and amended 24 hours a day.
“We will make money by selling technical-support knowledge to companies that will install Ubuntu for cooperations, but the software is free.
“I hope we turn Canonical in to a sustainable business within the next two years,” said Shuttleworth.
But isn’t that a bit hard if you simply give your product away?
“As Ubuntu develops, the services around the operating system will also develop. We will make money delivering those services.”
Currently, the only service that will bring the company money is the technical support. Shuttleworth could not yet disclose what other services will be developed in the future.
“I am willing to throw a certain amount of money into the project, about $10-million over the next two years. If the open-source community does not like Ubuntu and Canonical cannot be sustainable, I will switch off the money.”