Ubuntu's new Linux tries getting cloud-friendly
With all the hubbub about Snow Leopard and Windows 7, there's another operating system out there you may not have noticed that's getting a significant update: Ubuntu Linux.
Ubuntu backer Canonical plans to release its "Karmic Koala" version on Thursday, and both the desktop and server versions of the open-source operating system take significant steps toward cloud computing. The concept of moving work away from the computer in front of you and into the network does have some merit, but cloud computing is today's fashionable buzzword, and Canonical Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth is sensitive to its overuse.
Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth speaking at the Intel Developer Forum
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)"What frustrates me is the term 'cloud' has come to mean anything with an Internet connection, including some stuff that really looks familiar like internal IT," said Shuttleworth in an interview. It's fair to say that in Ubuntu's case, though, it's not a stretch.
Built into the server version of Ubuntu 9.10 is Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud, technology built atop the Eucalyptus software package. Amazon Web Services (AWS), a collection of computing infrastructure accessible over the Net on a pay-as-you-go basis, is among today's most significant cloud-computing efforts, and Eucalyptus implements many of its functions so companies can build their own "private clouds" using the same services.
And in the desktop version of Ubuntu, the cloud connection is a service called Ubuntu One, which lets Ubuntu users synchronize files stored on different machines and back them up on the central service. Storage space of 2GB is free, and 50GB costs $10 per month.
The Ubuntu software itself is free; Canonical sells Ubuntu support services.
Ubuntu remains popular among the technically savvy Linux crowd, but it faces challenges. On the server, where Linux is common and there's money to be made, Red Hat is still dominant. On desktops and laptops, Linux has yet to take on Windows or Mac OS X among mainstream computer users.
And to this day, Canonical, the company Shuttleworth founded to back Ubuntu, remains unprofitable. Shuttleworth demurs when asked when the company he's funded will go into the black.
As ever, he's optimistic that the business will bear fruit. Revenue is growing, he said.
"It takes a long time to build traction in the enterprise market, but I now see that traction," Shuttleworth said. "Our growth is something to be proud of."
Linux on the desktop?
Linux has existed for more than a decade as an alternative to Windows for people's PCs, but so far it hasn't spread far beyond programmers and other technically advanced users. It's been held back in part by the difficulties of learning and installing new operating systems and by the lack of software such as Office, Quicken, Photoshop, and games.
Overall, Shuttleworth remains optimistic. One key to the growth among consumers will be adoption through computer manufacturers, an area where he believes the company has made progress. Dell offers Ubuntu machines. And last week, IBM announced a software package called IBM Client for Smart Work that combines Ubuntu with IBM's Lotus software suite.
So how might Linux take off as an operating system for PCs? Although Ubuntu continues to work on basics such as faster booting and better audio in version 9.10, Shuttleworth believes it'll be hard to succeed if the strategy is just to out-Microsoft Microsoft.
"I don't think it'll happen if we continue to define the desktop the way Microsoft defines the desktop," Shuttleworth said.
A better idea is to try to capture growth in new markets. "It's initiatives like Chrome OS and Moblin that hold the key, whether through the pendulum shifting irreversibly to the Web, or with new users and devices," he said. Chrome OS is Google's browser-based operating system that uses Linux under the hood; Moblin is Intel's Linux product for mobile devices built with cooperation from Canonical. "I don't think we will dislodge Microsoft from the traditional desktop."
With its Chrome browser and Chrome OS, Google seeks to push operating systems into the background; applications are Web-based rather than running on the operating system embedded beneath to handle things like communicating with a keyboard, trackpad, or screen. Shuttleworth sees Chrome OS as helpful, though, since other Linux projects could benefit from the support it will bring for technology such as wireless networking hardware.
And Shuttleworth clearly is a fanboy for some of Google's latest initiatives. "I'm fascinated by Chrome, Chrome OS, and (Google) Wave. I think they're awesome," he said.
Ubuntu One, the online storage service, could provide a bit more revenue for the company from the consumer operating-system business.
"Think of it as a drive in the sky that can replicate content across multiple machines," Shuttleworth said. "Most our users are sophisticated users. They have more than one PC and generally battle with the tension of having some content they don't want to manage on the Web but do want to have on multiple machines."
And data sync is a service that could be larger than Linux. "We expect it will span all Ubuntu devices and ultimately perhaps grow to other platforms as well," he added.
Your own private AWS
The most proven Linux market is on the server, though, where Linux is in some ways just another branch of the Unix family tree. Unix and Linux are fixtures of the server market.
Here, Canonical hopes to get ahead through the Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud technology.
The AWS Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) provides access to raw computing power on which customers can fire up their own software from the operating system up. Those servers can store data on AWS' Simple Storage Service (S3) and tap into other AWS services. It's all paid for on the basis of how much processing power is consumed, how much storage space is needed, how much network capacity is used, and similar consumption-based pricing.
Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud is for those who want similar services on their own servers. The software interface mirrors that of AWS' EC2 and S3, so at least in principle a service that exceeds an organization's internal computing capacity could spill over to Amazon's infrastructure.
"In principle the goal is to provide API (application programming interface) compatibility," he said. Eventually, when such services reach mass-market appeal, standards will follow for controlling them, he believes: "We think eventually there will be a common IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) management protocol."
One tricky piece of engineering, though, comes through virtualization, software that lets multiple operating systems run in compartments called virtual machines on one physical computer. Amazon's EC2 uses open-source virtualization called Xen, but Ubuntu's preferred foundation is another, KVM. Ubuntu 9.10, though, will be available in a Xen-based version that works on EC2.
"It's possible to build one machine image which works in both places," Shuttleworth said. "We went to a lot of trouble to make a version for 9.10 that works on EC2."
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
In my opinion this man deserves a Nobel prize.
Mark's day will come!
Never mind that the majority of computer users are still willing, if ignorant, participants of the Micro$oft tax milking scheme.
Arthur
Yeah, real altruistic.
By the way, you have heard of the Shuttleworth Foundation, right? You know there is one?
It's Steve Jobs who has not shown to publically donate any of his earnings to anything other than an apricot orchard.
Bill Gates creates, by dubious means, a monopoly and becomes one of the worlds richest men. He has so much money that we cannot comprehend then goes to Africa, a front man for pharmaceutical companies and other western companies and even his own Microsoft, not to mention his tax benefits and calls it charity. He has certainly fooled many people. His product Windows 7 will cost should I choose to buy it $399, and what for? It does the same things that I do with Ubuntu, but Ubuntu does it with much less fuss. I have given Microsoft hundreds of my dollars already and I don't intend to fund corporations and individuals like that.
Mark runs rings around Bill.
Oh please, I get 25 GB's of online storage through Windows Live Skydrive for free, not a penny spent.
Actually you are wrong. It comes from the Mach Kernel, coming from the Unix OS. However it takes some from FreeBSD's implementation of Unix. And Yes, I know what I'm talking about perfectly
Stephen's comment on Ubuntu not having spread beyond programmers and "technically advanced" (puhleez!) users is just not true - it is by far the most popular Linux distribution on the planet. This is mainly because it is dead easy to install and use.
Serious organisations use it because it offers solid networks at a fraction of the price of windoze. Schools use it because it offers a huge range of learning and media applications, while the server -thin client solution allows them to use donated old computers for the kids. It also allows the kids under-the-bonnet views of the coding which proprietary software doesn't. Thus kids have the option to become involved in the development of software, rather than being just proprietary software consumers.
And individuals like me use Ubuntu because it makes available to me the creative power of a community of tens of thousands of software developers, creating not for their corporate bosses but for general benefit. Its an exciting community - come and join us!
Unfortunately Canonical is limiting the amount of free CDs they`ll be mailing..
http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20091026#news
You can still get it the traditional way (download the ISO)
have we forgotten the sidekick debacle, google gmail down, what if you dont have an internet connection how you going to work
too much hype for "cloud"
That being said, I still like my Windows 7 better.
- faster boot time (and it doesn't get slower and slower over time)
- much more configurable (I can have any look/style/feel I want in terms of pretty much everything... particularly with Kubuntu - I can configure down to how transparent I want which windows, and which effects I want, etc.)
- no worries about viruses or spyware (possible, yes... but not likely)
- lower system resources (while I'm not low on resources here, my laptop runs cooler in Linux, which means the fan runs slower, so it's quieter, and will likely last longer - for me, fans are always the first to go)
- tons of free software in the packet manager - you don't have to search on the web for it; it's all there ready to install if you want it
Other people have other reasons why it's "way better" - or their own reasons why Windows is "way better", or OS X. It's all about choice.
Having said that, you do need to make sure you have time to solve some of the little problems you might have (make sure you read the release notes). And it's not Windows, so it might take a bit of getting used to - for me, a big thing was learning where all the programs and various files are stored.
You install it, and realise "man my screen looks funny" so you have to go all over the internet finding the right driver and look at that you need to compile it. So you go all over the internet finding a simple guide, you do the steps, and its still not the correct resolution. So you need to edit the xserver files forcing it to the correct resolution. Ah 6 hours later you got a proper working GFX card.
So you go on youtube and realise oh **** your sound drivers arnt working and relise there is no drivers. Well look at that, your ******.
The entire OS has only freeware garbage that are vastly inferior to the REAL programs they mimic. No support at all. No games. No programs (that arnt freeware trash) and nothing works properly
Windows 7 is faster, significantly better looking, easier, and more reliable then Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, and Kubntu
So to sum up, you can safely try Ubuntu and see if all your devices work with it without affecting your windows installation :).
Great that you mentioned Wubi (forgot about that)
As well some users may want to try Linux Mint. IMO a better Ubuntu, comes with loads of media CODECS, a bit more polished and no brown (for those that hate the default color scheme)
This is nonsense: "Linux on the desktop?
Linux has existed for more than a decade as an alternative to Windows for people's PCs, but so far it hasn't spread far beyond ****programmers and other technically advanced users.**** It's been held back in part by the *****difficulties of learning and installing new operating systems**** and by the ****lack of software**** such as Office, Quicken, Photoshop, and games. "
lack of software?!! What? Photoshop runs on Wine, so if you want to use it, you can
I have been using PCLinuxOS for the last 6 years. Never had a virus, never had any spyware. I design and develop websites, encode video formats back and forth that will make any mac or windows user's head spin and I am not paying a cent. I am even running flash authoring software natively on top of linux and also have things installed like secondlife, google earth etc. Maybe the support for games are not all that great, but since when was computing all about games anyway? Several of my clients work on Linux as well and they are vey happy with it. If you want an enterprise ready operating system that does not crash for no reason all the time or get infected by malware, then you need to look no further that getting almost any distro out there, popping th live CD in there and installing it. Openoffice will cover the majority of office needs, Thunderbird can do email and firefox internet. Bob's your uncle.
Mark Shuttleworth is a Pioneer and a Visionary. I don't think money is such a great issue for him. Remember he retrenched his staff and gave them each a six zero incentive and paid his own way to travel in space. So if you achieved that at such a young age, and you choose to devote yourself to a project like Ubuntu, don't you think he put some thought into that before he did it?
it's just a great month to be a computer user, regardless of your choices and convictions.
Even if you can't install and configure Windows from scratch, you are probably quite likely to be able to install Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is not hard to use. On the whole, as easy as Windows (possibly easier - I've barely used Windows and I find it hard). Most hardware works out-of-the-box or can be made to work, and what doesn't work can usually be replaced with eBay for something that will.
The only two barriers are that a lot of Windows users have made themselves dependent on proprietary Windows-only software, and a lot of people don't want to learn the differences between Ubuntu and Windows. Ubuntu does things differently to Windows and Macintosh; for instance, you find and install software with a package manager, not by surfing the web for software that will hopefully not contain viruses. Another example: Drives are not referenced by "drive letters" like C:\; they are mounted as part of the filesystem. You open a folder on the filesystem, and there's the contents of your drive.
In short, Linux is different to Windows. You will need to do some learning. But it's been shown time and time again: If you can use Windows, you can use Linux. You just need to learn the difference.
Plus there is no programs on Linux (that arnt **** freeware)
- by jinsyracuse October 27, 2009 6:59 AM PDT
- People miss out on so many of the benefits of Ubuntu or any Linux variant because they are not willing to learn something new. One of the biggest advantages is the reduced cost of technology in our homes. Not having drivers for the very latest hardware is never a concern for me. Ubuntu runs on my old hardware at a level of performance and trust that I never had with a Windows OS. The greatest advantage is trusting the OS to do what you expect it to. If I am copying a 60GB file while burning a DVD, working on a document in Open Office, looking up information on Google and running Windows XP in VirtualBox so I can sync my iPhone, I know all of these tasks will complete as they should. Yup, my old P4 3Ghz with 1024MB of ram slows down, but everything gets done.
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- by bit-tastic October 27, 2009 11:12 AM PDT
- You're missing the point that people don't want to learn anything new. They don't want to have to know any more than they're familiar with, especially if they don't choose to have anything more to do with computers beyond checking their mail, logging into Facebook, and doing some sort of work. Sure you can do all those things on Ubuntu, but if the user has to do any more than what they're familiar and comfortable with, they're not going to be happy. I work support on a variety of things from software to networking to websites and people get frazzled over the simplest of things -- especially if they have to figure something out. That's why they spend at least $1000 more than they need to on Macs.
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- by Dalkorian October 27, 2009 5:00 PM PDT
- Funny you should mention old hardware, my box has an old Creative 48X CD-ROM in the spare slot that hasn't worked since ex-pee sp2, but works perfectly to this day in Ubuntu.
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (54 Comments)All of my software, drivers and updates come from the same place. Centrally managed. No hunting down drivers or software updates on the Internet. I do not see 10 different pices of software asking for an update in the task bar. Software is installed and updated without a restart. Updates are typically very small. 50 updates will typically take less than a minute to download and install.
Console that has some use! Everyone is so skeptical of the console. This is where everything gets done and done quickly. If I want to sort through a folder of 6,000 pictures and pull out just the ones shot with a Nikon in the month of May and copy them to another folder and change the size to 1024x768 as the maximum I can with one typed out command. If you want to do the same on your computer I can share the instructions with you in a one line email. No instructions that start with "click on... then click...". If you want help with adding a user or changing file permissions or controlling how USB handles a device or maybe changing the configuration of a program, all of this community support can copy and pasted into a console and done easily.
It does take time to learn new habits and software. Get started!
Depressing, isn't it?