The bi-annual Ubuntu Developer Summit has kicked off in Florida with a key-note address from Ubuntu’s founder Mark Shuttleworth.
Before laying out his thoughts, aims and plans for the week-long conference, Mark took the time to thank users for recent congratulations on Ubuntu’s 7th birthday, calling it a significant milestone ‘in internet years’.
Challenges and opportunities
Citing the ‘challenges and opportunities’ in the coming months, Shuttleworth stressed the need to engage with developers by making it easy for them to develop an deliver their software on Ubuntu.
Recent initiatives, such as the Ubuntu developer portal, were likened to a ”flag in the ground”, but effort is yet needed to make the developer experience ‘first class’.
Enthusiasm abounded for the most recent release of Ubuntu, version 11.10. ‘Users can do more in 11.10 than 11.04, and 10.10 before that’ said Shuttleworth.
The revamped Ubuntu Software Centre than landed in 11.10 was singled out for particular praise, with Shuttleworth revealing that its use was ‘exploding’.
12.04 LTS
The newly extended support period for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was driven by the increasing number of deployments of Ubuntu on grand scales, and its pre-installation on wide range of devices.
‘3 years just wasn’t enough’ said Shuttleworth. “[and] OEMs care about this.”
To this end a streamlined reference desktop for business deployment is to be put together.
Other Misc
The recently launched Vodafone Webbook was mentioned, as was ‘wider availability’ of the device coming soon.
Ubuntu 11.10’s Music Lens is but the first ‘in a series of content orientated lenses’, according to the keynote. Expect more lens akin to the recently featured Movie lens.
Support for multi-monitor support, faster boot time, and better power management will all be key goals for the Pangolin.
The launch of Ubuntu One for Windows brought the service an additional 110,000 users – 25,000 of whom had not used Ubuntu before.
Linux for Human Beings: part II
Further to yesterday’s announcement that Ubuntu will be seeking to ship on more form factors than ‘just desktops’, Mark recalled Ubuntu’s mission statement as ‘Linux for human beings’.
“People don’t just use desktops anymore. How can we in this community make Ubuntu relevant on devices like phones, tablets and TVs?” he said.
“The future belongs to an array of smart screens. That’s why Unity is called Unity: we knew we were moving into a world of convergence. It’s not just about having the same code running on the same devices, but rather one device that [can have] all of those personalities built into it.”
Pangolin image by guyingrey.deviantart.com/