The Sins of Ubuntu (OS News)

[struggle4progress]

posted by Howard Fosdick on Mon 30th May 2011 22:04 UTC

... Of the above criticisms, those I feel have the greatest merit focus on whether Ubuntu is as easy to use as it could be ...

One underlying explanation ties all this together. Canonical embraces the same philosophy of product development as Microsoft. The emphasis is on introducing new features. New features trump massaging the product to improve its user-friendliness. They trump intra-release compatibility and disruption to the existing user base. They trump device recognition and easier configuration.

Consider Microsoft's business model. The company makes 27% of its total sales revenue from Windows and 27% from Office (2). That's over half Microsoft's revenue. Without it, the company as we know it would cease to exist. Microsoft can't afford to stick with a product and polish it until it shines. Its business model forces it to constantly update, replace, and repackage existing code into new product ...

Canonical implicitly accepts Microsoft's disruptive business model as the terrain for their competition. Ubuntu directly challenges Windows in the new features competition. And it succeeds. But other design goals get pushed to lower priority ...

http://www.osnews.com/story/24803/The_Sins_of_Ubuntu