Ever notice how there are a ton of different Ubuntu variations out there? I lost count after the eighth or so version of the operating system. Let me name just a few that appear in the top 100 distros on distrowatch.com: Ubuntu (comes with the gnome desktop), Kubuntu (comes with the KDE desktop), Xubuntu (the Xfce desktop), Edubuntu (prepacked with educational software), Fluxbuntu (lightweight and extremely efficient Ubuntu), and Ubuntu Studio (Ubuntu for the video professional and graphic artist). My brain hurts just trying to keep track. We all love a great underdog story, and we Linux fans all dream of the day that Ubuntu (or some other fan favorite) finally starts to really pound away at the monolithic corporate giant we've all come to know, to finally deliver the sudden, all powerful uppercut to the software juggernaut, crowning Linux the new heavyweight champ.

Here's a brief discussion why all these variations on the same distribution is going to make it take a little while longer.

I came across this open letter online today, DeviceGuru Open Letter to Mark Shuttleworth. The Open Letter asks Mark Shuttleworth, the Ubuntu Linux Project Founder, to examine Ubuntu's practice of creating so many distros of what is essentially the same product. Pleading to improve brand awareness, the writer of the DeviceGuru letter requests that Mark consider distributing all distros as simply Ubuntu and release the various versions of Ubuntu, such as Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, ad infinitum, as editions.

"I'm just telling it like it is." 

I agree that there's just too much Ubuntu to go around, but I don't think this goes far enough to solve the problem. Ubuntu's main goal, in my opinion, is to appeal to the general masses. What was one of the many nagging complaints about Vista? Weren't people in fits because of all the choices? Should I get Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate? Should I get Ubuntu: The Kubuntu Edition; Ubuntu: The Xubuntu Edition; Ubuntu: The Fluxbuntu Edition? This doesn't alleviate the aforementioned dilemma; this doesn't make it easier for Joe Needs-A-PC, who was considering Linux, until he ventured over to distrowatch.com, and he saw there were dozens and dozens of funny names, and then, when he went looking for the one distro he knew the most about, namely Ubuntu (because it's been everywhere lately), he's shocked to see there isn't just one Ubuntu, but a dozen? It sure looks like it might be even more than a dozen; it might be dozens, if you start to consider all the distros that are derivatives of Ubuntu.

What further compounds the problem is how unnecessary most of these distributions are. For example, I can download and install Ubuntu, and then, if I feel the inclination, I may install the kdesktop package using apt-get, after which I may now choose between my original Gnome desktop and a new KDE Desktop. I can do the same thing by installing the Xfce desktop, the Edubuntu desktop, and so on. As far as the Ubuntu Studio, the multi-media friendly OS, I can just take the time to install all of the multi-media packages myself that come bundled in Ubuntu Studio. My point is that there's nothing you get with one distro that you can't easily get with one of the other distros.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." 

So what do I offer to solve the problem? Maybe they should consider modeling Ubuntu after some of the other distros. Take Fedora for example, when I go to install Fedora, it asks if I would like the Gnome, KDE, or Xfce desktop; I can install one, all, or I could even go gung-ho and opt for the text-only interface. The basic point is that I choose at install what I want, but in the end, it's all Fedora. This makes it easier for the end-user; nobody is wasting time debating between Fedora, Kedora, Xedora, or whatever you would call it. People who want Fedora get Fedora. 

So, how does this benefit Ubuntu? Well, if you have ever checked out distrowatch.com, you'll see just how popular Ubuntu is. It's almost always in the number two spot, behind PCLinuxOS. Now, if you take the popularity of Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, etc, and you combine those into one Ubuntu OS, there would be no touching Ubuntu. It would pin the competition to the ropes, start jabbing away, and it would never look back. It would be the de-facto desktop. Right now, Linux's method of winning is a rope-a-dope, where we never hit back; what are we waiting for? The other guy's gotten tired; it's time to move in for the kill.

"Down goes Frazier, Down goes Frazier, Down goes Frazier!" 

The end goal is to make Linux accessible to the non-Linux user. We want the whole world to see just how great the operating system is. And any little bit helps, even compromising on your naming scheme, giving in, and calling all your distros by the same name. I'm sure that when you labor as long and as hard as they have on their distros, they think of them as their children, and we don't like to call all our children by the same name, but George Foreman did it (George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI), and George Foreman knocked out the undisputed, undefeated knockout king, Joe Frazier in 1971; thirty-seven years later, it's time for Ubuntu to deliver the same knockout punch to the current heavyweight.

Hopefully, the boxing metaphors weren't too aggravating. We, at LinuxHow2, want to know your opinion on this. Continue the thread on this at our "too many Ubuntus" forum page. We want to know if we're way off base here; do people love all the different distros? Maybe it really works for everybody. Maybe it doesn't.

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Comments (4)

3. 21-01-2008 09:20

Multi wm version

It could be good to crate Ubuntu with different wm's. Say, gnome, kde and xfce (then again fluxbox isn't too spacehogging) so that end user would be given a chance to test them all from one disc. I don't know how hard the multi wm integration would be but it would give choice through trial rather than choice through review. 
I've been also hoping for program settings to the installer that I wouldn't get programs that I don't use to my system (off-topic sry . )

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