

Ubuntu Edge: founder says failure isn't the end of the dream - chrismjelde
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/aug/22/ubuntu-edge-founder-failure-canonical

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bad_user
First of all, I must say that I love Ubuntu on my desktop, being my main and
only desktop OS, however I think Shuttleworth is deluding himself ...

So, I'm having problems seeing Ubuntu compete with Android. He claims that
Android is too fragmented, but regular users aren't complaining about
fragmentation, mobile makers and careers aren't complaining about it either.
How can they, when they are responsible for it? If anything, the only reason
they'd like an alternative is precisely because Google is imposing their will
on them. The only people complaining and caring about fragmentation are the
developers. And for good reason, fragmentation is a serious problem, however
this hasn't stopped Android from dominating the landscape. And Google, with
all of their muscles, still hasn't solved it and it isn't for a lack of trying
- I'm really curious about how Canonical plans to solve it, because I'm not
seeing it as being something solvable, at least not by Canonical.

If fragmentation + being an alternative are Ubuntu's sole raison d'être on
mobile, then it has no way to win anything. And also ...

> _[Shuttleworth] says that Firefox OS has the weakness that "everything it
> does is in the browser, and that isn't necessarily going to be recognised by
> websites as a mobile browser - so you get the desktop site on your mobile
> screen. Ubuntu uses a WebKit-based browser [like Apple's MobileSafari and
> Google Chrome] so you get the mobile one._"

I've been using Firefox on my Android(s) for about 1 year. I think it is the
best mobile browser right now and I never noticed the above problem.

I'm not saying that it doesn't happen sometimes (maybe it does), however the
mobile web landscape is in a funny state right now. Companies and individuals
that care about the mobile web (e.g. Twitter, Google) do realize that WebKit
is not the only game in town. Companies that don't are those that provide a
miserable web experience, so I end up requesting the desktop version anyway.

Plus, Google forked WebKit and Internet Explorer 11 is presenting itself as
WebKit although it isn't. I've also spotted plenty of differences between
desktop Safari, iOS Safari, Chrome and Android's stock browser, while working
with HTML5. Also Google advises tablet makers to differentiate tablets from
phones by identifying the browser as "Safari" versus "Mobile Safari". Add to
that the dozens and dozens of different Androids on the markets, some of which
respect these guidelines, some of which don't, with their slow upgrade cycle
and by relying on "WebKit" (whatever that means) you've got yourself a recipe
for mediocrity.

On Firefox OS, I think it is in a much better position to cater to those 25%
of users that Shuttleworth is targeting, as Firefox OS does bring something
new to the table - (a) it is created to run on low end phones from the get-go,
(b) it is a platform based on open web standards designed to be extremely
developer friendly and for breeding new web standards and (c) the web browser
is the ultimate sandbox.

If Firefox OS wins 3% of the market, everybody wins. If Ubuntu wins 3% of the
market, nobody will notice anything.

~~~
redacted
The 'Android is too fragmented so we need another OS' reminds me of this
[http://xkcd.com/927/](http://xkcd.com/927/)

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nobodyshere
The whole campaign was more of a dream, rather than something even remotely
realistic. One month with average million a day? Now get it to 3 months and
better advertising and it might be possible. I believe it was a decent PR act,
but they never really counted on succeeding in it.

~~~
cleis
The $80k from Bloomberg was possibly a PR move for both parties as well. I
don't think the Edge was ever supposed to succeed - pretty clever though,
Indiegogo as a marketing platform.

~~~
samspenc
Agreed, I am a fan of Linux (and Ubuntu), and I think the whole project worked
out well PR-wise for Canonical, Bloomberg and Indiegogo. (Not being sarcastic,
I actually think its good for them.)

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touristtam
If anyone has watch the presentation video for the 'edge' device: I am still
wondering how some people got sold on the whole: "look at the shiny, shiny"
with a price tag of 700 USD, when you can have a some really nice piece of kit
today for a third of the price from the like of xiaomi.

Sure the desktop experience embedded in a cell phone would be nice, but seeing
how the desktop computer is being pushed to irrelevancy for light usage in
comparison with tablets, it is hard to see how the ubuntu phone would
revolutionize the cell phone world, more than say, a new battery technology.

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macco
And the showed a lot people want an Ubuntu Phone, that's good news, too.

~~~
drcube
Yep, the market is $12 million. Good luck running a successful phone
manufacturing company with that bottomless expanse of willing customers. ;)

~~~
hcal
Perhaps the sarcasm missed me, but you know people willing to commit money a
year in advance on a crowd funding website is only a tiny portion of the
entire market, right?

~~~
SkyMarshal
Probably not. People who make comments like that have obviously never
seriously considered a startup, much less actually done one, or even for that
matter read anything on Lean Startups and customer validation.

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marssaxman
Hey, I'm one of that 25%! I have a Galaxy Nexus which reads but cannot send
email, reads and writes SMS, and which gives me a tiny little sliver of a
peephole into the web. I run no apps because I am not willing to put any
Google account credentials into the device, and for reasons I cannot
comprehend, even _free_ apps require you to go through Google Play.

All of which is to say, I'd love to run a smartphone with no ties to one of
the big tech companies and their proprietary sandboxes. I'd install apps if I
didn't have to deal with some proprietary app store which requires a login
just to download free stuff. A smartphone might be a cool thing to have - but
not if it's tied to Apple, Google, or Microsoft.

~~~
icesoldier
Have you looked into F-Droid? It's a directory of free-software Android apps
that doesn't require a sign-in to use. I watched my friend use it (iPhone user
here) and it looked like once you load the APK from their site, you're good to
go.

~~~
marssaxman
Never heard of it. Thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out.

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justthetip
What we had here was a lack of commitment. A lack of commitment on the part of
Shuttleworth which precipitated a lack of commitment from consumers.

No one wanted to pay that much to wait that long for what was still an un-
materialized promise.

