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September 14th, 2008

Ubuntu should not copy the Mac

Posted by Dana Blankenhorn @ 6:20 am

Categories: Development, GPL, General, Linux, Linux Desktop OS, business models, management, venture capital

Tags: Ubuntu, Apple Macintosh, Voice, Linux, Telecommunications, Telephony, Open Source, Operating Systems, Software, Networking

Perlbox main screenshot from Perlbox.orgUbuntu is putting serious investment into improving the interface of its Linux.

Mark Shuttleworth wants Linux to become comparable to the Apple Macintosh, quoting the watchwords of Web 2.0:

  1. Make your site visually appealing,
  2. Do something different and do it very, very well,
  3. Call users to action and give them an immediate, rewarding experience.

Good idea. But the Ubuntu Developer Summit is taking the wrong approach.

It is past time for open source to become truly innovative. The Macintosh interface is a nice point-and-click interface, but that’s all it is.

We need something completely different. How about a high quality voice interface, based on Perlbox? (The graphic above is from Perlbox.org.)

Perlbox already has a KDE interface, and three years of work behind it. It may not be all it can be. What could it be with a few million development dollars?

My friend Lamont Wood has been working with voice recognition technology and says some of it is now ready for prime time. By that he means it can be 95% accurate at 120 words per minute.

True, he was testing a proprietary product, but I am first contemplating an open source voice interface, not a voice-based word processor. The parts to do something ground-breaking appear to be here.

Besides, there are millions of visually-impaired folks, like my mom and my friend Jim Pettigrew, who have been totally left out of the computer revolution until now. Why not bring them in?

If Ubuntu is ready to be truly competitive, then that says to me it’s ready to innovate. And if voice isn’t your favored direction, what is?

Dana BlankenhornDana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 96 Talkback(s)
How about making it a little easier for new users
...to get used to Ubuntu right off the bat by providing them with an interface similar to what they're used to? I think it would help if the Ubuntu install provided a series of choices for how you wa... (Read the rest)
Posted by: LeonBA Posted on: 04/17/09  (Edited: 04/17/09 @ 08:55) You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Ubuntu does not want to be OS X  trentreviso | 09/14/08
Ubuntu does not want to be OS X  pico_D | 09/15/08
What is this Ubuntu interface you speak of?  zeke123 | 09/15/08
This is time I'll never get back  happyharry_z | 09/14/08
not really  patibulo | 09/14/08
wink  AndyCee | 09/14/08
Voice?  Yagotta B. Kidding | 09/14/08
Good point for sure.  Cayble | 09/14/08
RE: Good point for sure  Axsimulate | 09/15/08
There once was an IBM demo...  914four | 09/18/08
I agree.  DevGuy_z | 09/15/08
Vista has decent voice recognition. There are many applications.  xuniL_z | 09/15/08
Speaking of "not hiding your obsessions", Windoze Bigot xuniL_z....  drprod@... | 09/15/08
What the hell is Windoze again?  transposeIT | 09/16/08
Exactly....  xuniL_z | 09/16/08
Wow.  xuniL_z | 09/16/08
Voice Recognition in Health Care is Not Ready  trentreviso | 09/17/08
TOTALLY AGREE!  royalstream | 09/15/08
The point is not to reinvent the wheel  DanaBlankenhornZDNet Moderator | 09/15/08
What wheel ?  Hemlock Stones | 09/15/08
Voice  dave_helmut | 09/23/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  CowLauncher | 09/14/08
BeOS is owned by PALM.  jameskatt | 09/14/08
http://www.haiku-os.org/  People | 09/15/08
What he said.  seanferd | 09/16/08
Command Line Kills Mother of Four!!!  kozmcrae | 09/14/08
Ummm...  3D0G | 09/15/08
That's a misleading subject line!  DanaBlankenhornZDNet Moderator | 09/17/08
Blind.  Cayble | 09/14/08
Irrelevant  weels | 09/15/08
Since when has OS X become the world's leading OS?  Dealing | 09/14/08
Funny thing is....  storm14k | 09/15/08
What does Microsoft have to do with this Blog?  xuniL_z | 09/15/08
To a hammer...  rapson | 09/15/08
Now that "IS" a sad thought.....:P  James Quinn | 09/15/08
Oh, you mean like Windoze Bigot xunil...?  drprod@... | 09/15/08
What are you, like 8 years old?  xuniL_z | 09/16/08
MS in it's current form  CowLauncher | 09/15/08
I don't think you are looking at all available data.  xuniL_z | 09/16/08
Re: I don't think you are looking at all available data.  jhansonxi | 09/16/08
Is there more evidence than....  xuniL_z | 09/17/08
It's more than Jerry's computer preferences  jhansonxi | 09/17/08
LOL  fox.kenji | 09/17/08
What do you expect from a cow anyway?  transposeIT | 09/16/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  vkv.raju | 09/14/08
Perlbox was not my agenda  DanaBlankenhornZDNet Moderator | 09/15/08
I'm speech, hearing, and visually impaired.  Grayson Peddie | 09/14/08
Thanks for that, Grayson  DanaBlankenhornZDNet Moderator | 09/15/08
As a couple other people have commented,  Henry Miller | 09/14/08
Also  d.esposito@... | 09/15/08
Ubuntu do innovate  wassman | 09/14/08
Ubuntu Means "Joke" in Swahili  jabailo1 | 09/14/08
While I disagree that Ubuntu is a joke...  storm14k | 09/15/08
Huh?  People | 09/15/08
Sheer Ignorance  fox.kenji | 09/18/08
RE: jabailo1  Axsimulate | 09/15/08
Linux and Unix are the origins of OSX, NextStep, Windows and all the rest.  People | 09/15/08
If voice I/O then  T1Oracle | 09/14/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  ampers@... | 09/14/08
Being done...  Tim Patterson | 09/15/08
I'm curious  People | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  noyesa | 09/15/08
Mac should not copy Open source!  joemartn | 09/15/08
I see blog posts like this and sit back  People | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  powercat | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  imaasshole | 09/15/08
For F*CK$ SAKE!  rdiekema@... | 09/15/08
It's not about dumbing down.  People | 09/15/08
RE:  rdiekema@... | 09/15/08
I think you are confusing interaction with ideas  People | 09/15/08
Ahhh, the illiterate....  rdiekema@... | 09/15/08
I disagree  notsofast | 09/15/08
Dumb and dumber?  psion@... | 09/15/08
Another "I'm a genius coz I use Linux" loser...  transposeIT | 09/16/08
That's not the way computing works  DanaBlankenhornZDNet Moderator | 09/17/08
Far more disruptive to Ubuntu is the osx86 community  zmud | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  chaz6 | 09/15/08
?toil? ISO 8859-1  seanferd | 09/16/08
??toil?? UTF 8  seanferd | 09/16/08
Why not?  Narg | 09/15/08
Not even close......  James Quinn | 09/15/08
LOL, just LOL  fox.kenji | 09/17/08
A brief history lesson...  914four | 09/18/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  richard.e.morton@... | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  psion@... | 09/15/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  k1nj0 | 09/15/08
Not just for visually impaired  djchandler | 09/15/08
Not Sure Voice Is the Right Way to Go, Dana  drprod@... | 09/15/08
RE: OK Mac!  The Management consultant | 09/16/08
RE:Disabilities  The Management consultant | 09/16/08
RE: Ubuntu should copy parts of the Mac  gnomic@... | 09/16/08
I like Ubuntu GUI  ash_sids | 09/16/08
Approach & attachability - not the particular I/O  DigiMediaMan | 09/16/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  fffffffffffffffff | 09/19/08
RE: Ubuntu should not copy the Mac  DaveFeign | 09/22/08
How about making it a little easier for new users  LeonBA | 04/17/09

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