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Linux has been more common on servers than on desktops, but Ubuntu is changing the perspective and approach for less-technical users.

Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation reflects on the end of the first stage of Linux and the beginning of a new era. He uses parodies of the popular Mac-PC television ads to contrast the internal and external view of Linux, and highlights the positive changes Ubuntu is making. The first stage of Linux was all about leveraging openness and a superior development methodology to create a competitive product. Hobbyists and companies have both contributed, and the rise of the internet has undermined the PC monopoly.

Now that Linux has matured, its second stage will be a battle between openness and opposing closed platforms. The openness that characterizes Linux and other open source projects produces faster releases that closed platforms can’t compete with. The proprietary platforms’ strengths are control over internal standards and huge amounts of money that can fund marketing for their products and negative publicity for competitors.

IT Conversations | O’Reilly Media Ubuntu Live | Jim Zemlin (Free Podcast)

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