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Development of a Linux desktop and a new open-source business model are the two high priorities for Mark Shuttleworth, the Ubuntu (News - Alert) Linux founder said this week.

 

While addressing the audience at O’Reilly Open Source Convention in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, Shuttleworth urged the open-source community to work for a Linux desktop to rival Apple (News - Alert). He was also keen on mobile development through Linux platform.

 

Shuttleworth also urged the development of a new revenue model to fund free software and stressed the importance of interoperability with Windows.

 

“We go right past Apple in the user experience we deliver,” Shuttleworth aired a question to the audience at OSCON. “Certainly on the desktop experience we need to shoot beyond the Mac, but I think it’s equally relevant (in) the mobile space.”

 

Responding to a question on the practicality of developing an Apple-like desktop using the open platform, Brad Cavanagh, data reduction software engineer at the Joint Astronomy Centre in Hilo, Hawaii, said that it would be a hard task for the open source community.

 

“It would be hard to do from a free software point of view, I think, because so many people have so many different opinions,” Cavanagh said.

 

Shuttleworth suggested a new business model beyond advertising for free software. He said that he did not see how advertising could fund Web-based applications and free software applications, but noted an emerging emphasis on services. According to him, services are the engines for funding investments in free software.

 

“I think advertising works very well in the search case, but I don’t think it’s the sort of final solution in terms of business models to drive investment in free software,” Shuttleworth said. “A more general view of services is required.”

 

The future of open software will witness tremendous innovation and experimentation, according to Shuttleworth. At the same time it will serve as an engine for innovation. He cited the example of Google (News - Alert) to corroborate that free software is “the ultimate form of disclosure” and said that the search engine giant has also been built on free software.

Shuttleworth also supported the idea of cadence in free software releases. “The idea of establishing a regular rhythm or regular, predictable release schedule for free software is, I think, gaining prominence and helps to stimulate the free software development process,” he said.

 

There is a lot of scope for innovation in the free software platform. Firefox, for example, has been made more accessible to the public through a lot of extensions and plug-ins, Shuttleworth said.

 

Also, there is a possibility that Linux will be linked with Windows. “Linux is the platform of the future. But I think it’s essential that we learn how to work with Windows,” according to Shuttleworth.