Absolutely no truth to the rumour…

Monday, February 13th, 2006

I keep getting asked about Google’s “distribution of Ubuntu”, so perhaps this is a good place for me to say that as far as I’m aware there is absolutely no truth to the rumour that Google plans to distribute a derivative of Ubuntu as a Google OS. As exciting as that may be for Linux, it wouldn’t make sense for Google, and so far they’ve been pretty sensible about their projects.

Google uses lots of Linux internally, I imagine they also have their own versions of Red Hat, SUSE, Debian, perhaps even Gentoo and of course Ubuntu. So don’t read too much into their use of Ubuntu – it’s just part of the picture, and nothing to get overly excited about. The “goobuntu” you may have heard of is just a modified version of Ubuntu. Technically, there’s likely to be a “goobian” and a “goohat” too :-). The good news is that the guys there have been good about sending us patches, and we do our best to integrate them into mainstream Ubuntu and push them on to Debian and upstream.

I’m sure this won’t stop the rumours, but if you hear them, you can point here for a dose of reality.

64 Responses to “Absolutely no truth to the rumour…”

  1. Tom Anderson Says:

    Wait are you (bill) suggesting that Goobuntu has already been developed?

    Is it for Google employees only?

  2. Kira Remington Says:

    This one makes sence “One’s first step in wisdom is to kuesstion everything – and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”

  3. brett-reid.com » Blog Archive » The Google Story Says:

    […] There was a rumor of distribution of it as a competing operating system but those rumors have been denied by Mark Shuttleworth. The build is called Goobuntu – read more about it […]

  4. Using Ubuntu » Blog Archive » Using Ubuntu Says:

    […] are reported, and commented on by Mark Shuttleworth on his blog, to use Ubuntu […]

  5. Runi Says:

    Goohat is intended to become a online TV and radiostation, and not a Linux Distrobution

  6. D Says:

    Jesus Christ is the truth. He absolutely is the complete truth. not a rumour, the Truth.

  7. Absolute Leere - » Google hat zuviel Geld: Tolle Tools für lau Says:

    […] man, dass Google irgendwann eine Linux-Distribution auf den Markt bringt. Obwohl immer wieder dementiert wurde, fügt sich doch hier so etwas wie ein Bild zusammen: Alle Programme des Google Packs sind […]

  8. Lalit Nagrath Says:

    it s niece to hear that google uses goobuntu !

    ubuntu has going great ,thnaks to awesome support by the ubuntu forum and IRC
    looking for next release
    ubuntu saved me couple of bucks on MS products !:)

  9. Goobuntu (google`s modified Ubuntu) « ubuntu daily Says:

    […] modified Ubuntu) During my random visits on various webpages on the internet, I found here that Google internally uses a Linux Distribution based on Ubuntu and they have named it as […]

  10. Ray Privett :: Google Phone imminent Says:

    […] uses an Ubuntu-based OS known as “Goobuntu.”  While Mark Shuttleworth himself has played down  the significance of a Google Ubuntu, Ubuntu’s message and announcement boards, and also conference proceedings, have been […]

  11. Quelle place pour Linux dans l’avenir | openSYD Says:

    […] Il y a tout juste 1 an, le journal britannique The Register évoquait le projet Goobuntu, un système d’exploitation de Google basé sur Ubuntu Linux. Un démenti officiel de Google avait rapidement été publié, cette fois sur le site Ars Technica : si Google utilise bien Ubuntu en interne, « aucun plan n’est prévu pour externaliser un système d’exploitation… » Mark Shuttleworth réagira quelques jours plus tard en démentant aussi la rumeur sur son blog… […]

  12. ¿Qué distribución Linux se usa en Google? | MuyLinux Says:

    […] Google como Mark Shuttleworth han hablado en distintas ocasiones de que Goobuntu existe y se usa internamente en las oficinas de Google, pero […]

  13. ¿Qué distribución Linux se usa en Google? « Red-Orbita Says:

    […] Google como Mark Shuttleworth han hablado en distintas ocasiones de que Goobuntu existe y se usa internamente en las oficinas de Google, […]

  14. The Best Linux Distro | Smart Web Developer Says:

    […] I don’t know if Goobuntu is also used on Google’s servers. Mark Shuttleworth suggests Google probably uses a variety of Linux variants. […]