A very good start

Monday, March 12th, 2007

I’m very impressed with the results of the early work being done at the new Linux Foundation, which is OSDL+FSG with a leaner focus on getting things done.

Working in civil society, quango’s, non-profits or consortia is extremely difficult – money is always tight, it’s not as clear what the metrics of success should be, and it’s often hard to get consensus from a critical mass of players on what needs to be done. So I think it’s a credit to the folks who setup the new entity that they have been able to narrow the focus substantially and get buy-in from all the major players on the goals for 2007.

I’ve been nominated for and elected to, and have accepted, a seat on the board of the Linux Foundation, not in my capacity as founder of Ubuntu or via Canonical, but as an independent representative of the free software and Linux community. I’ll endeavor to wear that hat as effectively as possible in the role!

I’m not a great fan of consortia – they are always at risk of being divided by their own membership, but I agreed to take on this role because I think the management have a mandate from the funders to deliver something that’s really important for free software – an open process of standardisation that delivers results in competitive time frames. I’ll do my best to help them achieve that.

48 Responses to “A very good start”

  1. Vincent Says:

    Good luck!

  2. Mr Ubuntu nella Linux Foundation board « pollycoke :) Says:

    […] 12 Marzo 2007 @ 19:57 Posted by felipe in Comunità, News e altre Sciccherie, Ubuntu. trackback Mr Ubuntu, Mark Shuttleworth è stato chiamato a partecipare nella Linux Foundationboard. […]

  3. DC@DR Says:

    Good luck to you in new position, Mark! 🙂

  4. flavio meazza Says:

    Good luck Mark, Ubuntu is a grat work and i change to linux definetly with edgy eft!!
    🙂

  5. Simone Brunozzi Says:

    Contratulations, Mark, and good luck.
    I’m sure you’ll deliver some of your magic up there.
    🙂

  6. rs3york Says:

    Good luck Mark. I’m a big fan and user of Kubuntu, but is it really possible to be “independent” when you’re the founder of the most popular linux distro?

    I guess in a roundabout way, being the head of Ubuntu makes you relatively independent compared to others – you represent (and have a vested interest in) more users/points of view than someone affiliated with another project or who represents themselves.

    I’m excited to see that you have some faith in this group though. Anytime the major players in the F/OSS space can come together and get some standards in place good things happen – freedesktop.org’s advancements come to mind. The future of linux gets more exciting everyday.

  7. Brady Merriweather Says:

    Grats! I’ll keep reading and hope to read more good news. 🙂

  8. Anonymous Cobardus Says:

    I wish you the best of luck. It’s not hard to figure out why Ubuntu has been the most popular GNU/Linux Distribution since October 2004. You know the game and we all benefit from it.

  9. masnizar Says:

    Good luck on your new position.
    Have a nice day and LONG LIVE LINUX!!

  10. Greg Says:

    Congratulations Mark, I have used Ubuntu exclusively since Hoary and could not be happier. Hope your time with Foundation is as productive as the last 3 years with Ubuntu

  11. Tyler LaVite Says:

    congrats Mark, you will definetly bring some of your magic in that position.

  12. Jonathan Carter Says:

    Excellent! I’m also very happy with the progress of the Linux Foundation, they’ve very quickly rounded up a good amount of services and standards (I love how quickly and effeciently LinuxPrinting/OpenPrinting.org integrated into it). I was hoping that you would get involved there, and even more so, I hope that the Free Software Foundation gets involved with the Linux Foundation too.

    I think we need strong organisations such as FSF and LF to work together, especially on issues such as free hardware drivers and firmware. Those issues have proved to be way too complicated for individual distributions to address, and I think that FSF’s outreach to hardware vendors will turn out fruitful. I think RMS has learned that it’s better to make them your friends, rather than insisting that they’re the evil enemy.

    Good luck with your seat on the board! I hope it works out extremely well.

  13. Walter Says:

    Congratulations, Mr. Shuttleworth!

    This just further proves my point that you are our champion of FOSS in South Africa.

    Thanks for all you have and will do.

  14. penguin Says:

    We will continue to worship you, oh powerful leader.

  15. Ibrahim Says:

    Good work mark go on
    and I wish useful participation

  16. Raseel Says:

    Its great to know that someone like you is a part of the organisation. Hope you will do as much great work for The Linux Foundation as much as you did for Canonical and Ubuntu.

  17. Stormy Peters Says:

    Congratulations, Mark. The Linux Foundation is lucky to have you.

  18. uel Says:

    WOW! Mark, you are worldbeater human on a great position,
    I believe you!

  19. stelt Says:

    Congratulations.
    Another opportunity for great work.
    http://homecomputerhelp.org and http://freedomdrive.org have some general things you might like for the spread of Linux and other open source (both domains are available for the good cause)

  20. Kernel Source » Mark Shuttleworth en Linux Foundation Says:

    […] Shattlewoth afirma que forma parte de este consejo “no en calidad de fundador de Ubuntu, lo hace como representante independiente del Software Libre y la comunidad Linuxera.” […]

  21. Mark Shuttleworth w Fundacji Linuksa :: Czytelnia Says:

    […] Jak podaje serwis 7thGuard.net Mark Shuttleworth został wybrany członkiem zarządu Fundacji Linuksa – konsorcjum powstałego z połączenia Open Source Development Labs i Free Standards Group, zajmującego się promocją, ochroną i standaryzacją Linuksa, oraz sponsorowaniem pracy Linusa Torvaldsa. Więcej można wyczytać na blogu Marka Shuttleworth’a. […]

  22. Michael Dolan Dot Com » Mark Shuttleworth accepts Linux Foundation board seat Says:

    […] Congratulations to Mark on yet another important role for him in the Linux community taking a board seat at the Linux Foundation. I am certain Mark will provide an excellent voice for the community in this role and I look forward to seeing his influence take shape in LF. As he points out in his blog, non-profit, consortia work is never easy and always under-resourced, but I’ve actually found the Linux community and vendor participants quite adept at rallying to a good cause. I wish Mark the best in this extension to his already impressive list of endeavors. Posted by md on March 13th, 2007 | Filed in Technology, Business, Linux, Open Source, Ubuntu, Open Standards | […]

  23. David Mackey Says:

    Congratulations! And looking forward to seeing what you guys will be able to accomplish.

  24. Carlos Rivera Silva Says:

    Good Luck with your new position Mark! you have done a great job for linux with ubuntu and Im sure the whole free software movement will benefit from you as a board member!!!!
    Congratulations!

  25. SafariBans Says:

    I’ve been using Ubuntu since Warty. Now all my machines are on edgy or feisty.
    My folks are using it as well.
    I must say it’s been a blast, and still is.
    I can imagine your participation with the Linux Foundation spells great things to come.

    Best of luck!

  26. alfish Says:

    Beware….a Camel is a Horse built by committee……..

  27. Ajay Says:

    hey mark we were launching an ONline Science Magazine for kids, if you could donate some funds it would be wonderful!

    Cheers!

  28. hosti Says:

    Good Luck

  29. Mark Shuttleworth verstärkt Vorstand der Linux Foundation « Technology Emergency Packages Says:

    […]  URL dieses Artikels: http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/86717 Links in diesem Artikel: [1] http://www.heise.de/open/artikel/72844 [2] http://www.ubuntu.com/ [3] http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Board [4] http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Main_Page [5] http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/99 [6] http://www.heise.de/open/artikel/84245 [7] mailto:akl@ct.heise.de […]

  30. cxl Says:

    congrats. you helped me switched to linux, so i guess you’re deserve it.

  31. PDXBok Says:

    Just avoid those wet, grey winters in PDX-land, if you stop by the Beaverton office. The Linux movement is very fortunate to have you as a champion. I think you will find the culture to your disruptive liking.

  32. nycace36 Says:

    Best of Success, Mark, for both you, the Linux Foundation, and the general Open Source community.

    Similar question as rs3york above:
    How is it possible for you and the Linux Foundation NOT to favor one or more Linux distribution(s) in the Foundation’s urge to more effectively promote adoption of Linux ??

    At the time of this writing
    – Your Canonical is in the process of joining forces with Linspire to make a truly more enhanced distro that can (one hopes!) increase its reach into homes and businesses internationally.
    – Novell made what many consider a Faustian pact with Microsoft in terms of commercial gain (“interoperability”) and being released from future IP-patent attacks.
    – The final version of GPL3 us being worked out to handle ambiguities in this license, likely affecting these two above distros, as well as the other distros that you and the Foundation are likely to evaluate and re-evaluate as necessary.

  33. don hardaway Says:

    This is great news. Your practical approach to the desktop can only help their cause. I do hope you can convince Michael Dell to offer Ubuntu preloaded on laptops.

  34. OSHELPDESK.org » Shuttleworth verstärkt Linux Foundation Says:

    […] Ein persönliches Statement Shuttleworth’s kann man auf dessen Website nachlesen. […]

  35. Michael Krog Says:

    Open standards rules.

    Im happy to experience that almost everyone in the IT-bussines I know are looking more and more into the Linux
    word. Vista has really given the last push – they hate it!

    Time and hard work will make Linux no. 1.

    Come on everybody. Let’s contribute! 🙂

  36. Marcos Siríaco Martins Says:

    Congratulations, Mr. Shuttleworth!
    Best of luck!

  37. KtecK Blog - Syndicated » Ubuntu founder joins Linux Foundation board Says:

    […] Shuttleworth announced the move on his blog on Monday. “I’ve been nominated for and elected to, and have accepted, a seat on the board of the Linux Foundation, not in my capacity as founder of Ubuntu or via Canonical, but as an independent representative of the free software and Linux community,” Shuttleworth said. […]

  38. Open Source news » Blog Archive » Ubuntu founder joins Linux Foundation board Says:

    […] Shuttleworth announced the move on his blog on Monday. “I’ve been nominated for and elected to, and have accepted, a seat on the board of the Linux Foundation, not in my capacity as founder of Ubuntu or via Canonical, but as an independent representative of the free software and Linux community,” Shuttleworth said. […]

  39. Ubuntu founder joins Linux Foundation board « Open Source Alliance Cyberjaya Says:

    […] Shuttleworth announced the move on his blog on Monday. “I’ve been nominated for and elected to, and have accepted, a seat on the board of the Linux Foundation, not in my capacity as founder of Ubuntu or via Canonical, but as an independent representative of the free software and Linux community,” Shuttleworth said. […]

  40. aidwiz Says:

    best of luck mark! love ubuntu!

  41. Il blog di Guido Arata: diffusione-del-sapere-informatico: news-exploit-bug-sicurezza-informatica-programmazione Says:

    […] Mark Shuttleworth, il nostro sabdfl, entra a far parte della Linux Fountation. Lo apprendiamo dal suo blog e da questa notizia. Complimenti a Mark con l’augurio di buon lavoro! […]

  42. Mark Shuttleworth joins Linux Foundation « News Coctail Says:

    […] Mark Shuttleworth joins Linux Foundation Filed under: Uncategorized — recar @ 3:30 pm Mark Shuttleworth joins Linux Foundation “I ’ve been nominated for and elected to, and have accepted, a seat on the board of the Linux Foundation, not in my capacity as founder of Ubuntu or via Canonical, but as an independent representative of the free software and Linux community.”[linux] [software] [news] [technology] [linux/unix] […]

  43. STORM | Home Blog » Shuttleworth to join Linux Foundation Says:

    […] Shuttleworth writes on his blog […]

  44. Fundile Ncenjana Says:

    DoesShuttleworth foundation offer Bursaries to IT students ?

  45. Fundile Ncenjana Says:

    Ncenjana Fundile is the IT (Software development) student at Walter Sisulu University. He is from Bizana.
    Copyright © 2007

  46. Top Linux News » Mark Shuttleworth joins Linux Foundation Says:

    […] read more | digg story […]

  47. 451 CAOS Theory » Linux Foundation adds Shuttleworth, not Canonical, half of Red Hat, subtracts Murdock Says:

    […] Murdock Jay Lyman, March 20, 2007 @ 1:27 am ET Canonical CEO and Ubuntu Founder Mark Shuttleworth told recently about his support and board seat for the Linux Foundation. This is a great addition and […]

  48. Mark Shuttleworth w Fundacji Linuksa | thecamels.org Says:

    […] Fundacja ta również chroni ten system przed różnymi patentami oraz innymi zagrożeniami prawnymi. Mark Shuttleworth przyjął propozycję a wszystko skomentował na swoim blogu. […]