Is Ubuntu good for Linux?

Ubuntu is the face of GNU/Linux for many non-techies.

While there is no question that Ubuntu has brought some high-powered marketing to the table for GNU/Linux, I've heard many discussions recently about Ubuntu actually hurting Linux and the Linux community.

I ask the question, "Is Ubuntu good for Linux?" Of course, this depends largely on your definition of what being "good" for Linux means.

I'll define "good" as having a list of benefits that are larger than the list of detriments. This is not meant to be an exhaustive study of this subject, but merely my observations of the current relationship of Ubuntu to Linux. In particular, there are five main areas in which we can compare the pros and cons of Ubuntu.

Marketing

Pro

For many people, the term "Linux" has a bad connotation. Some have tried a Linux distro in the past, and had trouble with unsupported hardware. Others have heard horror stories about "bricked" computers and loss of precious data due to partitioning problems.

Ubuntu provides a new name and face for Linux. Much like large companies re-brand (ie: change their name) to escape bad P.R., so does Ubuntu provide somewhat of a re-branding. The goal of Ubuntu has been to make Linux trivially easy to install and use, and by consistently supporting this image they've created a brand that's friendly to users, both experienced and novice alike.

Con

Many new users give Ubuntu the credit for all of the GNU/Linux software, and hides the hard work countless open source contributors. In a world where credit and bragging rights may be the only reward, Ubuntu may be taking some of the motivation away from open source developers.

My opinion

While Ubuntu may be getting much of the credit from certain users, it makes up for it by increasing the base of users that can access the software. A larger user base can elevate some developers to celebrity status (eg: "Wow, YOU created GNOME!"). For others, it provides visibility, as their software is exposed to more users and perfected.

Code contribution

Pro

Ubuntu does contribute to the Linux Kernel, and has full-time developers on its staff for this purpose. Even with a small team, they've still managed to fix some major kernel bugs. In addition, Ubuntu is known for including as many hardware drivers as possible, and even supplies proprietary drivers to improve it's own interactions with hardware.

Con

Ubuntu / Canonical is not as major a contributor to the Linux Kernel as other commercial distributions. It is not in the top 31 kernel developing companies, and a search through the Linux source code shows that only ~100 commits were made by authors with canonical.com or ubuntu.com email addresses. While the value of any contributions can never be under-appreciated by this author, Ubuntu could stand to contribute a little more to the upstream.

User Experience

Pro

This is where Ubuntu really shines. It's not a distro for the latest and greatest features (unless, of course, you want them), but Ubuntu focuses on providing the most up-to-date experience while remaining stable. The 6-month release cycle ensures that, even when the bleeding-edge version of a package isn't included, it will only be about 6-months away.

Ubuntu's motto of "Linux for Human Beings" is a testament to their focus on the user experience. The look and feel of Ubuntu is designed with the explicit intent of making the user experience as easy as possible. They provide graphical administration tools as often as possible for those not comfortable with command line utilities, while still providing Debian-based command line utilities for the gurus.

Con

Many MS Windows and Apple Mac users will complain that Ubuntu's GUI tools still feel clunky. While it's a definite improvement of tools from the past, there are still some interfaces that don't feel quite right yet. Case in point, my experience trying to change a default program.

Availability

Pro

Ubuntu has offered a novel way of providing users with a copy of their operating system: They ship a free "stamped" CD that can be ordered from their shipit! page. This provides an avenue for non-technical users, or those with a slow internet connection, to receive a copy of the O.S. free of charge.

Con

Ubuntu can be purchased in a limited number of places, and the distribution channels are not as obvious as Macintosh or Windows. There are currently few retail stores in which Ubuntu can be purchased, and those that do provide Ubuntu are supplied the boxed Operating System by a third-party company. There are no "Ubuntu" stores, and not all computer repair shops work on Linux machines.

Usability

Pro

The Live CD concept allows new users to familiarize themselves with Ubuntu before they commit to installing it on their computer. This, coupled with the large number of graphical utilities and vastly improved out-of-the-box hardware support contributes greatly to the usability of Linux.

Con

Ubuntu has had some catastrophic bugs, including the original 8.04 release that did not boot at all without disabling graphical startup, and the hard-drive parking problem. These bugs, attributed mostly to the time-based release schedule of Ubuntu, have sometimes severely hampered the perceived usability of Linux, especially for new users.

Conclusion

Hopefully this provides some insight into the issues surrounding Ubuntu and it's relationship to the Linux community. I personally use Ubuntu exclusively, and have enjoyed the perks and suffered through the failures. I enjoy using the distribution, and will continue to advocate its use in converting the masses to Linux.