Gobuntu
Encyclopedia
Gobuntu was an official derivative of the Ubuntu
operating system
that was conceived to provide a distribution consisting entirely of free software
.
Because Ubuntu now incorporates a "Free Software Only" optional installer, the Gobuntu project was rendered redundant in early 2008. As a result Canonical made the decision to officially end the Gobuntu project with version 8.04.
In March 2009 it was announced that "Gobuntu 8.04.1 is the final release of Gobuntu. The project has merged back to mainline Ubuntu, so there is no need for a separate distribution".
first mentioned the idea of creating an Ubuntu derivative named Gnubuntu consisting entirely of free software, on 24 November 2005. Due to Richard Stallman
's disapproval of the name, the project was later renamed Ubuntu-libre. Stallman had previously endorsed a distribution based on Ubuntu called gNewSense
, and has criticized Ubuntu for using proprietary and non-free software in successive distributions, most notably, Ubuntu 7.04.
While introducing Ubuntu 7.10, Mark Shuttleworth said that it would
Gobuntu was officially announced by Mark Shuttleworth on 10 July 2007 and daily build
s of Gobuntu 7.10 began to be publicly released. The initial version, Gobuntu 7.10, was released on 18 October 2007, as an in text-only installer. The next release was the Long-Term Release codenamed "Hardy Heron", which was also only made available as an alternate installation image.
Release 7.10 initially met with criticism from some free software advocates because it included Mozilla Firefox
. Firefox is not considered to be 100% free software because it includes Mozilla Foundation
copyrighted icons. The Mozilla licence for the icons states that they "...may not be reproduced without permission". After some debate on the developer list, this problem was quickly addressed by Canonical, and the applications with non-free logos were replaced in the follow-up Gobuntu release, Hardy Heron. Firefox was replaced by Epiphany, which has free logos.
Because some drivers
, firmware
, and "binary blobs" were removed from Gobuntu, it would run on fewer computers than Ubuntu. Canonical stated at the time of release of 7.10:
On 13 June 2008 Ubuntu Community Manager Jono Bacon announced that the Gobuntu project would end with the release of Gobuntu 8.04:
Shuttleworth explained:
The project ended with the release of version 8.04.1.
Gobuntu releases are also given code name
s, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter e.g.: "Gutsy Gibbon". These are the same as the respective Ubuntu code names. Commonly, Gobuntu releases are referred to by developers and users by only the adjective portion of the code name, for example Gutsy Gibbon is often called just Gutsy.
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
that was conceived to provide a distribution consisting entirely of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
.
Because Ubuntu now incorporates a "Free Software Only" optional installer, the Gobuntu project was rendered redundant in early 2008. As a result Canonical made the decision to officially end the Gobuntu project with version 8.04.
In March 2009 it was announced that "Gobuntu 8.04.1 is the final release of Gobuntu. The project has merged back to mainline Ubuntu, so there is no need for a separate distribution".
History and development
Mark ShuttleworthMark Shuttleworth
Mark Richard Shuttleworth is a South African entrepreneur who was the second self-funded space tourist. Shuttleworth founded Canonical Ltd. and as of 2010, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system...
first mentioned the idea of creating an Ubuntu derivative named Gnubuntu consisting entirely of free software, on 24 November 2005. Due to Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman
Richard Matthew Stallman , often shortened to rms,"'Richard Stallman' is just my mundane name; you can call me 'rms'"|last= Stallman|first= Richard|date= N.D.|work=Richard Stallman's homepage...
's disapproval of the name, the project was later renamed Ubuntu-libre. Stallman had previously endorsed a distribution based on Ubuntu called gNewSense
GNewSense
gNewSense is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. Its goal is to maintain the user-friendliness of Ubuntu, but with all non FSF approved software and binary blobs removed. The Free Software Foundation considers gNewSense to be a Linux distribution composed entirely of free software.gNewSense takes...
, and has criticized Ubuntu for using proprietary and non-free software in successive distributions, most notably, Ubuntu 7.04.
While introducing Ubuntu 7.10, Mark Shuttleworth said that it would
Gobuntu was officially announced by Mark Shuttleworth on 10 July 2007 and daily build
Daily build
A daily build or nightly build is the practice of each day doing a software build of the latest version of a program. This is so it can first be compiled to ensure that all required dependencies are present, and possibly tested to show no bugs have been introduced...
s of Gobuntu 7.10 began to be publicly released. The initial version, Gobuntu 7.10, was released on 18 October 2007, as an in text-only installer. The next release was the Long-Term Release codenamed "Hardy Heron", which was also only made available as an alternate installation image.
Release 7.10 initially met with criticism from some free software advocates because it included Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox
Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...
. Firefox is not considered to be 100% free software because it includes Mozilla Foundation
Mozilla Foundation
The Mozilla Foundation is a non-profit organization that exists to support and provide leadership for the open source Mozilla project. The organization sets the policies that govern development, operates key infrastructure and controls trademarks and other intellectual property...
copyrighted icons. The Mozilla licence for the icons states that they "...may not be reproduced without permission". After some debate on the developer list, this problem was quickly addressed by Canonical, and the applications with non-free logos were replaced in the follow-up Gobuntu release, Hardy Heron. Firefox was replaced by Epiphany, which has free logos.
Because some drivers
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
, firmware
Firmware
In electronic systems and computing, firmware is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices...
, and "binary blobs" were removed from Gobuntu, it would run on fewer computers than Ubuntu. Canonical stated at the time of release of 7.10:
On 13 June 2008 Ubuntu Community Manager Jono Bacon announced that the Gobuntu project would end with the release of Gobuntu 8.04:
Shuttleworth explained:
The project ended with the release of version 8.04.1.
Releases
Gobuntu versions were intended to be released twice a year, coinciding with Ubuntu releases. Gobuntu uses the same version numbers and code names as Ubuntu, using the year and month of the release as the version number. The first Gobuntu release, for example, was 7.10, indicating October 2007.Gobuntu releases are also given code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
s, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter e.g.: "Gutsy Gibbon". These are the same as the respective Ubuntu code names. Commonly, Gobuntu releases are referred to by developers and users by only the adjective portion of the code name, for example Gutsy Gibbon is often called just Gutsy.
| Key: | |
|---|---|
| Release no longer supported | Release still supported |
| Version | Code Name | Release date | Supported Until | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.10 | Gutsy Gibbon | 18 October 2007 | 18 April 2009 | |
| 8.04 | Hardy Heron | 1 July 2008 | 24 April 2011 | additional 8.04.1 update released |