Where would we be without Ubuntu

What makes you so sure ? Have you experience with Fuel deployment from Mirantis or RDO deployments from RH ? Post reasonable question on RDO mailing list and it would addressed pretty shortly, then post same question at Launchpad.com you may wait for ages. If tomorrow Debian Unstable Repos will become unavailable for Canonical backports what you expect is going to happen to finest Linux's OS .

I think the point of article was that Ubuntu made Desktop GNU/Linux acceptably popular, which - in turn - has enabled those familiar with Ubuntu to then deploy it as a server OS as well as on the Desktop.

I think this is a valid point.

I have a brother who recently installed Ubuntu on his computer. He chose Ubuntu because it comes up in every on-line search for GNU/Linux and has a fairly understandable web site for complete newbies.

I'm all for whatever gets the newbie hooked on learning more and freeing him/herself from the chains of proprietary OSes.

I run Debian, and am definitely a Debian cheerleader... but there's more than enough room for every distro and all the cousins too.

@dotmatrix: Well put. I agree and have three points to add:

1. In order to be able to answer questions from people using various distros, I've set up my notebook in a multiboot configuration with six of the major Linux distros. That exercise helps me to see where the differences are between the distros, and importantly, it shows me that underneath the distro, "Linux is Linux". We all run the same upstream software, the differences between the distros are basically in packaging, configuration, choice of defaults, and screen graphics.

2. In any evolving ecosystem, the role of diversity is important. The diversity of Linux keeps it strong as it continues to evolve.

3. In any evolving ecosystem, survival of the fittest is important. Users and developers choose where to put their mindshare. Each "vote" counts, and the strongest distros (species) win. Since we have several "strong" distros, that tells me that there are groups of users and developers with different goals guiding their vote. This is a healthy thing for an ecosystem. Some distros make great solutions in server applications (like RH), other distros are easy and appealing for new users (like Ubuntu variants), other distros make great solutions for embedded systems (like raspbian and dd-wrt), and other distros appeal to those wanting to assert the fullest control over their systems (like Arch, Slackware, and Gentoo).

@penguinist,

>> 3. In any evolving ecosystem, survival of the fittest is important. Users and developers choose where to put their mindshare. Each "vote" counts, and the strongest distros (species) win. Since we have several "strong" distros, that tells me that there are groups of users and developers with different goals guiding their vote. This is a healthy thing for an ecosystem. Some distros make great solutions in server applications (like RH), other distros are easy and appealing for new users (like Ubuntu variants), .......

Seems to me that Distrowatch is pretty accurate as far as showing the "fittest" distros. At least as far as Desktop "mindshare" goes, Linux Mint absolutely WHOMPS the 'boont2's , no matter what the latters' fanbois keep on claiming!!

2c

DistroWatch, as Ladislav Bodnar has often written, measures popularity of distros by people who visit his site and click through to a distro page, nothing more. It somewhat accurately measures what Linux enthusiasts use. It does not measure what's used professionally/in business or by the general public when they purchase a Linux/ChromeOS/Android device.

Linux MInt, FWIW, is Ubuntu with bug fixes and some very nicely done add ons. Under the hood it's still Ubuntu, which is in no small part Debian.

Cloud == web == monkeys hammering on Macbook keyboards...

Put enough of them together, and someday we might get the works of Shakespeare.

Yeah, right, who am I kidding?

Who wants Shakespeare anyway? Overrated if you ask me.

There might not be an infinite number of monkeys, but there's at least a billion - and Facebook looks NOTHING like Shakespeare!