The Ubuntu Name Game
August 28th, 2007There have been many posts recently suggesting changes in the naming of Ubuntu distributions and doing away with the K/X/Ed/Ubuntu naming convention. The suggestions try to solve a perceived problem in marketing. With the emergence of 3rd-party projects with *buntu names, there is a fear of creating confusion in branding/naming. But even without those 3rd-party projects, it seems to be a problem that Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu are named as such. As much as I would like to agree that one name to rule them all, I have a few issues/questions about the idea.
Disclaimer: I don’t know if I will be touching on sensitive or controversial topics, so as early as now, I’d like to apologize and emphasize that these views are my own and not representative of the community. If it happens to be the same as those of other members, then lucky me.
1. It’s an Ubuntu marketing issue only. And by that, I mean that I don’t know how the “issue” really affects Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu. To be brutally frank, it is really only Ubuntu that is being really marketed. But that’s no problem. Ubuntu’s the eldest and the prodigy, the poster boy, so to speak. In fact, I would say that the situation actually favors Ubuntu also. “What is K/X/Edubuntu?” “It’s Ubuntu with KDE/Xfce/geared towards Education.” The name of Ubuntu is still there.
2. But perhaps there is concern about the naming/branding of 3rd-party project causing confusion with the real Ubuntu. But even that problem is practically gone with the new trademark policy (http://www.ubuntu.com/aboutus/trademarkpolicy) which basically prevents newer projects from using a *buntu name from now on. So that practically puts a stop to the issue.
3. But I have an even bigger reason to dislike the “Ubuntu with ______” or “Ubuntu _______ Edition” naming for Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu. These are not merely editions of the Ubuntu product. They are also not simply “Ubuntu with _____” slapped on top of it. They are, more importantly, projects beneath the ever-growing Ubuntu umbrella. Calling them “Ubuntu with ______” sort of makes them feel less of the project/distro that they are. They will suddenly become, just “editions”. Unless of course, that’s the purpose. Granted the relationship between Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu hasn’t really been that clearly defined. Are they sibling projects, having the same level of autonomy? Are they derivative distros that just gained official recognition and commercial support? Or are they just editions of only one product: Ubuntu?
So this is my question(s) for those wanting to change the names of these projects: Will the new names reflect what Kubuntu, Xubuntu, and Edubuntu really are? What are they really and how do they relate to Ubuntu? I guess it’s only reasonable to ask these things first before we ship out with a “Ubuntu with KDE” edition…
Just some small updates, while I'm trying to get off my ass and migrate the site completely to Textpattern.
August 28th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I think the other versions of ubuntu like kubuntu, xubuntu etc should get much more advertising. i think a ubuntu with.. download would be MUCH better, because right now all new users use gnome, which isnt fair for kde and the others. i also thing all should use the same homepage, and in the download section you would simply have a big download icon for each version. most important, ubuntu with gnome should be called ubuntu with gnome and not just ubuntu. That way new users will have a bigger choice, because they will be able to chose theyr DE (a small description with a few screenshots would be great). Thats what open source is all about, diversity, choice.
August 29th, 2007 at 12:53 am
I agree with Beat Wolf. The way to go is “Ubuntu with [GNOME|KDE|XFCE|Educational packages]“. It’s already more or less working that way. I installed Ubuntu about 2 or 3 weeks ago. I never installed the Kubuntu distro, but after a week and a half, I decided I really didn’t care for GNOME and I installed Kubuntu-desktop…. Poof, I have a Kubuntu box. If I log out and change the session, I can be Ubuntu again. In about 10 minutes, I could have Xubuntu as well. Ubuntu is the underlying project, and the various window managers and desktops are highly interchangeable.
August 29th, 2007 at 5:26 am
I totally agree with you, Jucato. It’s not only the desktop, but also the community behind each; naming it “ubuntu with X” would be negating this fact.
Also, showing the different versions on the Download page would just confuse the users. Think most people that enter probably don’t even know what at all what Linux is, they just want to try it out. And as Wolfger said, it’s just 10 minutes to switch the environment, so where’s the problem if a newbie downloads Ubuntu and not [K|X|whatever]Ubuntu? Once he gets used to it and starts knowing it more, he well learn that there are desktop environment, and which they are, and if they think that another one will be better for him, they can always install [K|X|whatever]-desktop and get it.
August 29th, 2007 at 6:18 am
If you want to unify the brand, you need to put the GNOME edition on the same level as the KDE, Xfce and Edu editions. Same naming, same standing. Otherwise, it’s even more unfair than it is now, and it will just not be done.
But then, Ubuntu needs one “default” edition for marketing and straightforwardness issues. (I’m a KDE junkie, but that’s how it is.) This is good for all participants except the KDE desktop itself, but Ubuntu is too much into that “default choices for end users” design decision to let go of this strategy. And I think that’s a good thing for Ubuntu.
In short, I think your brand unification can only be done if the “default” choice of GNOME is removed, and as that can’t be done, your attempt for eliminating sister brands is doomed. Imho.
August 29th, 2007 at 7:52 am
I’m a relatively new ubuntu user (less than two years), so my perspective is that of a new comer. I think it is fair to say that kde vs. gnome selection isn’t about better or worse, but rather its a matter of taste and personal preference. Unfortunately, as currently marketed, many brand-new to linux users feel they are already taking a big leap with linux, and choose ubuntu over kubuntu because that is the version they’ve heard about. Kubuntu, while linked and described, has a feel of being an off-shoot, possibly more experimental version. So, with those for whom linux is absolutely new, they pretty much stick with ubuntu.
To test this idea, I ran a forum poll (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=425838) which asked users both what flavor they use (kubuntu vs ubuntu), and whether this is their first real experience with linux. Of 225 respondents, 76% were using Ubuntu and 24% Kubuntu. Of the Ubuntu users, it was a 50 50 split on whether this was their first experience with linux. For Kubuntu users, 61% had had previous experience with linux. My thought is that experienced linux users are more aware of the differences between gnome and kde and therefore select based upon personal preference. If this is true, this simply points out that there is probably some portion of “new to linux” Ubuntu users who, if not artificially funneled to the gnome flavor, would have preferred the kde flavor.
I myself have tried both, actually preferred the kde flavor, and then subsequently moved back to the gnome flavor, simply because I wanted to ensure that features in new releases (e.g. auto detection and installation of non-free codecs in moving to feisty) worked. Point is, even after trying and preferring KDE, I use Ubuntu, because (right or wrong) I feel it is the main-stream distro that will be fully supported (so to speak) and has the real backing and focus from canonical.
So, if Kubuntu is considered as much Ubuntu as Gubuntu is ;), then my position is that the current distro nomenclature artificially hinders Kubuntu’s success and is funneling too many would be kde users to a gnome-centric way of life.
My two cents…ha ha.
August 29th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Also, I respectfully disagree with Jacob that it can’t be done, or bu putting several desktop flavors in front of new users somehow impairs marketing success of user adoption. Just not true. I would have been even more impressed to learn that I had this really neat decision of choosing desktop look and feel, having come from Windows-land. I myself would have been even more excited by the prospect of knowing that whatever I decide, its still this really neat “ubuntu” that I’d heard so much about. -A
August 29th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Ubuntu with X creates a whole new problem. People who have been using Ubuntu, and download what is now Kubuntu, might be expecting the same applications that are in Ubuntu, just with a different DE.
They all already carry their own branding, and like I stated in a previous post concerning this same topic, it doesn’t answer any of the current marketing problems. For instance, changing the name Root Beer to Coca Cola with root beer flavoring wouldn’t work because the brand is already known. This should have taken off from the get go if it were to succeed. If you want to see such an occasion, keep an eye on the Sun Microsystems stock now that they have changed it from SUNW to JAVA.
Kubuntu marketing can’t be all that bad either, seeing as it has been rolled out in large environments all over the world now.
August 29th, 2007 at 10:20 am
Sorry, here is a link to my previous post concerning this same topic. Forgot to post it in the previous comment:
http://blog.nixternal.com/2007.08.08/ubuntunification/
August 29th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I guess what I’m really trying to say, in summary, is:
1. There isn’t really much of a problem. For people who don’t know Linux, GNOME, or KDE, they would just simply use the first thing they will get their hands on, whether it’s Ubuntu or Kubuntu. For those who do know Linux, GNOME, or KDE, they will look for the appropriate distro. Regardless of the name, if the person doesn’t know Linux, he/she will still ask the same questions, like what is Ubuntu, what is KDE, what is GNOME, etc.
2. The proposed alternatives don’t really solve the problem. I would even dare say, risking a possible flame, that it’s more favorable to Ubuntu only, because 1) we don’t have the “structure” that makes it possible to choose GNOME or KDE or Xfce at installation, and 2) GNOME will still always be the default.
3. More than just products, K/X/Edubuntu are also living, breathing, and vibrant community projects. With the proposed names, they are just relegated to being just desktop environment add-ons, like second-class citizens of the Ubuntu project. IMHO, they aren’t. Yes, with “Ubuntu with KDE” we could possibly get more “advertisement” for KDE, but not for the project/community that builds a KDE-centric Ubuntu distribution.
Of course it all depends on what K/X/Edubuntu’s relationship to Ubuntu really is. I for one am very proud of Kubuntu existing as a semi-independent, almost autonomous enttity. It makes KDE a first class citizen, at least for Kubuntu. That’s certainly not how I feel about Debian and Fedora. I might be technically wrong, but that’s just my perception. The solutions that I could see for all this is retaining the names and developing stronger marketing for all the official Ubuntu distros.
Ubuntu has, in many ways, revolutionized, or at least, delivered new and unconventional things to the Linux world, from names to release and development cycles, to marketing, etc. Maybe it’s time to adjust our own mindset to new things. Just because every other distro on the planet has a single name doesn’t mean it’s the only and the correct way to do it.
August 29th, 2007 at 11:49 am
Ubuntu is the brand name itself. And it works as expected.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
The main problem with the proposed naming scheme is that K/X/Ubuntu are actually different projects.
A new user would not only have to cope with different apps for different desktop environments but also with a different focus of the project as a whole.
Also highly advertised features, which could be found in Ubuntu (e.g. migration assistant) are not yet incorporated in the other projects. This is definitely not what a user would expect from Ubuntu with “just” another desktop environment.