In just over 6 months since its initial release, Ubuntu has become one of the most popular Linux distributions. Based on Debian, Ubuntu aims to be a stable, up-to-date platform with a focus on usability and security. Ubuntu is available for the Intel/x86, Apple/PowerPC, AMD64 architectures, and comes packaged as a single installation CD and as a “Live” CD (starting with this release). In this review we look at Ubuntu 5.04 to see why it is creating a lot of excitement in the Linux community.

Ubuntu 5.04 includes the latest GNOME desktop 2.10 (try out Kubuntu if you prefer KDE on your desktop, available at www.kubuntu.org.uk), Evolution 2.2.1, Firefox 1.0.2, OpenOffice.org 1.1.3, X.org 6.8.2 (replacing XFree86), and a 2.6.10 kernel. Other enhancements include faster system startup, improved hardware detection during installation, better support for laptops (e.g., suspend to memory/disk, processor speed scaling), easier package management, and improved documentation.

Installation

Installing Ubuntu from the single installer CD took approximately 55 minutes on a generic PC with a Pentium III 550mhz processor, 512mb memory and a 30gb hard drive. Ubuntu’s default installation configures a desktop system, although options for minimal server or custom hardware configurations are available by pressing F1 at the initial installer prompt.

The text-based installation process has two stages. During the first stage, you make selections for basic settings such as language, keyboard layout and disk partitions. To keep things simple, a single swap partition and a single ext3 partition are created by default. If you prefer a different configuration, just select the ‘manual’ partition edit mode. After the disk is partitioned, packages comprising the base system are installed. This part of the installation took about 14 minutes. All remaining packages are simply copied to disk, to be installed later during the second stage. Finally, the system reboots after the boot-loader (GRUB) is installed and the installation CD is ejected.

The second stage of the installation begins by asking you to create the default system user (not superuser) account. Next, the packages copied to disk from the first stage are installed. This part of the installation took approximately 25 minutes, after which you are presented with the Ubuntu graphical login screen.

Usability

Once you log in, a remarkably uncluttered GNOME desktop greets you. Starting with this release of GNOME, all the usual system icons like “Computer” and “Home” have been moved into the “Places” menu in the panel bar at the top of the screen. The “Trash” icon now appears in the right-hand corner of the panel bar at the bottom of the screen, making it easier to drop items into the trash without minimizing open windows. I found the default desktop theme with gold and copper earth tones to be quite pleasing — perhaps drawing on the African origins of the word Ubuntu.

The “Applications” menu maintains the uncluttered look “n” feel with a well organized set of choices. I really liked the lack of duplication when it came to choosing a particular type of application, whether it was a word processor, web browser or text editor. Most Linux distributions come with multiple applications that serve the same function, confusing newbies and seasoned users alike.

The Nautilus file browser’s behavior has been modified by the Ubuntu engineers such that the parent folder window closes when you double-click a sub-folder inside it. At first, this seems inefficient, especially if you want to copy or move an item from that sub-folder to a parent folder, since the parent folder window isn’t open anymore. This is easily fixed, just use your middle mouse button to double-click (double-middle-click) the sub-folder you want to open, and now the parent folder window stays open.

Most of us tend to use multiple audio applications (e.g., Rhythmbox, Totem, XMMS) simultaneously. Sadly, many Linux distributions don’t configure software audio mixing correctly out-of-the-box. The good news is that Ubuntu 5.04 does! All your standard audio applications can share the sound card without contention.

Finally, a couple of small improvements worth mentioning. First, the “Network Manager” applet makes it very easy to connect to WiFi access points. Second, the “Ubuntu Update Manager” adds a nice complement to the powerful Synaptic package manager, allowing users to keep their system up-to-date with ease.

Security

A fundamental challenge for every aspiring “desktop” Linux distribution is to provide a security model that protects essential system resources from inadvertent damage, and does so unobtrusively. Ubuntu’s security model offers a good balance to newbies and experienced users despite some rough edges.

Ubuntu uses the sudo mechanism to provide administrative privileges to a normal user. Note that only the first user account, created during installation, is part of the “admin” group and therefore able to use sudo. Any user accounts created thereafter are not permitted to use sudo. Even the traditional superuser (root) account is disabled by default (you can’t login as root). Using sudo allows the system to keep track of any system maintenance actions in a logfile (/var/log/auth.log). If something goes wrong, you can always go back and see what commands were run.

All the graphical configuration utilities use sudo. As such, you’ll be prompted to enter a password every time you run one of them. Remember to type in your password. This is a bit confusing since you’re already logged in.

By default, all major network services except SMTP are disabled, although no firewall is active. Were it not for the inactive firewall, this would be ideal for a typical SOHO environment, where a cable-modem is connected directly to the PC.

Conclusion

Invariably, the idea of Linux on the desktop is discredited because of its perceived difficultly for the typical user. Having used Ubuntu 5.04 for a few weeks now, I’d say that Linux on the desktop is becoming a reality for the average user. I was able to do most of my work without using the command-line. Now that’s progress!

Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, and Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, release free CD of Hindi software tools and fonts compiled by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in New Delhi on June 20th, 2005.

On June 20th, one of the hottest days yet this summer in New Delhi, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) added a few degrees to the temperature. In a high profile ceremony, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, C-DAC and its parent, the Ministry for Communications & Information Technology released a software CD package of computer tools for Hindi — India’s most spoken language. Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world, after Chinese. Around 500 million people speak Hindi in India and abroad, and the total number of people who can understand the language globally is estimated to be around 800 million.

This free CD includes a full suite of Hindi office automation tools, web browser, email client, OCR tools and language interface facilities. Earlier, in April, C-DAC and the Ministry had released a similar package of computer applications, fonts and tools for the Tamil language. In the next six months, the Ministry has announced an ambitious plan to make this package of office applications, fonts and tools freely available in all the 22 major Indian languages. Both Hindi and Tamil language software is available for free download from the Indian Language Data Centre (www.ildc.in) website.

Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, the Minister of Communications & Information Technology, explained that the inspiration for making these tools available to all the citizens of India originated in his observation that other countries with similar local language requirements, like China and Japan, were supporting their citizens with the wide distribution of freely available computer fonts and native language tools. The release marks a milestone in the efforts of Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, who is also Chairman of Governing Council of C-DAC, to bring about a language computing technology revolution in the country.

Lamp lighting by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology at the launch ceremony of free Hindi software tools and fonts in New Delhi on June 20th, 2005.

Mr. Maran noted that the CD includes BharateeyaOO.o, an Indian localized version of OpenOffice.Org. To the rousing applause of the audience, he asserted that this freely available office suite is in every way the equal of (non-free) Microsoft Office.

Smt. Sonia Gandhi explained that the release of Indian language applications, fonts and tools was another important step in the realization of the dream to develop indigenous Indian technologies that can help to close the digital divide and build up the capabilities of the nation.

Also present on the dias were distinguished leaders such as Dr. Shakeel Ahmed, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Dr. RMS Sinha, Professor, IIT Kanpur, Dr. Rajeev Sangal, Professor, IIIT Hyderabad, Mr. Brijesh Kumar, Secretary, Department of Information Technology and Mr. S. Ramakrishnan, Director General, C-DAC.

Smt. Sonia Gandhi personally handed the CD of free Hindi tools to representatives from top Indian media including Aaj Tak, Times of India, India Today, Dainik Jagran, Pioneer, Hindustan, and Punjab Kesari. Arun Poorie of the India Today group said this release of free software tools for the desktop in Hindi would revolutionize the news dispatch systems across the country. Mrinal Pande of the Hindustan saw this freely available software as a step forward in empowering disadvantaged groups, especially Indian women, to cross the digital divide.

Contents of the free CD

Free download (www.ildc.in)

1. Hindi Language True Type Fonts with Keyboard Driver
   Contributors: C-DAC, Modular Infotech, Cyber Scape Multimedia, C.K. Technologies and Softview
2. Hindi Language Multifont Keyboard Engine for True Type Fonts
   Contributors: Cyber Scape Multimedia
3. Hindi Language Unicode Compliant Open Type Fonts
   Contributors: C-DAC, Modular Infotech, Cyber Scape, CAD Graf Digital System Ltd.
4. Hindi Language Unicode Compliant Keyboard Driver
   Contributors: C-DAC
5. Generic Fonts Code and Storage Code Converter for Hindi
   Contributors: Priya Infomatech
6. Hindi Language Version of Bharateeya OO.o (OpenOffice.org)
   Contributors: C-DAC
7. Firefox — Browser in Hindi
   Contributors: C-DAC
8. GAIM — Multi Protocol Messenger in Hindi
   Contributors: C-DAC
9. Columba — Email Client in Hindi
   Contributors: C-DAC
10. Hindi OCR
    Contributors: C-DAC
11. Aasaan Typing Tutor for Hindi & English
    Contributors: C.K. Technologies
12. Integrated Word Processor
    Contributors: C-DAC
13. Dictionary English-Hindi
    Contributors: C-DAC
14. Hindi Language Spell Checker
    Contributors: C-DAC
15. Hindi Language Transliteration Tool
    Contributors: C-DAC
16. Hindi Language Text to Speech System
    Contributors: IIIT, Hyderabad, Prologix
17. Translation support system from English to Hindi (Available via the Web)
    Contributors: IIT, Kanpur
18. Hindi Language Corpora (Available via the Web)
    Contributors: C-DAC

Related Open Source Projects

• OpenOffice.org
• Firefox
• GAIM
• Columba — Java Email Client

Related Links

• The Hindu Business Line, India: Hindi software tools, fonts for free
• The Financial Express, India: New Hindi software launched
• The Indian Express, India: Let IT help common man: Sonia
• The Calcutta Telegraph, India: Maran bid to expand infotech use
• Press Information Bureau, Govt of India: Free Hindi Software Tools and Fonts Launched
• C-DAC Press Release: Hindi Software Tools & Fonts Released in Public Domain
• Technology Development for Indian Languages (TDIL), MCIT, India

The world on the other side of the digital divide regularly reverberates with announcements of cheap PCs. In India, where there is constant talk by government and non-government organizations, the next generation Simputer, called Mobilis, has been just released with great fanfare by Encore Software together with the Ministry of Science and Technology. At US $200+, Mobilis incorporates various home grown technologies and is targeted at low-end office automation and military applications. At the same time, other companies, like Xenitis and Celetronix are introducing similarly priced low-end PCs which use more standardized components.

But are these reverberations simply empty vibrations?

Cheap PCs typically include slow processors with small memory and offer inferior graphics. Are these devices really capable or economical enough as incarnations of generic PCs? For just a little more money, a much higher performance PC can be purchased that also has a better selection of the latest standard components.

The problem is that cheap PCs are still expensive. Today they have a target price of $200-$300. This is the cost of housing per year in some developing countries. But even this price has been difficult to achieve. For example, India’s Simputer was never able to build the volumes that could bring down its prices. Similarly, Mobilis will have to sell 50,000 to 100,000 (and by some estimates 1,000,000) units to approach its $200-300 target price range. That volume may be hard to reach since many potential purchasers believe that it is wiser simply to buy a full capability, standard PC from the start.

“Focus on child-like simplicity, radical hardware integration, plus content and software built by open source collaboration.”

The second and bigger problem is that the cheap PCs are still PCs. Most real PC purchasers in developing countries are already PC literate and prefer full capability machines, even if they are more expensive — ironically, often only marginally.

The current crop of cheap PCs are intended for markets that are filled with relatively unsophisticated consumers of information processing devices. But cheap PCs do little to solve the problems of computer usage in the native languages of these target purchasers. Unsolved localization problems inhibit widespread PC adoption just as much as price does. Problems include supporting interface tasks like keyboard input in local scripts and searching and sorting of data encoded in cross-language, multi-byte, non-Latin character sets. Today’s cheap PCs are simply dumbed down versions of the expensive, complex, and fragile PC which was designed for professional office or sophisticated home environments. The cheap versions continue to require all the complex human interfaces built for users already possessing a basic threshold of information processing literacy.

What’s needed is a radically different design point!

A people’s PC must have high utility but at the same time be simple to use in multiple local languages. Plus the target system must be rugged and be able to survive in a semi-outdoors environment — an environment that will be inevitably too hot, too wet, or too dusty. Think about how a people’s PC across the digital divide must function in an open classroom or in the market center of a farm village at 110°F with intermittent electricity and free-roaming animals. To be reliable in such an environment, it must have few or no moving parts.

The right design point is not a “people’s PC”, but a “people’s appliance”. For the vast majority of users, especially school children, an appliance with embedded functionality could be designed to be extremely easy to use. A true local language interface for non-Latin scripts can be achieved by using a touch screen with menus and icons dynamically rendered in local fonts as needed. A people’s appliance must also have compelling content, such as official school board curriculum material or voting registration lists or local land record information. It must also have simple connectivity options.

The design of a people’s appliance should not repeat the infinitely capable but dauntingly complex character of the PC. It should instead be built from a basic platform that can be adapted to the specific needs of its target users. A successful paradigm for this kind of appliance already exists - the modern game console.

For example, in a fashion similar to the distribution of content for game systems, a school appliance intended to deliver educational content could employ a platform engine that is then customized by appropriate curriculum cartridges or DVDs. Human interface tasks, like input and selection, can be serviced by a simple touch screen interface rendered in the local language. Targeting a different application, a village land records appliance would use this same platform engine but would be customized with an application-specific data cartridge or DVD.

Given sufficiently large scale System-on-Chip (SoC) integration, extremely reliable and capable platforms can be built cheaply. Many of the most important basic tasks in a village do not require high processing power or sophisticated graphics handling. A variety of advanced SoCs that run Linux exist today in production quantities and are more than capable of supporting many fundamental applications like simple curriculum delivery and basic records management.

Open source software and tools together with open content developed in local languages can provide the information layer needed to fulfill the promise of the platform engine.

In theory at least, an example of such a simple appliance that could support a surprisingly large variety of applications, is the children’s drawing computer called Pixter, available from Fisher-Price for less than US $80 retail. This product offers an interesting model for what is possible in terms of scale of integration, ease-of-use, as well as deployability. Turning such a device into a people’s appliance would require redefining some of the I/O interfaces, introducing font rendering technologies into the base platform (e.g., perhaps as application-specific integrated circuits), adding simple communications port(s), and designing more capable cartridges or building in a simple DVD player.

Keep It Simple

The notion that computing has to be delivered to people on the other side of the digital divide using PC technology is fundamentally misguided. Using alternate models, like highly integrated but relatively cheap appliances for children or gaming, can kick-start the information revolution in developing countries. Focusing on child-like simplicity, radical hardware integration, and open source software can provide the answer for all who are interested in collaborating to build affordable information processing tools for the people being left behind in the information revolution.

Stuart Cohen, CEO of the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL) in Portland, Oregon, participated via e-mail in an interview with Alolita Sharma, CEO, Technetra and Robert Adkins, CTO, Technetra. Cohen shared the organization’s vision for the future of Linux.

Stuart Cohen, CEO, OSDL

OSDL is home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, and has a mission to accelerate the growth and adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Founded in 2000 and supported by a global consortium of IT industry leaders, OSDL is a non-profit organization that provides state-of-the-art computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan. These outstanding facilities are available to developers around the world. OSDL’s founding members are IBM, HP, CA, Intel, and NEC.

In 2004, OSDL opened an office in Beijing to collaborate on Linux and its initiatives in the Chinese environment. Exploring new territory, OSDL recently came to India to better understand the realities of adoption and usage of Linux and open source in this country.

Q: OSDL’s mission is to facilitate Linux adoption in enterprise computing. Tell us about OSDL’s current projects supporting this goal. How much of this project work is being done in the US vs the rest of the world?

SC: OSDL’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of Linux and open source software in the enterprise by serving as the center of gravity for end users, vendors and developers.

It employs a team of software developers that contribute to the Linux kernel and has Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, as a Lab Fellow. Also, Andrew Morton, Linux kernel maintainer, and Andrew Tridgell, creator of Samba and Lab Fellow, are employed by OSDL.

OSDL is home to three working groups, including Data Center Linux (DCL), Desk Top Linux (DTL) and Carrier Grade Linux (CGL). The lab also moderates Linux User Advisory Councils (LUACs) in the US, Japan and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), where information is collected from Global 2000 companies on specific Linux needs and how they vary in different regional markets.

“Businesses understand the compelling value proposition of Linux and open source.”

We continue to monitor the global marketplace to determine where OSDL’s resources can be best leveraged to accelerate Linux adoption. As a result, we opened our office in Tokyo in 2000 and in Beijing last year. Our visit to India is another step towards conducting ongoing discussions with businesses, educational institutions and governments throughout the region, to assess opportunity.

Q: OSDL’s board of directors includes representation from vendor companies, such as IBM, HP, Novell, Fujitsu, CA, NEC and Intel, which are all either US or Japanese companies. Does OSDL plan to have more balanced participation from the rest of Asia (beyond Japan) and Europe?

SC: One-third of our members are from Asia, and we welcome active board participation from companies throughout the world and from different industries. For example, Frank J. Fanzilli, Jr. recently joined the OSDL board. Fanzilli is the former managing director and Global CIO of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). As a former end user of Linux, he brings a dynamic perspective to OSDL that will help drive adoption around the globe.

Q: On its first exploratory mission to India, what is OSDL’s view on the country and its potential for greater participation in Linux?

SC: OSDL has been very impressed by the number of Indian companies, individuals and organizations that are involved in the Linux and open source community. That, combined with the efforts and interest shown by the Indian government and education systems, leaves little doubt that the Linux and open source communities in India are poised to contribute in a substantial way to the development of Linux globally.

Q: OSDL started with Japanese companies as founding members in 2000. It opened a branch office in China last year. Describe OSDL’s experience so far in China — as a Linux adopter and as a development partner?

SC: Three of OSDL’s seven founding members are based in Asia, including Hitachi, NEC and Fujitsu. The other founding members include HP, Intel, CA and IBM.

Our experience in China has been very positive. The Chinese government, local businesses and educational institutions are embracing Linux for good reason. The business success they are experiencing locally is having an impact on their IT cost structure and will be leveraged to become part of the global ecosystem. The Chinese IT research firm, CCID Consulting, estimates that the Linux server software market in China will explode at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 50 per cent over the next five years.

Q: How can OSDL help local economies in Asia profit from Linux?

SC: OSDL supports the emergence of Economic Development Clusters built around Linux and open source businesses in key regions throughout the world. By supporting such clusters and the development of open standards, local economies grow and the global ecosystem is enhanced.

Based in large part on research emerging from the Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness, OSDL has adopted the philosophy that by supporting the development of regional clusters, it can contribute to the creation of substantial and sustainable businesses and jobs. Asia is a prime region for these clusters, and OSDL will continue to make time and resource investments in this region.

Q: What are the grand challenges for the Linux kernel in the next few years?

SC: In the immediate future, OSDL and its members are focused on completing the building of features and functionality for enterprise-wide deployment of Linux as the primary operating system. As the market grows, the need for a strong software solution stack and services will take more of our time.

Q: You have encouraged the Linux vendors to work more closely with the core kernel development team and not splinter off into incompatible versions and patch sets. Is this advice being heeded? Are the vendors cooperating?

SC: They are. They learned a lot of lessons from the UNIX days and this makes smart business sense for them today. As a result, Linux vendors are embracing open standards, and working more and more closely with the kernel development team and their customer implementations.

Q: Is adoption of Linux on the desktop and for mobile professionals speeding up because of OSDL’s efforts?

SC: Overall, Linux adoption is speeding up in a number of places — the enterprise desktop, the data center and in carrier grade applications such as mobile devices. The overall Linux marketplace is expected to reach US $35.7 billion by 2008, up from roughly US $20 million forecast for 2005. This success is the result of the global ecosystem that has emerged around Linux and open source technologies. Businesses understand the compelling value proposition of Linux and open source, and are actively taking advantage of the opportunity.

Q: Is OSDL too tied to the interests of its largest corporate sponsors to see the needs of the larger Linux community?

SC: While OSDL’s founding members are large global companies, most of its 70 current members are small to medium size businesses and organizations. Another 60 Global 2000 companies contribute to OSDL’s LUACs, and almost a dozen universities are members of OSDL. OSDL’s efforts reflect those of the Linux community and are driven by all of its members and associates, to accelerate the adoption of Linux.

Q: How would you describe the working relationships between OSDL and Open Source Initiative (OSI), Free Standards Group (FSG) and Free Software Foundation (FSF) respectively?

SC: OSDL works with other industry organizations to help meet its mission to accelerate the adoption of Linux in the enterprise. OSDL has close working relationships with the OSI to address license proliferation; with FSG to advance the Linux Standard Base; and with the FSF to collaborate on community issues and advance the GPL.

Q: What are the gaps that still challenge Linux in achieving the goals of each of the three working groups sponsored by OSDL: carrier grade, data center and desktop Linux?

SC: Currently, no truly large gaps exist. IDC’s Linux market forecasts show us that Linux adoption keeps rising and it is penetrating in every vertical.