Ubuntu and Its Leader Set Sights on the Mainstream - NYTimes.com

A timely Linux client snapshot – excerpt:

Created just over four years ago, Ubuntu (pronounced oo-BOON-too) has emerged as the fastest-growing and most celebrated version of the Linux operating system, which competes with Windows primarily through its low, low price: $0.

More than 10 million people are estimated to run Ubuntu today, and they represent a threat to Microsoft’s hegemony in developed countries and perhaps even more so in those regions catching up to the technology revolution.

“If we’re successful, we would fundamentally change the operating system market,” Mr. Shuttleworth said during a break at the gathering, the Ubuntu Developer Summit. “Microsoft would need to adapt, and I don’t think that would be unhealthy.”

Another interesting factoid later in the article:

Close to half of Google’s 20,000 employees use a slightly modified version of Ubuntu, playfully called Goobuntu.

See the full article for more background info on Mark Shuttleworth and Ubuntu.

I’m using a Windows 7 beta laptop for my news scan and blogging this morning, and I’m not getting the sense Ubuntu could add a lot to my computing routine.  It’s still a fascinating phenomenon, however, and one that probably makes product planners at companies such as Novell and Red Hat very nervous.

Ubuntu and Its Leader Set Sights on the Mainstream - NYTimes.com