We are using Linodes with Debian stable. It's been upgraded since 2006 and
maybe even earlier. I might look at switching to Trisquel although I'm not
yet confident that would be a good idea. Debian makes a really solid base. I
don't have confidence in Canonical as a company. The track record of the
people working for the company isn't great. I see the same mistakes being
made again and again with commercial distributions that target the desktop
and I'd prefer not to put my eggs in that basket. Debian has a track record
that I believe will withstand collapse.
When commercial companies fold there is ultimately collateral damage. Even
though I think basing a desktop distribution off Ubuntu is a smart move now I
have more faith in Trisquel and Debian being around long term than Canonical.
With a desktop distribution like Trisquel the worst case scenario is you have
to switch bases (revert to using Debian) and then have your users reinstall
instead of going through a smooth upgrade process. Not having a smooth
upgrade is undesirable although not the end of the world. With the server I'm
more concerned about having the stability AND smooth upgrade process. I don't
know how much time Canonical has left although I'd rather not get stuck
should it go under in 3-5 years. Mark Shuttlesworth has stated he will not
indefinitely fund Ubuntu from his own pocket. There have been no public
releases of Canonical financial records either. If the company does not
succeed Mark Shuttlesworth will get out. He gave a 5 year time table a few
years back. I believe that was in 2009. Like all other commercial
distribution failures Canonical has done a lot of flip flopping.
Reality tends to differ from what those owning/running companies claim just
before they go under. If they get out without filing for bankruptcy that's
what we call a success in the desktop GNU/Linux business. If Canonical
claims “success” my next question is who is buying it? If I have stock in
that company I'm going to sell. This does not mean I think the commercial
desktop GNU/Linux distribution business can't succeed. I'm just not confident
Mark or Canonicals going to get us there. He could yet prove me wrong though.
I think he made a number of critical mistakes. Targeting a crowded market
(phones) with Unity and abandoning the traditional desktop and then
partnering with Dell. He should have focused on the Ubuntu Software Center
and continued the successes of 10.04 on the desktop. While hardware isn't
where the money is at I think entrance companies are undervaluing the market.
Not that long ago Michael S. Dell (founder) bought back significant amount of
stock in the company as the stock value dropped. I don't believe the guys
move was stupid.
