Google? Linux? Goobuntu? Balderdash!

. . . keeping an eye on the penguin

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Jan. 31, 2006

It wasn't long ago that we were all excited about the possibility that Google was going to get into the office suite software business. Then, the theory was that Sun and Google would get together and make OpenOffice.org the king of the world. Instead, we got "Google Toolbar as an option in its consumer downloads of the Java Runtime Environment."

"Gag me with a spoon,"as Moon Unit Zappa used to say. This was not real news.

Then, there were the stories about a Google operating system. That turned out to be Google Pack. This was Google's most uninspiring software offer to date. If, of course, you don't count the stillborn Google Accelerator, which was, in a word, awful.

Now, we have a story from the Register in which freelance journalist Ben King proclaims, "Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop."

According to the report, it will be a "Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as 'Goobuntu.'" King goes on to state, "Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project."

I wish I could buy this report, but I can't.

I've been burned by too many reports of Google about to do Gigantic, Enormous Things. And then they don't. Or, rather they do, but only when it comes to their real business: search.

It's when people expect Google to explode out of their Web Search Kingdom to slay the Microsoft dragon that they don't live up to expectations.

Going on in Register's story, you'll find that "It's possible that it's just one of the toys Googleplex engineers play with on Fridays."

This, this annoys me.

I know that several engineers at Google work and play with Linux, because I know them and I know what they use. That hasn't lead me to write a story saying that Google is "working" on releasing a Linux desktop.

I also spoke with Chris DiBona, Google's open source program manager, in October and he told me that to the best of his knowledge "Google has no plans to release an operating system or an office suite."

Now, Google does work on open-source. For example DiBona told me that "We do support and use open-source programs. For example, we hired people to help make OpenOffice.org better."

But this? It really makes me wonder if the unnamed and unidentified source for this story was just another person who works at Google and talks about Ubuntu with his like-minded friends in the legendary Google Cafeteria.

Sigh.

It would be nice if Google spent some serious time and money on developing and promoting desktop Linux. It really would. But, based on this story, I'm still not hoping to see it anytime soon.

Darn it.

--Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

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