Bonum Certa Men Certa

Ubuntu (Canonical) Will Not Help Us Get Rid of Windows (Microsoft)

Video download link | md5sum 7a485dbdce27b3f9d52b2fe3579d619c Ubuntu is Helping Microsoft Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: Canonical is rapidly losing its dominance among desktop/laptop GNU/Linux users (it's still doing OK in servers); but adding insult to injury, it's now boosting Windows instead of GNU/Linux, perhaps failing to grasp that this is in part the cause of the exodus (of Ubuntu engineers, too)

THIS is a truly sad story, but it's not the first time, i.e. it's not unprecedented. It's quite a tragedy considering the first bug report in Ubuntu. It was meant to replace Windows. But Canonical is trying to appease Microsoft and spy with Microsoft. As a result, Ubuntu's community has been reduced to nothing, users flee to other distros (many reports to that effect lately), and the power of the brand "Ubuntu" is withering away.



"Canonical is yet again promoting the competition, but we're meant to believe that Canonical/Ubuntu is truly the alternative to Microsoft/Windows. It's not."I've decided it might be easier to cover the topic in the form of a spontaneous video as I would regret sending traffic to the pages in question (we've already included some in Daily Links regardless, along with critical editorial comments).

Canonical is yet again promoting the competition, but we're meant to believe that Canonical/Ubuntu is truly the alternative to Microsoft/Windows. It's not.

"The company's "Product Manager" (first post Oct 19 2021) keeps shilling Windows and other Microsoft stuff."When Ubuntu had a new LTS release (only a few weeks ago) there was "IPO" murmur/talk in Microsoft media (predicted for next year), but that might simply mean that the founder wants to exit and put the liabilities in shareholders' hands. The interview in question was with a longtime Microsoft propagandist, so it's hard to say what motivated it.

In any event, today and yesterday Ubuntu's official blog promoted Windows and products with Windows. The company's "Product Manager" (first post Oct 19 2021) keeps shilling Windows and other Microsoft stuff. About a quarter of his posts are Microsoft promotion and Microsoft isn't even described as a competitor. But remember that more than a decade ago the person managing the desktop of Ubuntu was someone who had come from Microsoft (Spencer), spreading Mono and other problematic things.

"Canonical hired for WSL promotion instead of GNU/Linux promotion and now there's endorsement of a laptop that comes with Windows (an HP debacle we've covered in a past video)."As noted in the video, many of the original high-calibre developers of Ubuntu have left. Not only have many left; some of them now "disparage" Canonical's products, including some managers. Canonical hired for WSL promotion instead of GNU/Linux promotion and now there's endorsement of a laptop that comes with Windows (an HP debacle we've covered in a past video).

What is Canonical trying to tell us? To buy a Windows machine instead of one with GNU/Linux preloaded?

"Ubuntu is losing its lead very rapidly and it knows it. Maybe that's why so many people leave."Incidentally, that same "Product Manager" keeps promoting proprietary software (most of his posts) and the rest include Steam (DRM). He wrote about Steam after the media had noted that gamers are on Arch or other distros. Ubuntu is losing its lead very rapidly and it knows it. Maybe that's why so many people leave.

In any case, see the video; I prefer not to link to the Microsoft promotion in Ubuntu.com. Instead I just show that in the video. The CEO whose surname I forgot is Jane Silber, who worked for a weapons company prior to Canonical.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Jim Zemlin/Linux Foundation Selling Anthropic Slop After Getting Bribed for Slop Marketing ('Linux' Foundation is a Pay-to-Say For-Profit Marketing Company That Buys and Manipulates the Media Based on False Pretences)
Look what they've done to Steven Vaughan-Nichols (SJVN)
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XX - EPO Management's Unified (One) Voice or Policy is, Doing Cocaine is OK When You're a Friend and/or Family of President Campinos
The management needs to resign to save the Office
 
Beehiiv and Substack Are Platform Lock-in (Similar to Vendor Lock-in), Don't Use Beehiiv and Substack (and the Likes of These)
Proprietary platforms are a problem. Some people "get it" sooner than others.
Gitlab is in Trouble and Its Shares Have Collapsed
Down almost 80% since it began [...] The real issue has nothing to do with slop, it is a lack/loss of customers and erosion of the company's theoretical "value"
Microsoft: Mass Layoffs Are "Offers" (Like "Job Offers"), Culling Experienced and Highly-Paid Staff is "Softer Workforce-reduction Strategy"
Media sites that play along with those lies don't do journalism, they're in the PR industry
Under IBM, Mass Layoffs at Red Hat No Better Than Oracle Under Larry Ellison (Treating Workers Like Disposables - Even Enemies - Overnight)
under IBM the respect for the worker (or peer) does not exist
The Slop-Amplified Fear of Privilege Escalation (Local, Not Remote) in Linux, the Kernel
we are meant to assume this is no better and no worse than Microsoft intentionally putting back doors in everything, even encryption
GitLab the Latest Company to Do Mass Layoffs and Use Slop as the Go-to Excuse (GitLab Users Should Worry Too)
This round of layoffs (disguised as something else) has nothing to do with slop ("hey hi"). It's about commercial problems.
Technology Not Meant to Last
A society apathetic towards declining production (or manufacturing) standards will end up ripped off
statCounter Cannot 'See' Chinese Operating Systems That Gain Many Millions of Users Per Month
There is no way for statCounter to recognise or show the market share of HarmonyOS
SLAPP Censorship - Part 74 Out of 200: The Basis of My Lawsuit Against Alex Graveley, Who Helps Garrett Stack the Docket in Another Continent
claim against the Serial Strangler from Microsoft
Update on Slop About "Linux"
"Linux" is a term many people are interested it, so it's not shocking that slopfarms target it
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, May 11, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, May 11, 2026
GAFAM (Microsoft) "Cloud Computing" Means Another Country's Military Accesses All Your Data
reminder that confidentiality and Clown Computing are complete opposites
Another Discrimination Lawsuit Against IBM and Workers Say IBM Culls Older Workers (Just Like Microsoft)
If IBM fails to retain some of the smartest people, then what is the future of IBM?
Gemini Links 12/05/2026: Android Nostalgia and Switching to Guix
Links for the day
Links 11/05/2026: Another Oracle Setback and Mass Layoffs in Iran
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/05/2026: Older Can Be Faster and Textmode Workflow
Links for the day
Links 11/05/2026: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Admits It Only Reacts When It's Too Late (Damage Already Done), Ombudsman’s Animal Cruelty HK Report
Links for the day
If It Takes You a Second to Serve (or Receive) a Page, That's Definitely Too Slow
For speeds at milliseconds (e.g. for pages to fully load in a tenth of a second) the pages must be ready to be sent as soon as they're requested
It's Not About Speed, It is About Patience and Adherence to Truth, Principles, Scientific Integrity
attacks on us only ever made us stronger - a lesson that our adversaries have learned the hard way
Cyber Show Does it Like Techrights: Static and Gemini Protocol as 'First-Class Citizen'
HTML and GemText (over Gemini Protocol) would be rendered in tandem
Libya's Share on the Web: 5.2% GNU/Linux
GNU/Linux has hit an all-time high there
SLAPP Censorship - Part 73 Out of 200: Microsoft's Graveley and Garrett Remain Closely Connected in May 2026 ("Tag-Teaming" Against Bloggers in Another Continent)
The phrase "judge a person by their friends" seems applicable here
Codecs and Software Patents - Part VI - The European Patent Office, Nokia, Microsoft, Sisvel, and More
Whatever Nokia used to be, it's certainly not an ally and a lot of the turmoil at the EPO is the fault of companies like Nokia
Discussions About When the Axe Falls at IBM/Kyndryl (11,000 Layoffs Estimated)
"Kyndryl restructuring should reduce overhead functions and reduce the number of managers that lack technical knowledge"
A World After Microsoft (and GAFAM) and After GitHub Shuts Down
the only growth area is debt
Fake News, Propaganda, and Misinformation: Microsoft Investing Money It Does Not Have in "Hey Hi" (for "Entertainment Purposes" Only)
This will not end well
Today the Whole European Patent Office (EPO) is on Strike and Next Monday an Even Bigger Strike
the media refuses to cover these and is thus complicit
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part IXX - EPO Management Speaks of Reputation and Integrity While Putting Cocaine Addicts in Management
If the EPO values its "reputation", then it needs to start by ousting the management
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 10, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, May 10, 2026
Links 11/05/2026: Security Breaches, Politics, and Energy Crunch
Links for the day
Gemini Links 10/05/2026: "Accidental Cameras" and "Addictive" Interfaces in Social Control Media
Links for the day
Codecs and Software Patents - Part V - A Reminder That GAFAM and the European Patent Office (Which Serves American Monopolists) Do Considerable Harm to the Commons and Culture
some 'breaking' developments
Gemini Links 10/05/2026: Inkscape, Guix, and Alhena 5.5.8
Links for the day
The "Alicante Mafia" at the European Patent Office (EPO) Experiments With New Methods for Crushing Industrial Actions
Open letter to VP1 and the COO [...] What does this tell us about the status quo at the European Patent Office, Europe's second-largest institution?
The Corrupt Lecture the Non-Corrupt - Part XVIII - "The European Patent Office (EPO) has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud" (except when managers do it)
The guidebook of the EPO says fraud is not to be tolerated, but who enforces or revisits such "Red Lines"?
Links 10/05/2026: Hantavirus Brings Back 'Contact Tracing' Surveillance, "Staple Food Prices Soar in Iran"
Links for the day
Microsoft XBox Staff Know They're in Trouble, They Try to Unionise Ahead of Mass Layoffs
As the slang goes, it's going to be a "bloodbath"
Links 10/05/2026: Fake Suicide Notes and New EU Restrictions on Slop
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 72 Out of 200: Microsoft's Graveley and Garrett Signed Documents That Hold Them Accountable to Truth and Liable for Lies
Such collaborations are unsavoury and apparently unprofessional, too
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, May 09, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, May 09, 2026
Gemini Links 10/05/2026: Travelling to Van and "Dark Mode" as Passing Fad
Links for the day