Shuttleworth: No one can make money with Linux desktop

Ubuntu founder and millionaire Mark Shuttleworth argues that no company can make money just by offering a Linux desktop. Shuttleworth does see profit opportunities in offering additional services.

In a interview with Computerworld following the upcoming release of Ubuntu 8.10 informs the CEO that Canonical, the company that supports and promotes Ubuntu, will not be profitable for the time being. Shuttleworth will therefore be forced to pump more money into the company in the coming years, and he expects the company to be profitable in three to five years. Nevertheless, he sees his company as a solid investment.

Shuttleworth goes on to say that no company can make money solely by providing a Linux desktop environment: “I’ve never seen selling beautifully packaged free software as a viable concept.” According to the CEO, suppliers can only let the chimney smoke if they offer various additional services in addition to solid support. That would even apply to a company like Microsoft, Shuttleworth believes: “I’ve heard reliable reports that Microsoft is making its Windows XP available to OEMs for free.” With the announcement of the Windows Azure platform for cloud computing, the software giant seems to endorse Shuttleworth’s assumption that the best economic times for the desktop are behind us.

Shuttleworth sees three major developments for its open source operating system that developers should jump on: supporting touchscreen interfaces, the further maturity of 3D graphics and the integration of ‘web-like features’ on the desktop: “Most devices will feature a touch interface, and the boundaries between the 2D desktop and 3D gaming world will continue to blur,” said Shuttleworth.