View source for Gobuntu

{{Short description|Discontinued Linux distribution based on Ubuntu}}
{{distinguish|Goobuntu}}
{{Infobox OS
|name                  =Gobuntu
|logo                  =[[Image:Gobuntu logo.svg|200px]]
|screenshot            =Gobuntu screenshot.png
|caption               =Gobuntu 8.04
|developer             =[[Canonical Ltd.]] and community contributors
|family                =[[Linux]] ([[Unix-like]])
|source_model          =[[Open-source software|Open source]]
|latest_release_version=8.04.1<ref name="GobuntuA">{{cite web|url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Gobuntu|title=Gobuntu|access-date=2009-04-17|last=[[Canonical Ltd.]]|date=March 2009}}</ref><ref name="GobuntuB">{{cite web|url=http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/gobuntu/releases/8.04.1/release/|title=Gobuntu 8.04.1 (Hardy Heron)|access-date=2009-04-17|last=[[Canonical Ltd.]]|date=July 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430034629/http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/gobuntu/releases/8.04.1/release/|archive-date=2009-04-30}}</ref>
|latest_release_date   ={{Release date|2008|07|01}}
|latest_test_version   =
|latest_test_date      =
|discontinued          =yes
|kernel_type           =[[Monolithic kernel|Monolithic]] [[Linux kernel]]
|ui                    =[[GNOME]]
|license               =[[Free software]] licenses<br>(mainly [[GPL]])
|working_state         =Project incorporated into [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]]<ref name="GobuntuA"/>
|website               ={{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516115000/http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/gobuntu|date=May 16, 2008|title=Archived website}}
|supported_platforms   =[[IA-32]], [[x86-64]]
|updatemodel           =[[Advanced Packaging Tool|APT]]
|package_manager       =[[dpkg]]
}}

'''Gobuntu''' was a short-lived official derivative of the [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] [[operating system]] that was conceived to provide a distribution consisting entirely of [[free software]]. It was first released in October 2007.

Because Ubuntu now incorporates a "free software only" installer option, the Gobuntu project was rendered redundant in early 2008. As a result, Canonical made the decision officially to end the Gobuntu project with version 8.04.<ref name="Bacon">{{cite web|url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2008-June/000795.html|title=Changes to Gobuntu|access-date=2008-07-13|last=Bacon|first=Jono|date=June 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929075747/https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2008-June/000795.html|archive-date=2011-09-29}}</ref>

In March 2009, it was announced that "Gobuntu 8.04.1 is the final release of Gobuntu. The project has merged back to mainline Ubuntu, so there is no need for a separate distribution".<ref name="GobuntuA"/><ref name="GobuntuB"/>

==History and development==
[[Mark Shuttleworth]] first mentioned the idea of creating an Ubuntu derivative named ''Gnubuntu'' consisting entirely of [[free software]], on 24 November 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2005-November/013261.html|title=Mark Shuttleworth registers gnubuntu.org (Ubuntu mailing list)|access-date=2007-07-11}}</ref> Due to [[Richard Stallman]]'s disapproval of the name, the project was later renamed ''Ubuntu-libre''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiki.ubuntu.com/Ubuntu-libre|title=Ubuntu-libre|access-date=2007-07-11}}</ref> Stallman had previously endorsed a distribution based on Ubuntu called [[gNewSense]], and has criticized Ubuntu for using [[proprietary software|proprietary]] and non-free software in successive distributions, most notably, Ubuntu 7.04.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hardwarelogic.com/news/143/ARTICLE/1410/2007-05-28.html|title=Richard Stallman interviewed, endorses gNewSense|access-date=2007-07-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070620150238/http://hardwarelogic.com/news/143/ARTICLE/1410/2007-05-28.html|archive-date=2007-06-20}}</ref>

While introducing Ubuntu 7.10, Mark Shuttleworth said that it would {{quote|feature a new flavour - as yet unnamed - which takes an ultra-orthodox view of licensing: no firmware, drivers, imagery, sounds, applications, or other content which do not include full source materials and come with full rights of modification, remixing and redistribution. There should be no more conservative home, for those who demand a super-strict interpretation of the "free" in free software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel-announce/2007-April/000276.html|title=Introducing the Gutsy Gibbon|access-date=2007-07-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219122122/https://lists.ubuntu.com//archives//ubuntu-devel-announce//2007-April//000276.html|archive-date=2009-02-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

Gobuntu was officially announced by Mark Shuttleworth on 10 July 2007<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/130|title=Mark Shuttleworth >> Blog Archive >> Gobuntu is… go|access-date=2007-07-11}}</ref> and [[daily build]]s of Gobuntu 7.10 began to be publicly released. The initial version, Gobuntu 7.10, was released on 18 October 2007, as an in text-only installer. The next release was the Long-Term Release codenamed "Hardy Heron", which was also only made available as an alternate installation image.<ref name="GobuntuA"/><ref name="GobuntuB"/>

Release 7.10 initially met with criticism from some free software advocates because it included Mozilla [[Firefox]]. Firefox is not considered to be 100% free software because it includes [[Mozilla Foundation]] copyrighted icons. The Mozilla licence for the icons states that they "...may not be reproduced without permission".<ref name="Pilgrim">{{cite web|url=http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/10/18/gobuntu-has-already-failed|title=''Gobuntu has already failed''|author=Mark Pilgrim|access-date=2007-11-26|archive-date=2011-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718033547/http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/10/18/gobuntu-has-already-failed|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Bug83118">{{cite web|url=https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox/+bug/83118|title=Bug 83118 Some Firefox components are non-free|access-date=2008-11-09|last=Pilgrim|first=Mark|date=February 2007}}</ref> After some debate on the developer list,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2007-October/000395.html|title=''Firefox and Thunderbird'' thread, gobuntu-devel mailing list|access-date=2007-11-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717221327/https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2007-October/000395.html|archive-date=2011-07-17}}</ref> this problem was quickly addressed by [[Canonical (company)|Canonical]], and the applications with non-free logos were replaced in the follow-up Gobuntu release, Hardy Heron. Firefox was replaced by [[GNOME Web|Epiphany]], which has free logos.<ref name="Pilgrim"/>

Because some [[device driver|drivers]], [[firmware]], and "[[binary blob]]s" were removed from Gobuntu, it would run on fewer computers than Ubuntu. Canonical stated at the time of release of 7.10:

{{cquote|because running Gobuntu on most laptops and many desktops will be difficult, Gobuntu is intended for experienced Linux enthusiasts at this time.<ref name="gobuntu1">{{cite web|url=http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/gobuntu|title=Gobuntu|access-date=2008-04-13|last=Canonical Ltd.|year=2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516115000/http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/gobuntu|archive-date=2008-05-16}}</ref>}}

On 13 June 2008 Ubuntu Community Manager [[Jono Bacon]] announced that the Gobuntu project would end with the release of Gobuntu 8.04:

{{cquote|The Gobuntu development team would like to announce that after 8.04 release of Gobuntu, the project will aim to merge many of the Gobuntu changes into mainline Ubuntu, such as our "Free Software Only" installer option which only installs software considered free by the Free Software Foundation's definition of software freedom. This installer option now obviates the need for a separate derivative project, and in the interest of reducing the workload of Ubuntu core developers, the Gobuntu project will instead focus on merging as many changes as possible into mainline Ubuntu.<ref name="Bacon"/>}}

Shuttleworth explained:

{{cquote|"I think it would be better to channel the energy from Gobuntu into gNewSense...I'm not sure that the current level of activity in Gobuntu warrants the division of attention it creates, either for folks who are dedicated to Ubuntu primarily, or to folks who are interested in gNewSense. I would like us to have a good relationship with the gNewSense folks, because I do think that their values and views are important and I would like Ubuntu to be a useful starting point for them. But perhaps Gobuntu isn't the best way to achieve that."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2008-April/000650.html|title=Rethinking Gobuntu|access-date=2008-04-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929075504/https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/gobuntu-devel/2008-April/000650.html|archive-date=2011-09-29}}</ref>}}

The project ended with the release of version 8.04.1.<ref name="GobuntuA"/><ref name="GobuntuB"/>

==Releases==
Gobuntu versions were intended to be released twice a year, coinciding with Ubuntu releases. Gobuntu uses the same version numbers and code names as Ubuntu, using the year and month of the release as the [[Software versioning|version number]]. The first Gobuntu release, for example, was 7.10, indicating October 2007.<ref name="warty_release">{{cite mailing list|url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-announce/2004-October/000003.html|title=Ubuntu 4.10 announcement|date=2004-10-20|access-date=2008-08-19|mailing-list=ubuntu-announce|last=Shuttleworth|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Shuttleworth}}</ref>

Gobuntu releases are also given [[code name]]s, using an adjective and an animal with the same first letter e.g.: "Gutsy Gibbon". These are the same as the respective [[Ubuntu (operating system)#Releases|Ubuntu code names]]. Commonly, Gobuntu releases are referred to by developers and users by only the adjective portion of the code name, for example ''Gutsy Gibbon'' is often called just ''Gutsy''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DevelopmentCodeNames|title=DevelopmentCodeNames - Ubuntu Wiki|publisher=Wiki.ubuntu.com|access-date=2008-10-19}}</ref>

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!Version
!Code Name
!Release date
!Supported Until
!Remarks
|-
|7.10
|''Gutsy Gibbon''
|18 October 2007
|18 April 2009
|-
|8.04
|''Hardy Heron''
|1 July 2008
|24 April 2011
|Additional 8.04.1 update released
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

==External links==
*[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Gobuntu Gobuntu page in Ubuntu Wiki]

{{Ubuntu}}
{{Linux distributions}}
{{FOSS}}

[[Category:Linux distributions]]
[[Category:Discontinued Linux distributions]]
[[Category:Discontinued Ubuntu derivatives]]
[[Category:History of free and open-source software]]
[[Category:Free software only Linux distributions]]