New sponsor for Kubuntu

[vw72]

Blue Systems sponsored Kubuntu may need a new name as "Canonical holds the Kubuntu trademark and gives a generous license for community use but does not allow commercial use. It's unclear if that means sponsorship such as we are getting is allowed. So we might have to end up renaming, that would be effort but not entirely bad as the current name makes people think it is only a 'derivative' of Ubuntu rather than one of many flavours within Ubuntu," says Jonathan.

http://www.muktware.com/news/3516/ku...d-blue-systems

If there is to be a name change, I'd vote for Kalos, which is Greek for beautiful.

[bra|10n]

Jonathon Riddell on Ubuntu_UK podcast stating how the sponsorship deal with Blue Systems came about;

"When I put out the announcement that Canonical would not be be paying anymore but we would carry on as a community project and so forth, I started getting a bunch of emails from various companies and organisations and individuals who said we depend upon this, we use it, what can we do, how can we help,whats going on? We use your stuff, if it disappears then that means we're in the poo as well. So since then I have made some interesting enquiries that have been quite promissing and this particular one wanted to jump right in and sponser us straight away..."

The first official statement from the mouth of Kubuntu's lead developer and we now have the full story.

[Snowhog]

As the ever optimistic pessimist, I hope that the new sponsor is a hands off benefactor, providing needed capital when required, but without a heavy hand in directing/dictating how Kubuntu should develop.

[bra|10n]

If we examine the word benefactor in the true sense and delve into the reasons that individuals perform such acts of generosity, whether it be in the form of direct financial aid or the provision of stewardship within new ventures for instance, a factor that seems common to these individuals is a resonating belief in either the cause or in the people themselves. More often than not these causes may not have, for whatever reason, been afforded the usual opportunities or perhaps their ideas may not even be seen as viable by either lenders or governments.

Benefactors then it seems to me, like to right the moral wrongs and make good where everyone else either showed little interest or had predicted nothing but failure.

It's true Kubuntu did at one time have a financial benefactor in Mark Shuttleworth. Much has been written since that all changed; the doom, the gloom, we have all read it and heard it. But I ask, during this 'golden-child period' under the Canonical umbrella what was the primary goal of Kubuntu, where was it and where is it going? I don't believe our primary concern should be it's sudden loss of funding for one paid developer, but more importantly, it's lack of a definition for itself. What will become of Kubuntu in three or five years time? Sure, I think we all agree that it will still be around and better than it is today, no doubt. But compare this with the expectation of the more recent incarnation of Ubuntu, where do you believe Ubuntu will be in the same three or five year period? Anyone read Mandriva News lately? Here's a link for those interested. I don't want to see this happen to Kubuntu, nor do I want to be sitting in five years time thinking of lost opportunity and what might have been.

In my opinion what Kubuntu needs is a purpose, a set of lofty goals and a partner. The developers need, I presume, a reason to develop. A partner needs a cause to become passionate about. And for me that cause is education. Whether it be to children in schools or as adult education in universities and colleges. I know I'm frustrated and annoyed with institutions who think I.T or computer science begins and ends with a Windows box.

One such individual that came to my mind and on reflection, spurred me to write this post. I'm certain there are many others elsewhere too, also with the necessary drive and resources required to achieve just that something more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Sm...ntrepreneur%29

And a suitable quote;

Globalization has gone wrong, as it has no rules. Multinationals are almost above the law. They are so huge they are bigger than governments.
Dick Smith - Capitalism - Business - Companies

[rms]

Funding is better than no funding. If it benefited KMint than it will do the same for Kubuntu.