Ubuntu turns to crowdfunding

[whatthefunk]

My take on the $80,000 bundle is it's a "Enterprise" pack, not entrepreneur. Point being it's intended for a business to migrate away from Blackberry or MS Enterprise stuff to Linux Enterprise stuff, ie.e file sharing, hosted email, work group stuff, etc.

Ah. Thanks for clearing that up for me. Sometimes I wonder about my reading comprehension skills....

[SteveRiley]

Linux Enterprise stuff

You're makin' me moist with talk like that, sopt!

[Snowhog]

Well, the 'risk' of participating in the crowdfunding endeavor would seem to be non-existent:

What if you fail to reach the funding target?

We appreciate every bit of support we receive during the 30 days, and every backer will be welcomed into the Ubuntu community. If we don’t reach our target then we will focus only on commercially available handsets and there will not be an Ubuntu Edge. All contributions will be fully refunded.

I think that having an actual Ubuntu smartphone in the marketplace would be a boon to Ubuntu and Linux et al. Of course, it's easy to 'talk the talk'. I did my part and added my contribution to the campaign.

[kubicle]

Well, the 'risk' of participating in the crowdfunding endeavor would seem to be non-existent:
So there is nothing to loose, and everything to be gained. I think that having an actual Ubuntu smartphone in the marketplace would be a boon to Ubuntu and Linux et al. Of course, it's easy to 'talk the talk'. I did my part and added my contribution to the campaign.

What if the target sum is reached and Canonical goes bankrupt before the phones are made/delivered? You wouldn't have much chance to get your money back (investors are at the bottom of the pile).

And even on a successful campaign the expensive piece of hardware you'll eventually get might not be what you expected...and there might be better devices available at a cheaper price by the time you'll get your device (and you've had your money invested for a year).

There is no such thing as a "risk free" investment.

And "donating" is just plain weird IMO (I'd never donate money to a for-profit company)...if they want money from me they can sell things to me, and let me be protected by consumer protection laws.

But of course everyone can spend their money as they please.

[Snowhog]

Well, the reason the refund can be promised is because the funds raised by the campaign won't be released to the Ubuntu Edge project unless the goal is reached. If the goal is not met, all funds will be returned to the contributors. What Canonical has committed to, should the campaign goal be reached, is to produce the initial production run of Ubuntu Edge phones, which includes those going to contributors who donated at specific levels. There are no other promises after that, and they don't make or imply that there are.

I wish the campaign success. If Canonical can pull this off; not just reaching their campaign funding goal and producing the first run of their smart phones, but actually break into the smart phone market, it would be a huge boost to Linux popularity. At some point, 'Linux' is going to have to become 'main stream' to remain more than a niche market of average joe-user. Smart phones are the de rigueur of personal networking, and I think that Canonical has made a smart choice in going after that market.

[kubicle]

Well, the reason the refund can be promised is because the funds raised by the campaign won't be released to the Ubuntu Edge project unless the goal is reached. If the goal is not met, all funds will be returned to the contributors. What Canonical has committed to, should the campaign goal be reached, is to produce the initial production run of Ubuntu Edge phones, which includes those going to contributors who donated at specific levels. There are no other promises after that, and they don't make or imply that there are.

All true, but that does not mean it's "risk free". If the goal is reached Canonical will get the money. If they go bankrupt after that, it's "Your money went to creditors, thanks for your support".

[Snowhog]

Okay, I see your point. I can't support the claim that there is 'no risk'. I've edited the OP.

I still think the Ubuntu Edge project is a worthy one, and if successful, has great potential.

[kubicle]

Okay, I see your point. I can't support the claim that there is 'no risk'. I've edited the OP.

I'm not claiming it's a huge risk...and people take risks every day, maybe some people are willing to risk it (I won't...I don't pay for stuff I don't "have in my hands").

But if they're asking people for 600$, they should be upfront about it...that you're essentially an investor (and not a consumer buying goods), if the phone doesn't work (as you expect it to...or even at all) you can't demand your money back.

To me this is just exploitation of good will...a glorified marketing campaign (probably targeted at mobile hardware makers) risking users' money (with no risk to the company).

The "let's change the world (by making 40.000 phones with your money)" hype along the Canonical blogosphere just annoys the hell out of me (as you can probably tell by now )

[Qqmike]

@ kubicle, #38: I would agree. Don't know as much about all this as some of you, but upon first reading it, it smelled stinky from a business standpoint: Canonical needs some good business management. This is the type of thing that could blow up in a big way. Shall we call it chicken-sh* business development?

[SteveRiley]

To me this is just exploitation of good will...a glorified marketing campaign (probably targeted at mobile hardware makers) risking users' money (with no risk to the company).

upon first reading it, it smelled stinky from a business standpoint: Canonical needs some good business management. This is the type of thing that could blow up in a big way. Shall we call it chicken-sh* business development?

Exploitative and stinky though it may be, I still concur with that post Claydoh linked earlier...it's an interesting business experiment. Sufficiently interesting that a few million dollars have already flowed from several hundred hands to Canonical. Absent from that set of hands remains mine, because I have become somewhat disenchanted with Canonical overall. They are doing everything they can to bury the fact that they're a Linux distribution. Why should I continue to support an organization that wants to disassociate itself with the very thing that matters most to me?

Furthermore, Canonical has a pretty abysmal track record when it comes to handling money. They continue to encourage folks to donate on the Ubuntu download page. The "Better support for flavours like Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Lubuntu" choice remains an option. Yet, as far as I know, still none of that money has actually flowed to the flavors. This was a point of some contentious discussion at UDS last year.

[kubicle]

Exploitative and stinky though it may be, I still concur with that post Claydoh linked earlier...it's an interesting business experiment.

I'm with you Steve. I haven't been saying it isn't a shrewd business move (getting other people to bear the risks/costs isn't idiotic at all...regardless of doing it ethically or not).

Just trying to voice that people shouldn't be making investment decisions on emotion (at least not without understanding what they are in for)...although who am I kidding, people do that all the time even though it's very rarely an economically sound move .

Seeing some people invest money on a "warm and fuzzy feeling" makes me want to start a few new business ventures of my own.

[whatthefunk]

I'm with you Steve. I haven't been saying it isn't a shrewd business move (getting other people to bear the risks/costs isn't idiotic at all...regardless of doing it ethically or not).

Just trying to voice that people shouldn't be making investment decisions on emotion (at least not without understanding what they are in for)...although who am I kidding, people do that all the time even though it's very rarely an economically sound move .

Seeing some people invest money on a "warm and fuzzy feeling" makes me want to start a few new business ventures of my own.

This isnt really investing though. Investing means you give a company/organization money and then hope that that company does the right things with your money so that it will grow. This is not what Canonical is doing. They are instead selling a product that doesnt exist yet and hoping that enough people preorder one to cover production costs. They have also managed to convince a number of people that they are not a corporation but a warm, fuzzy free software entity that is in need of donations to make their product a reality. What these people do not seem to realize is that they will get absolutely nothing for their money. It wont go to help people in need, it wont go to help free software development, in wont grow, it wont give anything of real value to anyone. It it just makes it cheaper for Canonical to make other peoples phones. Its like giving your money to BMW so rich people can have cheaper luxury cars.

[kubicle]

This isnt really investing though. Investing means you give a company/organization money and then hope that that company does the right things with your money so that it will grow. This is not what Canonical is doing. They are instead selling a product that doesnt exist yet and hoping that enough people preorder one to cover production costs.

That's the image they are trying to portray, but crowdfunding is gathering investments, not selling products. You're investing money in the hope that you'll (eventually) get a phone (that may or may not work) in return. Legally there is no "seller" here, one that would be liable for a faulty product, for example.

[whatthefunk]

That's the image they are trying to portray, but crowdfunding is gathering investments, not selling products. You're investing money in the hope that you'll (eventually) get a phone (that may or may not work) in return. Legally there is no "seller" here, one that would be liable for a faulty product, for example.

Good point. I think Canonical essentially has to give the people the phones though, otherwise they would be finished. The people buying these phones are mostly their fanboys. If they screw them all over, theyre toast.

[kubicle]

Good point. I think Canonical essentially has to give the people the phones though, otherwise they would be finished. The people buying these phones are mostly their fanboys. If they screw them all over, theyre toast.

I don't disagree...it's in Canonical's best interests to make good phones and get them delivered to people.

I'm just saying there are risks involved in the project (what it the assembly line burns down with all the phones, and someone forgot to update the insurance policy?) and the "investors" are carrying it. It's not the same as "buying a phone".