One of most noteworthy open-source stories of 2013 was the audacious attempt by Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu Linux, to crowdfund $32 million in 30 days to fund a next-generation Linux phone.
It’s an effort that did not reach its target. In a video interview with eWEEK, Shuttleworth described the Ubuntu Edge campaign as a “glorious defeat,” but it’s not the end of the road for Ubuntu’s phone efforts.
Though Shuttleworth was unable to raise $32 million in 30 days, the Ubuntu Edge campaign was able to raise $12.8 million, which is a non-trivial amount for a crowdfunding effort of any type. He pledged that his company was continuing to push forward in its efforts to build the best converged operating system for developers.
In response to a question from eWEEK, Shuttleworth said that a crowdfunding campaign to fund an Ubuntu Linux notebook, akin to Google’s Chromebook, isn’t likely in the cards.
Shuttleworth also addressed the issue of how Ubuntu Linux will help enable the nascent world of wearable computing devices. He shot down the idea, however, that an Ubuntu Glass-type device is in the works from his company.
“We see that in a lot of labs where people are building wearables, they are using Ubuntu,” Shuttleworth said. “It may well be that Ubuntu is at the heart of some of those efforts. For now though, our focus is the phone and tablet and the convergence with the PC.”
Watch the full video interview with Shuttleworth below:
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.