Goobuntu - What Does Confirmed Mean?

[projectphp]

The Register have "broken" the story that Google is working ona desktop they call "Goobuntu".

The interesting bit is an indented line:

Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for.

How, exactly, did they do this confirming, and to whom, does anyone know?

[Chris_D]

'Goobuntu' is an internal version of Ubuntu that Google runs on their desktop systems.

I don't understand the 'Google declined further details' - Chris DiBona, the head of Google Open Source projects said:

"Goobuntu is our internal desktop distribution. It's awesome, but we're not going to be releasing it. Unless you work here it wouldn't work anyway.

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?cid=...175746&tid=217

[projectphp]

Man, this is like trying to find a word needle in a virtual haystack!

So basically, that is the confirmation The Register went with? Seems like Chinese (censored?) whispers to me. Maybe Google can post something official somewhere official, and put lil ole sceptical me out of my bibelieving skepticism.

[Chris_D]

I have absolutely no idea what 'confirmation' El Reg went with.

Chris DiBona made that statement on /.

From a cred perspective, you can pretty much assume that he's not going to make a deliberately misleading statement in that community.



Did you know that Mark Shuttleworth - the founder of Cannonical/ Ubuntu (and previously Thawte) was in Sydney yesterday..........

[Chris Boggs]

Originally Posted by Chris_D

'Goobuntu' is an internal version of Ubuntu that Google runs on their desktop systems.

so is it possible that this is just a rumor started since Google happened to personalize an OS for their own workers? based on rumors happening since last year, I think it's a little bit more than that, but potentially these have been mixed together?

[Chris_D]

Hi Chris,
The Register story said:

It could be for wider deployments on the company's own desktops, as an alternative to Microsoft, but still for internal use only.
But it's possible Google plans to distribute it to the general public, as a free alternative to Windows.

Chris DiBona has said Goobuntu is for internal use - and he'd know. The Register is, IMHO, just speculating.

Google has built it's search technology on a distributed Linux platform. Google has always said that

Most Googlers have high powered Linux OS workstations on their desktops

http://www.google.com/corporate/culture.html

Google clearly has a lot of inhouse Linux expertise. I think its great for Ubuntu that Google have deployed (or are in the process of deploying) an version of the Ubuntu environment on their desktops, customised to suit their own tools and apps.

<Added>
Projectphp wrote:

Maybe Google can post something official...

Other than Chris DiBona's comments referenced above, here is another denial from Google via Anders Bylund http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060131-6087.html

....Google press relations office, technology spokeswoman Sonya Borälv responded very quickly to my query on the topic. She said that "[w]e use Ubuntu internally but have no plans to distribute it outside of the company."