editorial

Ubuntu is a powerful, solid, secure and reliable operating system used by millions and millions of users from across the world.

Ubuntu offers numerous and numerous features, polished interface and functionalities, overall offered software created, developed and maintained with millions and millions of dollars.

Personally, when the situation allows it, I am quite interested to contribute to Ubuntu, especially if I have the chance to submit money to Ubuntu and Canonical.

We are living, aren't we, in a world where money has an important role, financial items necessary for food, clothes, bills, projects, etc.

As we can all see, Ubuntu Software Center contains thousands of applications.

Launchpad, via its PPAs, contains thousands and thousands of applications.

A solid fact is that Ubuntu is growing, continuing daily to add more and more users, thus enlarging its user base, base measured (according to various official statements) around 20 million users.

Months ago, Mark Shuttleworth announced a bold plan, stating that Ubuntu is to gather 200 million users in the next years.

The main question is: what are the "things" that prevent users to immediately adopt Ubuntu as their main operating system?

Since the beginning of Unity, there were (and still are) various complaints about Ubuntu's adoption of the new shell, complaints oriented towards aspects like "I don't like the change in general", "What about the GNOME 2,x?" and many more, nevertheless, the "big" vocal complaint was related to its overall design, meaning various users across the internets disagreed with how its components are displayed on the desktop.

We are Ubuntu users, aren't we, and, when looking at Mark Shuttleworth's statement: "Our goal is 200 million users in the next years", one wonders:Is this possible?, and, if "Yes", what should we look at when we calculate the possibilities of success.

First, Natty Narwhal introduced Unity shell on both desktops and laptops, and, although, it hasn't had a wonderful welcoming, the adoption among users is warming, approach generated by , among others, an opening of Unity in terms of customization, speed, accessibility.