Googles OS Confirmed : Goobuntu

Google is preparing its own distribution of Linux for the desktop, in a possible bid to take on Microsoft in its core business – desktop software.

A version of the increasingly popular Ubuntu desktop Linux distribution, based on Debian and the Gnome desktop, it is known internally as ‘Goobuntu’.

 

 

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.

 

 

The Goobuntu.com domain has been registered in the past couple of days, though presumably not by Google. It now redirects to a Cuban portal. Perhaps Google will have to think of a new name for the system before they launch it to the wider public. ®

Ubuntu, funded by the South African internet multimillionaire and occasional cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth, is already emerging as a leader in the desktop Linux world.

It has built considerable momentum in the Linux community, and is starting to appear more widely. Shuttleworth is seeking to persuade white-box PC manufacturers to start shipping machines with Ubuntu preinstalled. Source

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Why VC’s Dont Sign NDA ?

Question: I have heard many times that VCs won’t sign NDAs. When I ask why this is, I’m told that reputable VCs won’t share my ideas with others and/or that my ideas aren’t so special or revolutionary that they would be stolen.

In the real world, VCs talk, they look at many deals, they network, etc. I would think in the real world information gets transferred whether maliciously or not.

I am interested on the true facts about this. Additionally, if a VC already has one company in a space and another company approaches them that is doing something novel and interesting in that same space, what happens?

VC Answer: You are correct – VCs don’t sign NDAs. It’s not that we are trying to pull a “fast one” or do anything nefarious, rather in today’s over-litigious world, it is a necessary protection. The hypothetical VCs worry about is the case where 2 years ago Brad meets an entrepreneur, he signs a NDA on behalf of our firm and he takes a quick look at the business plan. He decides that the deal isn’t for us and we don’t invest. Today, I meet someone different, doing something in a similar space and our firm decides to invest. Despite the fact that Brad doesn’t even remember the plan from 2 years ago (remember, we get a ton of plans over time) and I never saw the first plan, the original entrepreneur sues us, assuming that we must have stolen his idea, when in fact this is not the case.

 

What does happen quite often is that we get a business plan from a company doing something similar to what one of our portfolio investments does. In this case, as soon as I realize this, I stop reading and let the entrepreneur know that we have a similar company and that I’m destroying his plan. The key here is being completely transparent and open.

 

One more thing: We get tons of unsolicited business plans that are marked “confidential.” Keep in mind that you can’t impose a duty of confidentiality sending something unsolicited.

Source

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