Why did we pick the name Vinux, what does it stand for and what is its relationship to Ubuntu? Well, originally it was going to be called Vibuntu, as it was based on Ubuntu 8.10 and as it was aimed at VI users Vibuntu seemed the obvious logical choice. However, after consulting Canonical's Trademark Team (the company behind Ubuntu) we were advised that they did not approve of our use of the Vibuntu name on the grounds that it might give users the false impression that it was produced by or endorsed by Canonical, and that granting this permission would also weaken their claim to the 'buntu' trademark. Although we were obviously disappointed with this decision, we completely understand their reasons for making it and will of course respect their wishes. They did generously say that we could call it the Ubuntu VI Remix if we liked, because it remained close enough to the original Ubuntu in terms of content and didn't include any packages that were restricted or from third party repositories. However, after some soul-searching we decided to go with Vinux, which had been a strong contender for the title from the beginning. This has the advantage of allowing us to do whatever we want with the distribution without having to try to stay within the boundaries of the Ubuntu Remix remit. Vinux may ultimately be a more approriate name, as after all it is Linux for the VI! But what does Vinux stand for? Well Osvaldo came up with a suitably recursive definition as is the honoured tradition in open-source society, namely: Vinux Is Not Ubuntu but gnu/linuX!
Tuesday 23 December 2008
Vinux Is Not Ubuntu but gnu/linuX!
Why did we pick the name Vinux, what does it stand for and what is its relationship to Ubuntu? Well, originally it was going to be called Vibuntu, as it was based on Ubuntu 8.10 and as it was aimed at VI users Vibuntu seemed the obvious logical choice. However, after consulting Canonical's Trademark Team (the company behind Ubuntu) we were advised that they did not approve of our use of the Vibuntu name on the grounds that it might give users the false impression that it was produced by or endorsed by Canonical, and that granting this permission would also weaken their claim to the 'buntu' trademark. Although we were obviously disappointed with this decision, we completely understand their reasons for making it and will of course respect their wishes. They did generously say that we could call it the Ubuntu VI Remix if we liked, because it remained close enough to the original Ubuntu in terms of content and didn't include any packages that were restricted or from third party repositories. However, after some soul-searching we decided to go with Vinux, which had been a strong contender for the title from the beginning. This has the advantage of allowing us to do whatever we want with the distribution without having to try to stay within the boundaries of the Ubuntu Remix remit. Vinux may ultimately be a more approriate name, as after all it is Linux for the VI! But what does Vinux stand for? Well Osvaldo came up with a suitably recursive definition as is the honoured tradition in open-source society, namely: Vinux Is Not Ubuntu but gnu/linuX!
