Ubuntu Edge: The Road To Making Crowd-Sourcing History
Ever since we [announced the Ubuntu Edge campaign](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge), we have seen a remarkable amount of interest in the campaign. Here are some highlights:
* [T3](https://www.t3.com/news/ubuntu-edge-smartphone-breaks-crowdfunding-record)
* [Techcrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/25/if-the-ubuntu-edge-crowdfunding-experiment-works-backers-may-get-to-vote-on-the-next-models-specs/)
* [Techcrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/ubuntu-edge-smartphone-gets-a-pledge-price-drop-to-keep-the-money-rolling-in-for-that-32m-funding-goal/), [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23402994)
* [Jane Silber, Canonical CEO on CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/id/100916499)
* [Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Founder, doing a Reddit AMA](https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1j166z/hi_im_mark_shuttleworth_founder_of_ubuntu/)
* [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/10202351/Ubuntu-Edge-crowdfunding-campaign-smashes-records.html)
I also strongly recommend you see [Marques Brownlee’s](https://www.youtube.com/user/marquesbrownlee?feature=watch) video overview of Ubuntu Edge, which provides a fantastic overview of the campaign:
*Can’t see it? See it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nei16gkVxpg#at=340)!*
## Heading Towards History
The highest amount of money raised in crowd-sourcing history is around **$10million** and as I write this we are currently at **$6.6million**.
We have already set records for the fastest ever $2million raised and the highest amount of money ever raised on Indigogo, so let’s smash through the $10million figure and bring Ubuntu forward into crowd-funding history. This campaign is not just about funding the beautiful, powerful, converged Ubuntu Edge and having your phone and desktop in your pocket, but also demonstrating how truly disruptive crowd-funding can be.
**Be sure to [go and pledge](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge)!**
## The Ubuntu Edge Referral Contest
So many of you have been busy spreading the word (helping us to smash through the $6 million mark already) that to keep that momentum going, we want to give you a special incentive.
Whether you’ve contributed $20 or $2,000, you all have the chance to win something extra special: a **personalised Ubuntu Edge phone engraved with your name**.
Of course, for this prize to exist the campaign has to hit its target, so be sure to spread the word using every possible medium you have access to. Our goal is to make history, and every one of you can help us write that history and get a historical special-edition customized Ubuntu Edge in the process.
### How To Enter
1. Make sure you’re logged in to [Indiegogo](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge).
2. Get your unique *Share This Campaign* link from the Ubuntu Edge page (just below the video), and share it via social media, email or any other method you can think of. Click the Embed and Email buttons for simple instructions to add an Ubuntu Edge widget to your website or email signature.
3. Every time someone clicks your link or widget and then contributes money to the campaign, you’ve made a successful referral.
### The Rules
You have one week. The person who drives the most money in referral contributions between now and **4.00pm BST on Friday 2 August** will win this great prize. (Prize is conditional on the Ubuntu Edge being fully funded.)
Every extra backer takes us closer to our goal, and by taking part you’ll be playing a vital role in getting the Ubuntu Edge made.
12 Hours In, Nearly 10% Raised
We are about **12 hours** into the [Ubuntu Edge Indigogo Campaign](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge) and we are about to hit **10%** of the full goal.
Awesome.
Be sure to go and [support the campaign](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge)!
Announcing the Ubuntu Edge
Last week many of you will have seen the teasers that were shared on [www.ubuntu.com](https://www.ubuntu.com). As you can imagine, our community, the press, and others picked up on this with rampant curiosity of what was to come. I am delighted to see the news is now out there, and boy, is this exciting.
In a nutshell, today we are kicking off [an Indigogo crowdfunding campaign](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge) to fund a fully converged device called *Ubuntu Edge*.
*Can’t see the video? See it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eQLe3iIMN7k#at=127)!*
The Ubuntu Edge will dual boot Ubuntu and Android, and will transform into a PC when docked with a monitor, with the full Ubuntu desktop and shared access to all the phone’s files. For this it needs the power of a PC, so Ubuntu Edge will be equipped with the latest, fastest processor, at least 4GB of RAM and a massive 128GB of storage.
Every week on my weekly Q&A many of you ask when you can buy a fully converged Ubuntu device in which you can use it as a phone and boot a desktop, and here it is. Now is the opportunity to not only buy one, but to contribute to showing your support for an Ubuntu converged device by contributing to the campaign.
The Ubuntu Edge is not only *functionally* powerful though. This beautifully crafted device replaces the traditional glass screen with a pure Sapphire crystal, so tough it could only be scratched by diamond. It will also pioneer the use of long-life silicon anode battery technology. A special dual-LTE solution will allow high-speed roaming with access to 4G-LTE broadband in both Europe and the US.
I know many of you who are reading this will be interested in the technical specs, which are:
* Dual-boot Ubuntu Edge into either Ubuntu or Android
* Becomes a fully integrated Ubuntu desktop PC when docked
* Fast and powerful device with multi-core CPU and at least 4GB RAM
* 128GB of storage for photos, music, content
* 4.5in 1,280 x 720 HD display with pure sapphire crystal screen, the hardest natural substance after diamond
* Cameras made for low-light, fast response and close up pictures: 8mp rear camera, 2mp front
* Faster connection all over the world with dual-LTE, dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, NFC
* Connect to HDMI TVs and monitors easily with MHL connector, 3.5mm jack
* GPS, accelerometer, gyro, proximity sensor, compass, barometer
* Stereo speakers with HD audio, dual-mic recording, Active Noise Cancellation
* Silicon-anode Li-Ion battery
* 64 x 9 x 124mm.
(specifications are subject to change)
All in all this is a beautiful powerhouse for running a fully converged Ubuntu experience – not just a phone, but a phone and your desktop all in one package that looks and feels *uniquely Ubuntu*.
## The Campaign
For the next 30 days our goal is to reach $32 million, an unprecedented amount raised in a crowd-sourcing campaign. Fortunately we have an incredible global community, and we are asking each of you to contribute what you can to the campaign.
The idea is simple: by committing $600 (£394) on day one, or $810 (£532) thereafter, you will receive one of these ground-breaking mobile devices in May 2014. This is the lowest price we can deliver this high-powered hardware specification, range of features, and high-quality build quality. We want to ensure Ubuntu supporters get the *very best quality* device.
If you can’t quite afford to buy an Ubuntu Edge, you can contribute smaller amounts too, and we also have some additional perks too for those of you who want to contribute more widely to the campaign.
## The Day One Deal
I just want to stress that for the very first day (which hopefully you are reading this on), you can pick up the Ubuntu Edge for a special lower price of **$600**. From Day 2 onwards the price will go up to $810.
This $600 offer runs out on **Tuesday 23rd July at 16:00 BST**, so be sure to get your order in!
So, [head to the Indigogo page](https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge) and grab an Ubuntu Edge, not only reserving a beautiful, powerful convergent Ubuntu device, but also demonstrating your support for Ubuntu converged devices.
Before I wrap up, we want to be very clear about something: his campaign does *not* mean Canonical has stopped working with OEMs and carriers to bring Ubuntu to other phones and devices; those discussions are productive and on-going.
Community Leadership Summit 2013 and OSCON Action
If you are going to be in Portland, Oregon in the next few weeks, I wanted to share some of the things I will be doing. If you want a meeting while I am at the Community Leadership Summit and OSCON, please get in touch and we can coordinate.
## Community Leadership Summit 2013
I founded the [Community Leadership Summit](https://communityleadershipsummit.com/) five years ago and the event has grown to become the primary annual meeting place for community managers, leaders, and those interested in the art and science of community management. I am really proud of how CLS has grown and matured over the years, and many thanks to our wonderful attendees who make it so fantastic.
This year’s event is shaping up to be awesome. We have a [fantastic set of registered attendees](https://www.communityleadershipsummit.com/attendees/), a full unconference format, enhanced audio and video facilities, and more.
Many thanks to our wonderful sponsors who have helped to support the event:
* O’Reilly
* Liferay
* Microsoft
* LinuxFund.org
* Adobe
* Mozilla
* OpenNMS
* Google
The event is completely free to attend. read [more about how it works](https://www.communityleadershipsummit.com/about/) and [how to get there](https://www.communityleadershipsummit.com/travel-hotel/) and see the [schedule](https://www.communityleadershipsummit.com/schedule/).
## OSCON
Lots going on at OSCON this year.
To begin with I will be running [my first community management training workshop](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/29589) at OSCON on **Mon 22nd July**. This is a full-day workshop, so be sure to come and join me. Details are [here](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/29589).
Then on **Tues 23rd July at 9.00am** Jorge and Mark M will be running [Service Orchestration In The Cloud With Juju](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/29115) – a full workshop that covers using Juju to deliver production services and how Juju charms work.
Next on **Wed 24th July at 9.55am** Mark Shuttleworth will be giving his keynote.
**Wed 24th July** is going to be a busy day for me with the following in my schedule:
* **10.40am** – [Ubuntu Phone and Tablet – Intro to Design and Development](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/28141)
* **1.40pm** – [Office Hours](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/31460) – come and join me for this Q&A session. Feel free to ask me about Community Management and Growth, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Touch, and Juju, Engineering Management, Collaboration Infrastructure and Processes, Conflict Resolution, Governance, Social Media, Event Coordination and Planning, or anything else.
* **2.30pm** – [Burnout and Bickering: a Community Manager’s Guide to Conflict](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/detail/29163)
* **3.45pm** – Book Signing – come to the O’Reilly booth where we will be giving out copies of my book, [The Art of Community](https://artofcommunityonline.org/), which you can get signed if you want me to horrendously scribble on it.
See the [full OSCON schedule](https://www.oscon.com/oscon2013/public/schedule/grid/public-grid).
We will also have a full Ubuntu booth staffed by many members of [Ubuntu Oregon]() talking about Ubuntu for phones, desktops, and tablets, and Ubuntu for the cloud and our Juju orchestration platform.
I hope to see you there!
Write a Charm, Win $10,000!
Many of you will be familiar with [Juju](https://juju.ubuntu.com/), the powerful cloud orchestration platform we have been building.
Ubuntu has become the most popular Operating System in the world for cloud deployments, and Juju brings a powerful orchestration platform with over 100 services ready to deploy. It enables you to build entire environments in the cloud with only a few commands on [public clouds](https://www.ubuntu.com/cloud/public-cloud) such as Amazon Web Services and HP Cloud, private clouds built with [OpenStack](https://www.ubuntu.com/cloud/private-cloud/openstack), or raw bare metal via [Metal As a Service (MAAS)](https://www.ubuntu.com/cloud/orchestration/deployment).
If you haven’t seen and tried Juju, I strongly recommend you do so. It makes spinning up a service, relating different components (e.g WordPress and MySQL), and scaling up (such as when you get Slashdotted) quick and easy, but powerful enough for comprehensive production services.
Want to give it a try? [Click here to get started](https://juju.ubuntu.com/get-started/).
## The Juju Charm Championship
*Jorge Castro* on my team has been working over the last few years to grow our community of Juju charmers, running charm schools online and offline, coordinating tutorials, education weeks, and working with many different upstreams to help them harness Juju.
Recently we kicked off a particularly fun part of our community growth efforts in the form of the [Juju Charm Championship](https://github.com/juju/charm-championship).
The idea is simple:
1. Charm up the individual services in your infrastructure, make something that is cool and repeatable.
2. Put it together into a Juju bundle.
3. Submit your stack.
4. Win money…with over **$30,000** USD in prizes!
That’s right…cold hard cash for building an awesome charm.
Let’s talk more about the cash. There are basically three categories:
* **High Availability** – represents a full stack of HA-enabled services to accomplish a task.
* **Data Mining** – represents a full stack of data mining and “big data” analysis.
* **Monitoring** – represents a full stack of monitoring solutions for existing services.
The winner of each category will win **$10,000**. It doesn’t stop there though. In addition to these prizes, individual charm maintainers of a reviewed charm in the *reviewed* section of the Charm Store will receive **$200** if their charm is included in a winning template. This can be awarded multiple times, to a maximum total of **$3,000** per category.
## How To Enter
Entering is simple. Just head to [this page to get started](https://github.com/juju/charm-championship), which includes a full FAQ. If you need a tutorial for writing a charm, you can [find it here](https://juju.ubuntu.com/docs/authors-charm-writing.html). If you have any further questions feel free to post to the [Juju mailing list](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/juju) or ask in `#juju` on Freenode.
Be sure to get started soon though, the competition closes on **1st October 2013**!
Mir For Everyone
Earlier today [Mark Shuttleworth blogged](https://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/1269) about the evolution of [Mir](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Mir), the powerful display server we are building as one component in the Ubuntu convergence story across desktops, phones, tablets, and more, but also as a general purpose display server that other distributions, desktops, and other upstreams can use too.
Mir will be [landing by default in Ubuntu 13.10](https://fridge.ubuntu.com/2013/06/27/mir-plans-in-13-10/) with the XMir compatability layer to ensure we can continue to ship our existing Unity codebase and to ensure that any and all other distributions can ship their desktops too. This will be the first major distribution to ship a next-generation display server, not only on a desktop, but also on phones and tablets too.
I recommend you read Mark’s post in full, but I want to highlight this piece in particular:
> On Ubuntu, we’re committed that every desktop environment perform well with Mir, either under X or directly. We didn’t press the ‘GO’ button on Mir until we were satisfied that the whole Ubuntu community, and other distributions, could easily benefit from the advantages of a leaner, cleaner graphics stack. We’re busy optimising performance for X now so that every app and every desktop environment will work really well in 13.10 under Mir, without having to make any changes. And we’re taking patches from people who want Mir to support capabilities they need for native, super-fast Mir access. Distributions should be able to provide Mir as an option for their users to experiment with very easily – the patch to X is very small (less than 500 lines). For now, if you want to try it, the easiest way to do so is [via the Ubuntu PPA](https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/installing-and-testing-ubuntus-mir-server/4456?tag=main;river-newest). It will land in 13.10 just as soon as our QA and release teams are happy that its ready for very widespread testing.
In a nutshell, we are passionate about encouraging not only Ubuntu flavors, but all distributions (either Ubuntu-derived or not) to be able to harness Mir as a powerful next-generation display server for either shipping their X desktop with XMir or harnessing Mir directly. From 13.10 onwards we will have a production-stable, fully supported Mir ready for everyone to use.
To put it clearly: while Mir will serve the needs of Unity well across a range of devices, it is *not only intended for Unity*, it is intended to serve other environments across a range of devices too.
Last week I reached out to most of our flavors to discuss this work (and discuss many related topics with the Mir engineers), and these discussions are continuing this week. I have also been in touch with some other distributions to discuss Mir support. Obviously we will be working closely with Debian to help get Mir in the Debian archives too.
Mir is Free Software (get the [code](https://code.launchpad.net/mir) or [test from a PPA](https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/installing-and-testing-ubuntus-mir-server/4456?tag=main;river-newest)), discussed openly on [mir-devel](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/mir-devel) (see the [archive](https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/mir-devel/)), and we provide weekly updates from *Kevin Gunn*, Mir Engineering Manager every Tuesday at 5pm UTC on [Ubuntu On Air](https://ubuntuonair.com/). We are also refining our documentation to help folks write clients (see the [API](https://unity.ubuntu.com/mir/group__mir__toolkit.html), the [sample client](https://unity.ubuntu.com/mir/demo_client_8c.html), and [other documentation](https://unity.ubuntu.com/mir/)). If you have any other questions about adding Mir support, feel free to get in touch with the Mir team on mir-devel.
**tl;dr: the Mir team are very open to discussing the needs of upstreams and distributions. Get in touch on [mir-devel](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/mir-devel) or feel free to send me an email and I will put you in touch with the right person.**
Remembering Seth Vidal
Today is a sad day for Free Software.
We discovered today that [Seth Vidal was killed in a bike accident](https://durham.io/2013/07/09/seth-vidal-creator-of-yum-open-source-software-killed-in-bike-accident-off-hillandale-rd/). Seth was very active in Fedora. He was the lead developer of Yum, a Fedora Project Board Member, active in CentOS, among many other contributions.
I didn’t know Seth well personally, but professionally he was a fantastic example of the passion and commitment that drives Free Software and collaborative community and he will be missed.
My condolences go out to Seth’s family, friends, colleagues, and our friends in the Fedora community and at Red Hat who knew Seth so well. I think it is important that we respect Seth’s family’s privacy at this time.
Ubuntu Carrier Advisory Group Updates
A few weeks ago we [announced the Ubuntu Carrier Advisory Group](https://ubuntu-cag.com/) (CAG). The CAG is designed to provide a place where carriers can help influence the development and requirements of Ubuntu for smartphones.
The founding members of the CAG were *Deutsche Telekom, Everything Everywhere, Korea Telecom, Telecom Italia, LG UPlus, Portugal Telecom, SK Telecom* and the *leading Spanish international carrier*.
I just wanted to follow up with a few CAG-related updates.
## New Carriers
Firstly, we are pleased to announce two new carriers that have joined the CAG.
Last week we announced *PT Smartfren Telecom*, the largest mobile internet provider in Indonesia, an important market for the Ubuntu smartphone.
Richard Tan, Deputy CEO at Smartfren, commented:
> “Ubuntu is an important option for Indonesia because it offers an attractive, flexible and differentiating solution for smartphones”.
Today we followed up with another carrier in the form of *China Unicom*; one of the world’s largest mobile operators, with nearly 300 million mobile subscribers.
Li Xingxin at China Unicom’s terminal research and support center commented:
> “Ubuntu can be an exciting new platform for the Chinese market, offering a brand new user experience that balances user simplicity with operator requirements”.
We are delighted to welcome both *PT Smartfren Telecom* and *China Unicom* to the CAG! We also have some other carriers to announce, including a large US carrier; more details on that soon.
## Differentiation and Scopes
When it comes to mobile devices, there’s a thin line between differentiation and fragmentation. Differentiation is enabling phone manufacturers and carriers to put their own stamp not just on the outside of the phone but also on the inside. To stand out against the competition in today’s market, manufacturers and carriers must go beyond the phone hardware itself and provide value-added services such as music and video content to the user.
*Victor Palau*, VP, Phone & Hyperscale Delivery at Canonical wrote an excellent piece on this topic called [Differentiation Without Fragmentation](https://insights.ubuntu.com/news/differentiation-without-fragmentation/) and talks about the areas in which Ubuntu Phone can be given a unique brand and identity via theming, default applications and content, pre-defined launcher applications, and connecting backend content to default Ubuntu front-end applications.
A core method of differentiating is at the content level with music, video, applications, services, and other material. This is where our powerful *scopes* technology comes in, providing a way of delivering content to users, front and center, with a consistent experience…all while avoiding fragmentation.
For those of you who are interested in writing a scope to expose content and services to Ubuntu devices, see [an overview of the technology](https://developer.ubuntu.com/resources/platform/scopes/), our [tutorial for writing a scope](https://developer.ubuntu.com/resources/tutorials/scopes/writing-a-unity-scope/), our growing [cookbook with common scopes-related questions](https://developer.ubuntu.com/resources/cookbook/unity-scopes/).
Dogfoodable Core Apps
Over the course of the year we have been seeing fantastic progress with Ubuntu and our convergence story. This includes [eight carriers in the Carrier Advisory Group](https://ubuntu-cag.com/), strong interest from hardware manufacturers, significant coverage from press and at shows such as CES/MWC, and an explosion of participation in people writing apps for Ubuntu Touch.
The engineerings team has also been making steady and significant progress on the road to October to have a first cut of the platform available for phones, and a core piece of this work is our [Core Apps](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/CoreApps) project.
The Core Apps project is where our community are working on the core applications that we hope to ship as part of the phone. This includes a *Calendar, Music Player, Clock, Calculator, Weather App, Sudoku, RSS Reader, File Manager, Document Viewer, Terminal, Dropping Letters game*, and a *Stock Ticker*.
With each of these projects we have been working with our community developers to ensure they have as much support and help to build these apps, and ensuring that our design team are hooked in to provide beautiful designs to help make each of these apps look crisp, consistent, and sleek. Many, many thanks to all of our wonderful contributors who have been driving these apps forward.
## Delicious, Delicious, Dogfood
Back in May we [had an effort to get Ubuntu for phones to a point where we could use it as a daily driver](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2013/06/01/ubuntu-phone-dogfooding-update/), to eat our own dogfood if you will. Although we don’t expect the first iteration of the phone to be ready until October, getting it ready as a daily driver helped to expose the system to more people and therefore find more bugs and edge cases that needed resolving. This project was successful and many of us are using the phone as our main handset now; I certainly am. 🙂
We would now like to do this for our core apps, to set a goal to have them ready as a daily driver by the **end of July**. We reached out to the development teams earlier this week and raised this goal as part of the team meetings for each app and the wider teams are supportive of this effort.
Now, many of these applications are pretty much already there, but some others need more work. As usual, I have asked my team to provide as much help and guidance to our contributors for us to achieve this goal, and based on an assessment of the applications as they stand today, this goal is very achievable.
## How It Will Work
To get started we [created this page to track the Core Apps dogfooding work](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/CoreApps/Dogfooding). The page lists the core features that we think most people will need to use the apps on the daily basis for basic requirements. For those features that are already there we have specified this next to each feature.
We are going to be working with the developers as part of these projects to help achieve this goal, and if you have experience of working with QML, we would love you to participate too. Just drop me an email and I will get you connected to the team.
Anybody can participate in dogfooding the Core Apps though, all you have to do is use them. You don’t need to be a developer, you don’t need to know anything about porting or compiling or packaging. Just fire up one of the apps, on a supported device or on your desktop, and start using it for your daily activities.
The most important thing you can do while dogfooding is to find and report any bugs you find. It’s important to provide as much detail as possible in your bug report, including screenshots and device information, and describing the steps to reproduce the bug. You can find guidance for how to report this bugs [by reading this page](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/CoreApps/Dogfooding).
Once again, thankyou to everyone helping to make our core apps a success and we are excited to see the progress made throughout the month. Thanks, everyone!
Ubuntu Weekly Update and Hour-long Mir Interview
Beginning last week, we started our *Ubuntu Weekly Update* videocast that provides a range of weekly updates to keep our community, press, upstreams, and partners in the loop and up to date with recent progress.
Today’s show was a special *two-hour* show with two parts:
1. The first part (**beginning at the start of the video**) includes status updates from the engineering mangers and project leads of Mir, Unity, Juju (Core and Ecosystem), Click Packages/App Upload Process, Ubuntu Touch, Unity APIs, and Community. We also fielded questions from the community who were viewing the show.
2. The second part (**beginning at 59.54**) includes an hour-long interview with *Chris Halse-Rogers* (Mir Engineer), *Kevin Gunn* (Mir and Unity Engineering Manager), *Oliver Ries* (Director of Display Server and Unity Engineering), *Robert Ancell* (Mir Technical Lead), *Steve Langasek* (Ubuntu Foundations Engineering Manager), and *Thomas Voss* (Technical Architect). Again, viewers of the show asked a number of questions that were answered by the team.
You can view it below:
*Can’t see the video? See it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h00xJwMi-eY)!*
As ever, questions are welcome in the comments, and Mir-specific questions are welcome on `#ubuntu-mir` on Freenode and on the [Mir mailing list](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Mir-devel).