BBC News interviews Mark Shuttleworth

As part of the segment InsideTrack for the BBC News the founder of Ubuntu, Mark Shuttleworth was interviewed by Susannah Streeter and Sally Bundock that focus on well-known business figures and entrepreneurs.

It is true that it is not common to see some free software personality being interviewed in this type of program that contains information focused on other issues. During the interview process presenters couldn't resist questioning Shuttleworth about his space journey. Mark Shuttleworth gave some thoughts on life aboard the International Space Station.

He comments:

“The universe that exists truly represents an extraordinary opportunity and in many ways the future for all of us. I had a feeling that the space programs in Russia and the United States were opening up and I had the great privilege of spending time training in Russia.

Hosts ask if it had any impact on his life, work or about his work in Ubuntu, to which I answer:

“Anyone who has that experience, who turns away from the earth and looks back, has the understanding that the world is small and fragile. After that, I observed many astronauts who want to be a part of things that have a global impact. "

Mark cites his love of technology and the role of open source enabling him to become a success at such an early age as a catalyst, and he says he wanted to "allow other people around the world to create cool things."

The presenters asked him:

"So I created Ubuntu as a way to make open source easy to consume for businesses and scientists and researchers alike."

The hosts go on and they ask him what is Ubuntu and why is it so special, to which Mark responds:

"Most people are familiar with Windows and Ubuntu is like Windows, but it is used in a wide range of other environments, such as the cloud most of the cloud runs on Ubuntu and smart devices."

“The magic of Ubuntu is that it does not come from an organization. It represents the innovation of thousands of different companies and people and our job is to bring all of that together and make it easier to consume. So it has become the platform for… «

At this point the interview deviates slightly when one of the the hosts interrupts to ask if, having made all this wonderful software, Mark had made enemies of others in his industry:

"Along the way (we have made enemies)," he replies, before attempting to return to his previous point. We've certainly changed people's expectations of how they should engage with infrastructure at scale… ”

The host interrupts again, this time to ask how he came up with the name "Ubuntu," before returning to the subject of space, including some questions about the science experiments Mark helped with while aboard the space station.

The interview ends here.

It is undoubtedly an interesting interview, since we can learn a little more about what its founder has in mind about Ubuntu.