After the technical sessions concluded on the first day of OSCON, some attendees headed across town to see Mark Shuttleworth, the charismatic founder of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, give a presentation to local Portland group Legion of Tech. This took place at McMenamins, an unusual venue where theater and pub converge to provide an atmosphere that is emblematic of Portland's unique culture. During the presentation, Shuttleworth delved into his past experiences, discussed the challenges and joys of space tourism, and provided intriguing insights into his vision for the future of humanity and the Linux operating system.

Shuttleworth, who traveled to space in a Russian Soyuz craft in 2001 after selling his company Thawte to Verisign, is notable for being the second self-funded space tourist. During his presentation at McMenamins, he shared the details of his experience in space. He spoke fondly of the time he spent training in Russia and described several aspects of space flight and astronaut traditions. "[It was] an extraordinary privilege to have gone through and one that I hope to repeat," he said.

He also shared his views about the future of the space program and the importance of reaching for the stars. Although he believes that manned research efforts in space are too costly and less efficient than more automated approaches, he contends that humanity's experience in space will be essential for shaping a future in which society extends beyond earth's sphere.

"A majority of our space research should be unmanned," he remarked. "But fundamentally, [experience in space] is our life boat—that's what the dinosaurs didn't have, so it's essential research."

Shuttleworth is particularly emphatic about the need to conduct more extensive research on Mars, and the potential for Mars to sustain life—a possibility that he regards as "profound" in significance.

Linux with global impact

After returning from his trip into space, he decided that he wanted to turn his attention to efforts that could have a broader positive impact. His enthusiasm for using Linux to bring affordable technology to the developing world was sparked by a promising project he saw in Africa that promoted Linux adoption in classrooms. He began to work towards creating Ubuntu by leveraging his previous experiences with the Debian community.

"I wanted to be sure that anything I devoted time to would potentially have a global impact," he said. "It struck me that there was a real opportunity to have a global impact by accelerating development of the Linux desktop."

The community, he said, was "only just scratching the surface of what was possible with free software," and he wanted to take it to the next level by finding a way to "deliver the pieces that Debian couldn't deliver on its own." To do that, he believed that the key was to build a completely free stack that could be released at consistent and predictable intervals with solid commercial and community backing. He wanted to pursue a completely service-driven business model so that the distribution could be done for free.

Delivering that preintegrated stack and achieving profitability while adhering to the community's values is the highest priority for Canonical, Shuttleworth's company. He acknowledges that the business model is unproven, but he is convinced that its enormous potential is worth the risk. "The process of delivery is a real responsibility," he said. "I believe passionately that we can make this commercially sustainable."

He sees the greatest potential for growth in emerging markets and in the mobile space, where he believes that software freedom has the most to offer. His mission is to bring Linux to new audiences, he said, not to displace the other major distributions. He notes that the subnotebook market offers a unique opportunity for Linux vendors. "I think there is real room for linux to be a commercial success there," he said.

He is also enthusiastic about Canonical's partnership with Intel on the Moblin project, which seeks to create a standardized Linux platform for mobile Internet devices.

Shuttleworth's presentation offered a compelling glimpse at the man behind one of the most successful Linux distributions. His dynamic style of expression and obvious enthusiasm for Linux and space exploration captivated the audience. Although Shuttleworth's ambitions and sometimes misguided opinions have evoked controversy and strong responses from both critics and supporters in the past, the vision he shared during his presentation at McMenamins is one that held universal appeal to listeners.

Shuttleworth—the shrewd businessman who has touched the stars and poetically articulates his hopes for a more noble future for humanity—is a speaker that one does not quickly forget. He is scheduled to speak again today at OSCON during a formal keynote, but I doubt that it will be as compelling as the personal revelations that he shared in that small theater last night.