Canonical has announced that ‘Ubuntu Netbook Edition’ – the netbook-orientated version of the Ubuntu operating system – will be ‘folded’ into ‘Ubuntu Desktop Edition’ for Ubuntu 11.04, with the latter being rebranded simple as ‘Ubuntu’.

Canonical marketing manager Gerry Carr writes: –

“From 11.04 the core product that you run on your PC will be simply, Ubuntu. Therefore the next release will be Ubuntu 11.04 and you can run that, my friend, on anything you like from a netbook to a notebook to a desktop. “

So why the move?

Unlike previous editions of the operating system Ubuntu 11.04 comes with Unity as the default desktop ‘shell’. As Unity was originally created for the Ubuntu Netbook Edition, but has since been adapted for use as a desktop interface, the need for separate builds is moot. Ubuntu 11.04 is able to work just as well on a netbook screen as on a desktop.

‘Two birds, one stone’ and all that.

Carr highlights that the move should certainly not been seen as a ‘withdrawal’ from catering towards netbook users, saying that the move is the result of Canonical ‘recognising that the market has moved on’ and that ‘separate images are no longer a requirement as the much anticipated convergence of devices moves closer. “

The move does not affect Ubuntu Server Edition.