From the ‘Linux Tech for Windows Users’ files:
How is Ubuntu gaining users? One way is by appealing to Windows users with Ubuntu One.
During the Ubuntu Developer Summit this week, Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu praised the Ubuntu One team for their recent Ubuntu One for Windows launch.
With Ubuntu One for Windows users on Windows platforms can sync files to their own personal cloud. Ubuntu One had previously been available for Ubuntu Linux and Android users.
So far the introduction of Ubuntu One for Windows has been a big boost, according to Shuttleworth.
“In the month that this was released we had 110,000 new users of UbuntuOne,” Shuttleworth said. “25,000 of them had never used Ubuntu before. 25,000 users are coming to this platform just because of Ubuntu One.”
What’s not entirely clear to me is how many of those new users are actually using Linux (aside from the fact that the backend is all Linux). It’s not clear whether or not Ubuntu One for Windows means more Ubuntu Linux users.
What it does do however is extend the Ubuntu brand and open the door for some (potential) Ubuntu adoption, which isn’t a bad idea.
This isn’t the first time that Ubuntu has made a direct appeal to Windows users. The Wubi effort that let Windows users install Linux inside of Windows (without re-partioning) was a previous attempt to go after Windows noobs.
With Ubuntu One though, I suspect that there can and will be a number of user that never touch Linux at all and just want the free cloud space that Ubuntu One provides (as an alternative to say Dropbox).