Mark Shuttleworth believes that the Linux-based distribution of Ubuntu can become more popular then OS X. “I think the great task in front of us in the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something stable and usable and not pretty, to something that’s art,” Shuttleworth said.

Here’s the problem. Mac OS X is not popular, and getting more popular by the day because it’s “pretty”. Apple has not clawed it’s way out of near bankruptcy just because of pretty.

Apple’s motto continues to really astound the consumer. Companies like Microsoft, Nokia, Skytunes and now Mark Shuttleworth do not get that integration and ease of use are Apple is selling. It doesn’t matter how pretty Ubuntu is, it will never gain the kind of popularity that OS X is until I can rip a movie or cd then download it to my portable music player with four or less clicks. No esoteric command lines, no needing to rebuild outdated libraries, no spending three days reconfiguring the machine.

Integration, Integration, Integration. It’s what Apple is selling.

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