Open-source software is everywhere and is defining innovation, says Mark Shuttleworth
Boston — He’s best known for being the world’s first "Afronaut", but since returning to Earth from his 2002 trip on Russia’s Soyuz TM-34 rocket ship, Cape Town native Mark Shuttleworth set about with the conquest of a much more lucrative universe: the Internet of Things. Shuttleworth created Ubuntu, an open-source Linux operating system that helps connect everything from drones to thermostats to the internet. His company, Canonical Group, makes money from about 800 paying customers, including Netflix, Tesla and Deutsche Telekom, which pay for support services. Its success has helped boost his net worth to $1bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. "It’s destructive to be too focused on that," Shuttleworth said of his wealth in an interview at Bloomberg’s office in Boston. "It’s just a distraction from whether you have your finger on the pulse of what’s next." ‘Close second’ What’s next for the 44-year-old mogul is ensuring Ubuntu is the base language used across the Intern...
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