Breaking with its long-standing tradition, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth announced that key parts of Ubuntu 13.04 will be developed in secret. Shuttleworth argues that some features will have "high 'tada!' value", and he would rather they stay secret until the big reveal because he's sick of Ubuntu features being torn apart by critics before they're finished.
Canonical's skunkworks project (named after Lockheed's secretive R&D Skunk Works unit) will offer something for everyone, Shuttleworth stated the new features will range from “webby, to artistic, to scientific, to glitzy, to privacy-enhancing, to analytical.”
“We’ve … figured out that critics will be critics whether you discuss an idea with them in advance or not. Working on something in a way that lets you refine it till it feels ready to go has advantages: you can take time to craft something, you can be judged when you’re ready, you get a lot more punch when you tell your story, and you get your name in lights.”
Ubuntu 12.10 Banshee media playerIn short, Shuttleworth is upset at the panning that Canonical’s Unity interface received — and he also wants better, broader, more excitable news coverage when new versions of Ubuntu drop.
