Zhao Zizhong, a professor at the Communication University of China, said the whole incident was likely staged in a bid to get attention.

Is Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, guilty of becoming a prisoner of its own hype, and unable to revert to some kind of commonsenical schedule that would reflect the correct state of affairs?

He continued: "I know that self-promotion happens a lot and if people want to do that, good luck to them, but I do not regard it as a positive thing."