The VAR Guy

Slashdot has posted an article about a site that could be one of the best ways for new ideas to be included in future Ubuntu releases. The new site is called Brainstorm. It has been inspired by IdeaStorm, a site put up for submitting ideas to Dell. Although there is no official announcement on either Ubuntu, or Canonical’s websites, it has been announced on The Fridge website, which is an Ubuntu and Canonical sponsored site.

Well, The VAR Guy is eating a healthy serving of crow today. He’s been negative on Novell for a few years, and he frequently questioned the company’s open source software strategy. But according to a new piece of financial news, the Linux provider is performing better than Wall Street expected. Here’s the scoop, which surprised our resident blogger.

Since Ubuntu is such a large project, it can be hard to determine how you can help bring new users to the operating system. In my opinion, one of the best ways to help in the advocation effort is through Local Community Teams, simply called “LoCo” for short.

If you’re like me, your Ubuntu machine is on a network that is dominated by Windows machines. Fortunately, Ubuntu comes with some very easy and quick tweaks to help you get along nicely with your Windows counter parts. Here’s how.

When Windows Vista shipped last year, Microsoft forgot to promote killer applications for the desktop operating system. Fortunately, the Windows Server 2008 team isn’t making the same mistake. In classic Microsoft fashion, the company has lined up big application providers to vow their support for the new operating system.

Paul Nadjarian is suffering — in a good way — from deja vu. As a senior VP at OnForce, Nadjarian can peer into the company’s online marketplace to track key IT trends during these uncertain economic times. This is a familiar role for Nadjarian, who worked at eBay Motors during the bumpy economy in 2002. Nadjarian sees parallels between OnForce’s current marketplace and his time at eBay. Now, for the twist: The current trends reveal some positive signs for solutions providers, Nadjarian asserts.

I believe we’re about to see Ubuntu reach another tipping point, this time on the server. While thousands — perhaps, millions? — of users discover Ubuntu desktops, the Linux operating system is beginning to gain traction on servers as well.

The next major production release of Ubuntu — version 8.04 LTS, codenamed Hardy Heron — will ship with KVM as its virtualization package. This choice is surprising to those of us who have been watching the Xen virtualization package become the darling of Virtual Machine world. So let’s try to make sense out of the KVM virtual machine and this recent choice by Ubuntu.

Check out this Ubuntu Linux dispatch from The VAR Guy, a mystery blogger over at our sister site, www.thevarguy.com:

Sure, Microsoft expects Windows’ installed base to top 1 billion licenses by the end of this year. But in the shadow of Windows Vista, a rather remarkable trend — known as an InstallFest — continues to transform Linux from a fringe desktop option into a mainstream Windows alternative. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy is preaching to the crowd here on AllAboutUbuntu.com. But it’s good to see his type starting to understand Ubuntu’s growing impact on desktops.

So, I’ve been shopping for a new laptop for a few months. I’ve got an old Thinkpad T23 that is showing it’s age — both in terms of performance and functionality. It has developed a number of minor quirks over the years, as most well-loved laptops do. Numlock is flaky, the PCMCIA port is flaky, everything is just broken enough to be annoying — but not broken enough to fix.

Sure, Microsoft expects Windows’ installed base to top 1 billion licenses by the end of this year. But in the shadow of Windows Vista, a rather remarkable trend — known as an InstallFest — continues to transform Linux from a fringe desktop option into a mainstream Windows alternative. Here’s the scoop.

The VAR Guy has found a cure for his insomnia: It’s called an online slide show. And it’s a blatant attempt to make you click through page after page of information just to artificially lift a Web site’s overall page views. Here are three of the biggest current online slide show offenders in today’s channel.

Dozens of traditional IT companies — from Cisco Systems to Xerox — are generating PR coverage at this week’s huge HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) conference in Orlando. But so far, only a few savvy firms — such as IGEL Technology — are weaving open source messaging into this prominent vertical market event. Translation: The open source industry may miss yet another opportunity to prove its vertical market expertise.

Trash talking in high-tech can generate lots of headlines. From Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs to Sun Co-founder Scott McNealy, some of the best leaders in high-tech know how to creatively bash their rivals. But should small solutions providers ever talk negatively about their competitors?

Who are the world’s top 50 companies backing Ubuntu Linux? We’re launching a survey soon, and will publish the results in August 2008. Stay tuned!

One of Microsoft’s key mistakes with Windows Vista was confusing customers with too many versions of the operating system (Ultimate, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, Enterprise). Let’s hope Microsoft isn’t repeating that mistake with its newly announce Small Business Server 2008 offerings.

Who are the world’s top Ubuntu Linux partners? The VAR Guy wants to know. And so do his readers. Our resident blogger has launched a global survey that will identify 100 of the world’s top Ubuntu integrators, solutions providers, VARs and channel partners. What’s in it for Ubuntu partners and what does it take to participate? Glad you asked.

We’ll be making some changes and improvements to the site over the next few days. AllAboutUbuntu will remain online and all of our content will remain accessible throughout these efforts. However, you may notice some design flaws and dust as we spruce up the place. Thanks for your understanding and readership.

What is the state of Ubuntu on laptops? Two bright spots come to mind: Dell’s support of Ubuntu, and the rise of ultra-portables at the sub $500 price point. Many folks argue ultra-portables are the future of laptops and mobile computing. I am referring to the Asus eee PC, the Everex CloudBook, and the OLPC. Here’s a look at the rapidly changing Linux Laptop landscape.

Goal setting — or the lack of goal setting — is a hot topic in today’s IT professional community. Many of us just get up in the morning and make our way to the office and tackle the first thing that appears in our inbox or the take care of the user who screams the loudest. Here’s how to break out of that pattern.

A few years from now, open source pundits may consider February 2008 the tipping point for Linux laptops. Why is that? Glad you asked. The open source world is buzzing right now about Everex’s CloudBook, an “ultraportable” Linux laptop available from Wal-Mart and several leading Web sites. Officially, the tiny $399 laptop isn’t available until February 21. But it’s already generating big sales, according to several sources in the know. Simply put, CloudBook’s arrival is a defining moment — a critical milestone — for Linux on desktops and laptops.

During a phone call a few days ago, The VAR Guy listened intently as Novell’s VP of Global Channel Sales, Pat Bernard, described her four-point strategy to rebuild the company’s partner organization. Although Novell faces an uphill climb in several areas, Bernard’s experience in the enterprise software space could be a plus.

Microsoft has found a secret weapon in its battle against open source. The software giant will soon give college students free access to its software development tools. Assuming there are no strings attached, it’s a smart move by Microsoft. But it’s hardly unique.