The VAR Guy

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.