The VAR Guy

Business and technology alignment. Big businesses talk about it all the time. Now, here are some key lessons in alignment — or misalignment — that apply to big business CIOs and small business consultants alike.

Move over, Microsoft Bob. That lame 1990s product is no longer the low-point in Microsoft’s marketing and development history. Alas, a video produced by Microsoft shows just how lame the software giant’s own Vista marketing and sales efforts have become.

With the release of Hardy Heron only 5 days away, Canonical has announced the Hardy Heron 8.04 Long Term Release Candidate. Long term releases are releases that Canonical will support for three years on the desktop, and five years on servers.

The VAR Guy admits it: He left Novell for dead last year. But recent conversations with the company forced him to rethink all of those negative notions. In a few markets, Novell may actually thrive. And in one particular market, Novell could give Microsoft a run for its money.

The VAR Guy is locked in a hotel room tonight in Atlanta. The business coverage on CNBC is depressing. Inflation. Rising consumer prices. Rising energy prices. Is there any good news out there? Actually, yes. We all owe Intel a big thank you today. Here’s why.

Dell. Resellers. Unified communications. Open source. A small software company has found a way to roll up those four ingredients into a very successful IP PBX solution that’s now going global. Here’s the improbable story of Fonality, which is selling its IP telephony software on Dell servers by the truckload.

One of the great services that Canonical offers with Ubuntu is shipping free installation disks to anyone who requests them. With 8.04 “Hardy Heron” going into final release, they have started accepting pre-orders for CD’s at Shipit. If it’s difficult for you to do large downloads, or you’re just someone who would appreciate a shiny pressed CD of Ubuntu, head over and put in your request!

Be careful of what you ask for. A small company in Miami has launched a $399 Mac compatible computer, and the firm’s Web site apparently wasn’t prepared for all of the traffic that such an offer could potentially produce.

How can you use a blog to generate new business opportunities and keep your clients informed? Here are four great tips to ensure your blog attracts the right clients to your business.

Question: What is a consultant? Answer: Someone you pay to look at your watch and tell you the time. The VAR Guy thought of that old yarn while reading all the coverage about Gartner stating Windows Vista is too monolithic. Memo to Gartner: Thanks for telling the world what it already knew. Windows has become too big, too complex and too much of a headache for corporate IT.

Contrary to recent rumors, Dell has no plans to introduce Ubuntu pre-loads on its servers, according to The VAR Guy, our sister Web site. Details here.

Installing Ubuntu Linux onto a laptop ranges from simple to challenging, depending on the hardware you choose. What is that experience like? Here is how it went for me and where I found the support to do it.

Canonical, promoter of Ubuntu Linux, has plenty of momentum on the desktop. But as Canonical gears up for a server push, one key Ubuntu partner plans to sit on the sidelines. Indeed, Dell has no plans to ship Ubuntu on its servers, according to a Dell source who spoke with The VAR Guy today.

When the Cisco Partner Summit kicked off earlier this week, The VAR Guy expected the networking giant to spend a good portion of the event talking about Unified Communications ISVs. That didn’t quite happen, but Cisco is finally making some statements to engage software developers.

The VAR Guy was guilty of hyping Windows-based Ultra-Portables from startups like OQO a year ago, but he has drastically changed his thinking about the Ultra-Portable computer market. He thinks current market dynamics greatly favor Linux over Windows in the Ultra-Portable industry. Here’s why.

So, you’re a Cisco Systems partner hunting for new revenue. Where should you look first: Unified communications? Maybe. Evangelizing 802.11n WiFi deployments? Perhaps. The wiser move, however, may involve a key handshake. Here are the details.

At first glance, you might think the headline to this blog entry is an oxymoron. In reality, Microsoft certainly does have an open source chief (Sam Ramji). And in some cases, Microsoft is downright happy to support open source. Skeptical? Allow The VAR Guy to explain.

Want to tell the media about your company? You need an effective pitch letter that’s short, sweet and ready for email. Check out this recent pitch letter from JPR Communications, describing ProStor Systems’ growing channel program. Your PR efforts should follow JPR’s lead.

Each day, companies die a little when their employees utter these seven fateful words: “We have always done it like that.” We are, it seems, victims of our own inefficient habits. Consider this real-world example of antiquated workflow, and its potential business impact.

The VAR Guy is pretty bullish on Ubuntu Linux, the operating system that is quickly leaping from PCs onto servers and mobile Internet devices. But he’s also starting to wonder if Google Android — rather than Ubuntu — will be the open source platform of choice for mobile Internet devices (MIDs).

As Cisco Systems kicks off its big Partner Summit in Hawaii, The VAR Guy wonders: Is this the week we finally see and hear dozens of application providers line up behind Cisco’s unified communications strategy?

The VAR Guy’s sister site, MSPmentor, has an interesting scoop today about Ubuntu Linux. The fast-growing operating system, it seems, is leaping beyond PCs, servers and mobile devices. Next step: Network security systems. Here’s the scoop from MSPmentor.

The VAR Guy likes writers who buck conventional wisdom. In recent weeks, most pundits have been bashing Microsoft’s proposed Yahoo! takeover. But James Nicholson, a CNet veteran, has an interesting take on the proposed Microsoft-Yahoo! combo that caught The VAR Guy’s eye.