When LinuxWorld Expo kicks off August 4 in San Francisco, The VAR Guy will be watching the event closely. In fact, he expects four key trends — related to Canonical and Ubuntu Linux — to emerge at the conference. Here’s the scoop.

First, Canonical is expected to announce a series of server-oriented application relationships. Alfresco (content management, IBM, Openbravo (enterprise resource planning) and Zimbra are among the software developers expected to jump on the Ubuntu Server bandwagon.

Second, rumors are swirling that Canonical will launch an appliance initiative tied to Ubuntu Server. (Of course, The VAR Guy’s sources are the ones who started the rumor.) So far, Canonical says “no comment” about the appliance speculation.

Third, watch for Canonical to subtly evangelize Ubuntu Netbooks as a higher priority than Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs). What’s the difference between a Netbook and MIDs? Here are some hints. Netbooks and MIDs are both important to Canonical, but company insiders say getting Netbooks into retail stores is a much bigger opportunity — since consumers already understand the sub-notebook market that Netbooks target.

Finally, watch for Ubuntu to emerge as the de facto platform for digital inclusion. Untangle, an open source security company, is hosting an Installfest at LinuxWorld Expo. The event could position Ubuntu to land on thousands of PCs that are donated to area schools.

6 Comments on “LinuxWorld Expo Preview: Four Canonical and Ubuntu Linux Trends”

  1. tracyanne Says:
    July 28th, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    Mandriva already there.

    http://www.mandriva.com/enterprise/en/company/press/mandriva-and-precedent-technologies-work-together-to-offer-a-new-low-cost-desktop-t

    Paris, 21st July 2008- Mandriva and Precedent Technologies (”PTech”), announce a new partnership, working together on the release in September in the United States of a new low-cost desktop, with Intel Atom CPUs and Mandriva Linux preinstalled on these machines.

    Since signing their agreement, Mandriva, the leading European editor of Linux distributions, and Precedent Technologies, full service I.T solution provider, have been working together on a new low-cost PC called: TechSurfer.

    Precedent Technologies (”PTech”) is a full service I.T solution provider, and offers customers a full spectrum of I.T Solutions. PTech manufactures Notebooks, PCs, Workstations and Servers. PTech is based out of Stockbridge, Georgia.

    The agreement enables Mandriva and Precedent Technologies to form a strategic partnership to pursue Linux solutions to address new customers.

    «Precedent Technologies has anxiously awaited an opportunity to enter the low-cost PC marketplace. We were hesitant to make this move because we wanted to ensure each system we produce provides value and performance, as well as quality. The existing offerings in the system builder channel were not adequate for our standards. We did not want to produce a product that came with less than our standard 3-year warranty. Now, we have finally put the right mix together to deliver a high quality, low-cost PC for web-centric computer users. This doesn’t only mark the launch of our first low-cost Pc. But this is also our leap into the open-source operating system community. The Mandriva product is extremely well constructed and will give our users a great computer experience. The team at Mandriva is excellent and very hands-on. We are so excited to work with them. Our existing relationship with Intel Corporation has always been wonderful. With the release of the Intel Atom processor, we are confident that we can deliver a product that is the best of many worlds: performance, low cost, and quality,» declared Patrick F. Carley, CEO Precedent Technologies (”PTech”).

    PTech’s new solution is called the TechSurfer. TechSurfer is a web-centric computing platform that is designed for customers who mostly surf the web; download music; and utilize VOIP services, such as Skype. The TechSurfer platform is also suitable for very light desktop productivity applications. TechSurfer is powered by the Intel Atom processor. The Atom Processor was designed especially for web-centric computers. TechSurfer starts at $399.99 with the Mandriva linux OS. Customers can add an additional $100 for Windows XP or Vista.

    «Mandriva’s partnership with a growing OEM like Precedent Techologies is a demonstration of the end-user appeal for the Mandriva Linux operating system. It demonstrates Mandriva’s continual drive to become a global Linux desktop. This agreement will not only create more value for customers, but it also puts Mandriva’s featured operating system on the latest Intel Atom machines in North America and also validates Mandriva’s strategic investment in the low cost PC, that will be a growing market for Mandriva,» concluded Gaurav Parakh,Vice President, OEM Business Unit, at Mandriva.

  2. jg Says:
    July 28th, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Agree with the first poster. Ubuntu is totally overrated. There is absolutely nothing Ubuntu/Canonical has done to date which hasn’t already been done by someone else, including even Ubuntu’s base (ie, can you say “Debian testing”?).

    It’s sad to see bloggers talking about this stuff as if it’s all brand new and different. Well, maybe it is to those bloggers. But not to people who know better.

  3. Bill Says:
    July 29th, 2008 at 1:33 am

    They want $399 for a minimal web client machine? That’s highly overpriced.

  4. Joe Panettieri Says:
    July 29th, 2008 at 10:57 am

    JG: In the software industry, it sometimes doesn’t matter who’s first or who’s best with a new technology. Rather, victory depends on the company that best builds its community of ISVs and contributors.

    So, Ubuntu’s progress may not be “new” or “different.” But would you agree that Canonical has managed to rally partners enough so that Ubuntu could emerge as a mainstream consumer platform?
    -jp

  5. Joe Panettieri Says:
    July 29th, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Bill: ASUS Eee PC is a minimal Web client of sorts and it’s selling like crazy in that price neighborhood.
    -jp

  6. Vadim P. Says:
    July 30th, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    It would be interesting to see a dissection of how did Ubuntu start on it’s path to greatness vs. other commercially backed distros.

    I can see several off the bat atm (completely free; not even a “paid” edition, free cd’s, clear design vision)…

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