The VAR Guy

Fonality, which specializes in open source phone systems, is answering the U.S. Gulf Coast’s call for help following Hurricane Ike. Fonality CEO Chris Lyman (pictured) had a rather intriguing disaster recovery idea following a chat with The VAR Guy. Here’s the scoop.

Back in August, The VAR Guy reported that Lenovo was preparing to launch its first servers. Our resident blogger expected the operating system options to include Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux. Turns out, Red Hat wasn’t invited to the Lenovo server party — at least not initially.

The VAR Guy is blushing. Earlier this evening he was researching companies that run Ubuntu Linux on servers and desktops. Soon, he stumbled across an intriguing Ubuntu case study involving a company called T & A Lingerie. That’s when the fun started…

We’re striving to identify 1,000 businesses and organizations across the globe that run Ubuntu on servers, desktops, laptops or mobile devices. Our fast-growing list of Ubuntu adopters — known as the Works With U 1000 — now includes law firms, technology companies, universities, real estate firms, media companies, financial services firms, and other types of organizations from across the globe. Take a look at the current Works With U 1000 list, or add your company to the list by filling out our quick survey.

People often say certain software is “not ready for prime time.” But in reality, those people actually have a fear of the unfamiliar. Take my wife. for instance. When I started using Ubuntu, she was dead-set against me installing it as the lone system on our laptop.  She couldn’t bear the thought of being without Windows because “it’s what I know!” But she finally came around to Ubuntu. Here’s how.

The VAR Guy has reached his breaking point. Each week he receives dozens of online meeting invites from vendors. The online presentations often contain lame product pitches, complex diagrams or terrible PowerPoints. Even worse, the online conference software often doesn’t work with The VAR Guy’s Apple MacBook Pro. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense, and reinvent these briefings.

Sometimes, bad or stressful news for one company spells opportunity for another. Consider the situation at GroundWork Open Source, a systems management company that competes with Hewlett-Packard OpenView. Apparently, GroundWork Open Source is looking to capitalize on the layoff news out of HP. Here’s a look.

It’s official. Even CNBC says the Wall Street meltdown has spilled over into Main Street USA. Credit is getting tighter. It’s going to be difficult for entrepreneurs to make deeper investments in their own business. But don’t panic, folks. Here are five steps every VAR and managed service provider should take — right now — to generate more recurring revenue during the economic turmoil.

Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd is taking out the hatchet again, this time cutting 7 percent of HP’s workforce — or 24,600 jobs — over the next three years, according to Reuters. The move will reduce costs as HP digests the recent acquisition of Electronic Data Systems (EDS).

The VAR Guy was saddened to hear Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright died today from cancer. Totally depressing, but thank you for the memories, Mr. Wright.
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I’m starting to get a little concerned. Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth intends to vastly improve Ubuntu. You’ve likely heard that Shuttleworth wants to leapfrog Apple’s Mac OS X in terms of design, polish, etc. But is that really the right set of goals for Ubuntu? I’m not so sure. Here are three other goals I wish Shuttleworth, Canonical and the Ubuntu community would pursue.

Two big IT events occur this week: Interop in New York and VMworld in Las Vegas. The VAR Guy, a native New Yorker, may pop into Interop before heading to ConnectWise’s partner conference in Orlando. But VMworld seems to be drowning out most of the Interop buzz. True or false?

Javier Colado, Novell’s new channel chief (pictured), faces some clear challenges. Many pundits say Colado has to strengthen Novell’s SUSE Linux partner ranks. But in reality, The VAR Guy believes, Colado has to build a bridge between vastly different software islands. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy spoke with Avnet CEO Roy Vallee (pictured) this week. During the conversation, Vallee expressed optimism that Avnet (the distribution giant) and Cisco Systems Inc. (the networking giant) would eventually work together. Here’s the scoop.

Compiere, which specializes in open source ERP (enterprise resource planning) software, is building a reseller channel and jumping on the Google Chrome web browser bandwagon. Here’s how.

In an email to The VAR Guy, Lenovo Senior VP J. Scott Di Valerio describes the PC giant’s evolving Linux strategy, including plans for so-called NetBooks that will launch in October. Here’s a look at what Di Valerio had to say.

The cartoon above pretty much summarizes how badly Microsoft’s marketing team botched the positioning of Windows Vista. As The VAR Guy has stated, there are 10 Reasons Why Windows Vista hasn’t been a hit. Reason Number 1: Too many versions of Vista.

Another one bites the dust. Reseller Advocate Magazine’s (RAM) current issue comes with a cover stating “We Quit On Print.” Why is RAM getting out of the print magazine business and switching to the web? There’s the spin, and then there’s basic dollars and cents.

Ubuntu Linux saved a Compaq Presario 2100 from certain death last weekend. Here’s the horror story and the happy outcome. For all of you with aging, slow-running Windows systems, I hope this quick blog post inspires you to breathe new life into the system by installing Ubuntu.

Here’s to the next generation IT channel. The VAR Guy’s readership continues to master new technologies. For instance, 3.99% of www.thevarguy.com visitors now run Google Chrome. Not bad for a one-week-old Web browser. Here’s a breakdown of the browsers readers use when visiting this site.

Don’t forget to register now for today’s MSPmentor Live: CEO Exchange. The managed services webcast — “Steal Great Ideas From Great MSPs” is scheduled for September 10 at 2:00 p.m. eastern.

Lenovo and Novell next week are set to announce joint work on Lenovo’s new Think servers. However, the Linux faithful are distracted this week by reports that Lenovo has stopped selling SUSE Linux on certain PCs. Now, both Lenovo and Novell are weighing in with responses.

The Mac isn’t for business. Or is it? The VAR Guy runs his business on a Mac. And apparently, Apple realizes small business owners and entrepreneurs deserve some attention. That’s why Apple has quietly launched “Mac for Business” educational seminars. Here’s the scoop, from The VAR Guy.