The VAR Guy

The VAR Guy has been hyping TelePresence — that next-gen videoconferencing technology — for nearly two years. But is anyone (outside of Cisco Systems Inc.’s own offices) actually using TelePresence? You bet. Here are nine key data points to consider.

If you want to know when a high-tech market is reaching its tipping point, keep a close eye on Dell Inc. Generally speaking, Dell only jumps into high-volume, mass market opportunities. So the company’s decision to offer TelePresence solutions — designed by LifeSize Communications — is worth watching. Here’s why.

After several false starts, TelePresence — that next-generation video conferencing solution — is finally gaining traction in selected high-end vertical niches. Still, TelePresence will need to overcome at least two more major challenges before it goes mainstream, The VAR Guy believes.

Generally speaking, The VAR Guy is a procrastinator — except when it comes to timely blogs. In fact, he’s already confirmed plans to blog live from Ubuntu Live 2008, scheduled for July 21 and 22 in Portland, Oregon. Here are five reasons you should care about the Ubuntu distribution of Linux, and the Ubuntu Live conference.

Healthy competition is good for technology companies — and good for their customers. But The VAR Guy is starting to wonder if Dell is too obsessed with Hewlett-Packard. Let him explain.

The VAR Guy is in the market for a small office printer that supports Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS X and Windows XP. Alas, most PC companies do a lousy job describing which of their printers work with Ubuntu. Which means they’re leaving easy money on the table. Here’s our resident blogger’s sad story so far.

Generally speaking, The VAR Guy loves reading The Wall Street Journal. He welcomes longer in-depth reporting and investigative pieces. But he was recently shocked to read a misleading blog entry about Hewlett-Packard and Telepresence on The Journal’s Web site. The piece is a disservice to everyone — vendors, resellers and customers — who are evaluating Telepresence systems at the moment. Here’s why.

Novell didn’t deliver any home-run news during BrainShare on March 17, but the software company did manage to smack a few solid singles during the day. Overall, the buzz from Utah sounded pretty upbeat. Here’s a look at Monday’s developments, and The VAR Guy’s take on the situation.

When the next version of Ubuntu Linux ships in April, there’s a reasonable chance that server vendors could start jumping on the Ubuntu bandwagon by May or so. Here’s the scoop.