The VAR Guy

Attention Ubuntu Linux shoppers: Dell in newspapers today advertised Inspiron Mini 9 netbooks running Ubuntu for the bargain basement starting price of $299. Even The VAR Guy is opening his wallet and buying one. Dell’s actions reinforce Ubuntu’s growing momentum in the consumer and mobile business market. Here’s the scoop, and a look at the Dell advertisement…

For at least the third time in recent weeks, prominent Dell newspaper advertisements feature the Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook running Canonical’s Ubuntu 8.04 (that’s a small Linux notebook, folks). The VAR Guy hears Microsoft “has gone postal” over the Linux notebook ads. You might even say this is Microsoft’s nightmare before Christmas. Here’s the complete scoop.

At first glance, the PC market is pretty darn mature. But walk into a Target retail store in New York or visit a computer retailer in Melbourne, Australia and you’ll see the start of a new revolution — driven by Asustek Computer (a.k.a. Asus).

Roughly 30 percent of Netbook sales in Melbourne — Australia’s second-largest city — involve customers requesting Linux rather than Windows, according to Geek Central, a fast-growing solution provider that serves the region. Here’s the scoop and its global implications, from The VAR Guy.