The VAR Guy

If you thought the market wasn’t crowed enough with Linux netbooks, here comes another contender: MSI is launching the first netbook to be shipped with Novell’s SUSE’s Moblin operating system. Moblin is designed to deliver a mobile computing experience that’s easier to use, and suitable for smaller screens. Here’s the deal.

It was another week of planes, trains and automobiles for The VAR Guy. Alas, here are six channel blog entries The VAR Guy failed to write for the week ending Oct. 9, and their implications for readers.

Now that everybody has jumped on the Netbook bandwagon, a new mobile device parade is pulling into town. Led by Qualcomm, so-called Smartbooks are slated to debut in late 2009. Expected to be slightly larger than the iPhone, Smartbooks are mobile Internet devices (MIDs) that run Windows, Google Android and a range of Linux alternatives. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Generally speaking, The VAR Guy avoids the temptation to evangelize Netbooks, because he thinks the Netbook market is mostly consumer-driven hype. But here’s an interesting business spin: Netbook purchases among small and midsize businesses (SMBs) will more than triple in 2010 vs. 2009, according to a new report. Does that spell opportunity for VARs? Perhaps so, especially when it comes to hardware as a service (HaaS) and managed services. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy woke up this morning and realized he needed a fresh start with Microsoft. For almost two years, our resident blogger has noted 10 mistakes Microsoft made with Windows Vista, and 10 ways to fix the situation. The VAR Guy ultimately jumped to Ubuntu Linux in mid-2007. But now — as Microsoft gears up for Windows 7 — it’s time for our resident blogger to reengage with the software giant. Here’s why.

Forgive The VAR Guy for saying it: But he told you so. A few months ago our resident blogger predicted Netbooks — the name for an emerging market of sub-notebooks — would increasingly shift to open source and put the squeeze on Microsoft. Fast forward to the present, and Microsoft is already feeling the heat from Netbooks. Here’s the scoop.

For a few months now, The VAR Guy has been predicting that Netbooks — otherwise known as sub-notebooks — would be the hot ticket in the PC market during the fourth quarter. He’s still sticking to that prediction. Here’s why.

Novell is losing money in the desktop Linux market, but those desktop deals are driving big wins in the server arena, according to Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer John Dragoon. A case in point: Novell’s desktop Linux relationship with Lenovo — the big PC maker — will extend to servers this September, confirms Dragoon.