The VAR Guy

From the start of the AMD Fusion Developer Summit The VAR Guy got a sense of AMD’s purpose in life going forward. This is, after all, a three-day conference dedicated to advancing the development around – and use of – AMD’s Fusion technology. And after finding success with its first Fusion APU codenamed Brazos, AMD is hoping for a repeat with its latest APU line, codenamed Llano.

Remember when, a few years back, the explosive popularity of netbooks was going to put Linux in the households of millions of end-users? That never quite happened, but it’s not stopping Asus from introducing new netbooks with Ubuntu preinstalled. Read on for details.

The release of Ubuntu 11.04 is imminent, and with it will come a radically new type of desktop interface in the form of Unity. Will users love it or hate? A recent report from Canonical’s design team provides some telling insights. Here are the highlights.

Not too long ago, we detailed AMD’s plans for its new Advanced Processing Unit, or APU. We saw it as a counter to Intel’s mobile platform. Now AMD is boasting that its APU is gaining ground and being used in leading ODMs’ (original device manufacturers) designs for high-definition systems. What does that mean for the channel? Check it out …

Nvidia is making some serious noise in the channel, and not just about graphics cards. The company’s Tegra line of mobile CPUs have been cropping up everywhere as the mobile tablet/phone wars heat up. Nvidia recently showed off its powerhouse of a CPU dubbed “Kal-El” (which is Superman’s Kryptonian name). But how super is it, and what are the implications for the channel and the ongoing consumerization of IT?

The VAR Guy is a busy guy, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t take the time to watch some television. And during the broadcast of Grammys on Feb. 13, 2011, The VAR Guy noticed a whole lotta HP advertising going on. So what is HP up to, exactly? Here’s our resident blogger’s take:

CES 2011 is nearly here, and The VAR Guy is expecting lots and lots of devices without keyboards. The event, Jan 6-9 in Las Vegas (of course), may turn out to be the biggest device battleground in a long time, now that certain technologies have matured. Here’s our resident blogger’s take on what we can expect from CES 2011.

Journeys across the Internet often turn up surprising things in the most unlikely of places, including Intel’s new “Free Press” site — which is in ‘beta’. If the irony isn’t already hitting you, let me spell it out for you. A news site without by-lines run by Intel isn’t much of a news site at all. But is Intel’s elaborate PR front looking to at least offer some objective material? Here’s the the scoop…

This Sunday–the tenth day of the tenth month of the tenth year of the millennium–Ubuntu 10.10, better known to some as “Maverick Meerkat,” will officially debut.  We can’t promise the day will be as momentous as the end of the First World War.  But it will bring a number of major changes and new features to the world’s most popular Linux distribution.  Read on for highlights.

It’s been a while since we last took a look at Unity, the new version of Ubuntu customized for netbooks.  A lot has changed since then, however, so it’s time for some updates on how the desktop environment is evolving.

Ubuntu Netbook Remix is not the only game in town for users looking for an Ubuntu interface that caters to the small screens (and, in some cases, touchscreens) of netbooks.  Lubuntu also offers its own version of the “netbook remix.”  Read on for a look.

A few days ago, Canonical announced the release of a new desktop environment for Ubuntu, called Unity, targeted at netbooks and touchscreen devices.  I’ve been using it since then, and have found some time to write about my experience so far.

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.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my search for an Ubuntu netbook.  I finally made a decision and received the new machine this week.  Read on for the details.

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.

For a long time, Ubuntu was the only big-name Linux distribution with a specially tailored netbook version.  That changed recently with the announcement of Fedora Mini, which stands poised to compete with Ubuntu Netbook Remix on Linux-based netbooks and similar devices.  Here are some thoughts on what this development means for Ubuntu and Canonical’s netbook strategy, and Linux netbooks in general.

Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth announced objectives for Ubuntu 10.04, a.k.a “Lucid Lynx,” to attendees of the Atlanta Linux Fest (more conference coverage) last week.  Here’s a look at the major points highlighted by Shuttleworth, and what they mean for the future of Ubuntu.

You’ve heard of Smart Phones and Netbooks. Now, get ready for Smartbooks — mobile 3G wireless devices that appear to be slightly larger than the iPhone. Qualcomm is rallying hardware partners (OEMs, original equipment manufacturers) to introduce Smartbooks sometime in Q3 or Q4 2009. And here’s the twist: Qualcomm is hiring Ubuntu talent to help drive the project forward.

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.

Rumor has it that Microsoft has arbitrarily limited its definition of “netbook” to machines with screens smaller than 10.2 inches.  This move is presumably intended to force more consumers to pay for the full version of Windows 7, rather than buying the less expensive (and less usable) “Starter” or “Home Basic” editions.  But this strategy could backfire by driving sales of Linux-based netbooks, leaving Microsoft out in the cold.

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.

In September 2008, MSPmentor (WorksWithU’s sister site)  predicted broadband providers eventually would offer Ubuntu netbooks for free with monthly broadband service contracts. Here’s some new evidence that we’re marching in that direction.

A Wisconsin woman recently bought a computer from Dell with Ubuntu pre-installed and was shocked and angry to discover that Windows and Microsoft Office were no where to be found on her new machine.  A few months ago, we were told returns of Linux netbooks were astonishingly high, due to confusion among consumers who expected their computers to ship with Windows.