The VAR Guy

Businesses are catching on to Ubuntu, Canonical’s Linux distribution. The latest example: Gameloft, a major mobile games developer, has moved more than 1,000 desktops to Ubuntu, according to a source who reached out to The VAR Guy. But Gameloft isn’t alone. The VAR Guy’s research is tracking hundreds of companies moving to Ubuntu. Here’s the scoop.

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…

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.

Barton George, one of the best-known open source evangelists at Sun Microsystems, has left the company. He sent a note to a group of sources — including The VAR Guy — on Sept. 5 indicating that he’s joining a cloud-based computing company in Austin, Texas. Kudos to George, but The VAR Guy has to wonder: Are things growing worse at Sun?

The next time somebody tells you Ubuntu Linux is just for the desktop, check out Egressive Limited, a solutions provider in New Zealand that’s gaining traction in the Ubuntu Server market. In fact, all of Egressive’s support customers now have Ubuntu servers at the center of their networks, and Egressive uses Ubuntu exclusively as the company’s hosting system. Is this part of a bigger “hidden” trend? The VAR Guy sure seems to think so. Here’s why.

The VAR Guy has been researching the unified communications market in recent weeks. And he’s stumbled across an interesting trend: More and more open source startups are pushing into the unified communications market. Here are four prime examples:

In an effort to rally solutions providers around Ubuntu Linux, Canonical is telling resellers that 11 percent of U.S. businesses already run Ubuntu. That’s impressive, but when will VARs truly jump on the Ubuntu bandwagon? Here are some clues from The VAR Guy.

The final numbers are in. During Installfest at this week’s LinuxWorld Expo, Untangle and its partners put Ubuntu Linux on 750 aging PCs that now run like new. The Installfest was a win for school budgets, kids and the environment. And the event proved — in a small way — that Linux can be a key tool that helps close the digital divide.

Untangle is scheduled to host an Ubuntu Linux Installfest from Aug. 4 to 7 at LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco. This latest Installfest, coupled with recent moves by Canonical and Intel made The VAR Guy wonder: Can Ubuntu Linux close the digital divide?

The VAR Guy was making one last trip around the exhibitor booths at OSCON (Open Source Convention), when he ran into a rather interesting rumor: Canonical is working with hardware partners and application developers to launch Ubuntu Linux server appliances at LinuxWorld Expo in August.