In an interview with linuxdevices.com, Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes Linux, argues that Microsoft’s failure to anticipate the pace of hardware development over the long-term contributed substantially to the trouble that the company now finds itself in.  This is an interesting insight, and adds some precision to explanations of Linux’s penetration of the desktop operating-system market.

Canonical’s Ubuntu efforts for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) have yet to pay dividends. However, Ubuntu users continue to express strong interest in MIDs designed to run Ubuntu, according to WorksWithU’s weekly reader poll.

Nine Lives Media Inc. — WorksWithU.com’s parent company — is seeking at least three contributing bloggers who can offer balanced coverage of Microsoft and Windows 7, Apple and Mac OS X, and Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux. Here’s what we’re seeking.

We’re still brainstorming a few ideas related to Ubuntu podcasts. In the meantime, our sister site TheVARguy.com produced this recent podcast interview with Red Hat North American Channel Chief Roger Egan. During the discussion Egan answers six key questions about Red Hat’s partner strategy for the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 and JBoss Middleware.

 

 Podcast: Red Hat North America Channel Chief Roger Egan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Very few Ubuntu users, at least outside of the enterprise, pay for support.  Instead, they turn to various free resources, ranging from IRC channels to the documentation wiki to the official Ubuntu Forums, when they run into trouble.  While free support in the Ubuntu world is often quite good, it could be improved if those providing it paid more attention to a few key guidelines.

Some people are scratching their heads over recent Windows 7-related comments attributed to Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth. But Shuttleworth’s words provide an important reminder that innovation and competition from Microsoft will help to propel Ubuntu and Linux forward. Skeptical? Read on.

I spotted a guide earlier today that shows IT administrators how to install Openbravo’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software on Ubuntu. Frankly, the guide extends beyond my technical knowledge. But it signals an important milestone: True business applications are finally coming to Ubuntu Server Edition and its desktop counterpart.

When Canonical announced plans to develop Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) with Intel back in mid-2007, I expected to test — or perhaps even buy — an Ubuntu MID sometime in 2008. But we’re now into early 2009, and the MID effort doesn’t appear to be paying dividends yet for Canonical. Here’s why.

In my other life, I spend a lot of time studying the French Revolution.  Unsurprisingly, that pursuit rarely intersects with my interest in Ubuntu.  The one connection that I can draw between revolutionary France and the free-software community, however, is their shared obsession with ideological evangelism, or spreading their own supposed freedoms to the rest of the world, whether the rest of the world likes it or not.  Indeed, the goal of bringing Linux to every desktop is rarely questioned.  But is it really the right strategy?

Although I don’t plan on using Windows 7 unless threatened with violence, I thought it would be interesting to see what Microsoft’s pushing these days as state-of-the-art technology.  Many of the new features planned for the next release of Windows, however, seem more like catch-up than innovation.