In this WorksWithU podcast, editorial director Joe Panettieri speaks with Ken Drachnik, Landscape manager at Canonical. Landscape is Canonical’s remote management and monitoring tool for Ubuntu systems. The Podcast conversation covers the following key items…

 

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Who’s running Ubuntu — and why? You can find the answers in our WorksWithU 1000 survey and associated research report — which will ultimately track 1000 businesses, schools, government agencies and non-profit organizations running Ubuntu servers, desktops and mobile devices. Here’s some background.

When it comes to Ubuntu, we have the flash, we have the solid operating system, we have major suppliers — but now we need even more users. Are those users going to come because of Dell or Hewlett-Packard offering Ubuntu pre-loads? Nope. Here’s what Ubuntu (and Kubuntu) really need to go mainstream.

The New York Times ran a story today about Ubuntu and its prospects for beating Microsoft.  Focusing on Mark Shuttleworth, the South African billionaire who founded the Ubuntu project and leads Canonical, the Times reporter concludes that the idea of Linux on every desktop remains a bit “quixotic,” and suggests that Ubuntu has only come so far thanks to Shuttleworth’s wealth.  I don’t think that’s true.

Pssst: Hey Greg Davis (pictured). You’ve just been named Dell’s global channel chief — in charge of the PC giant’s worldwide partner strategy. What are you going to do next? Here’s one suggestion: Offer some Ubuntu PCs to solutions providers. Here’s why.

Cornell College of Mount Vernon, Iowa is the latest institute of higher education to embrace Ubuntu Server Edition, WorksWithU has learned. It’s not a huge deployment, but Cornell’s targeted Ubuntu use reinforces a growing trend at colleges and universities worldwide, according to the WorksWithU 1000 — a survey that aims to track one thousand Ubuntu deployments.

Xavier is the latest K-12 school to move Ubuntu Linux to the head of the class. In fact, the school has deployed more than 600 Ubuntu desktops, according to Pierre Tagle, Xavier’s consulting IT director. During a recent email exchange with WorksWithU, Tagle described why the San Juan, Phillipines-based school has fallen for Ubuntu.

It’s time to brag and make yourself known. Whether you’re running one Ubuntu desktop or managing hundreds of Ubuntu systems, we want to know about it. Please fill this quick online survey, called the Works With U 1,000.

When Canonical canceled its Ubuntu Live conference — which had been scheduled to coincide with OSCON in Portland, Oregon — I was deeply disappointed. But in retrospect, here’s why canceling Ubuntu Live — and focusing more resources on August’s LinuxWorld Expo — was a very smart move by Canonical.

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 — and save big money.