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…

0:00: Introduction
0:32: What exactly is Landscape?
1:07: Is Landscape positioned for small, midsize or large organizations?
2:02: Is Landscape for netbooks, notebooks, desktops or servers?
2:45: Can Landscape manage Ubuntu in the cloud?
3:55: Does Landscape run on-premise or is it a SaaS (software as a service) solution?
5:10: What is Landscape dedicated server?
5:31: Is Landscape available globally?
5:46: How is Landscape priced?
6:17: Where is Canonical heading next with Landscape?
7:24: How to find more information about Landscape
7:52: A link for a free Landscape test
8:10: Final thoughts
8:39: End

Please note: This podcast was sponsored by Canonical.

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.

To see the the WorksWithU 1000 so far, visit our WorksWithU 1000 center. Also, be sure to participate in the WorksWithU 1000 survey. We’ve received more than 380 survey responses to date, and we intend to march quickly toward  1,000 responses.

What’s Next From WorksWithU

Here are four ways we plan to compile and examine the survey data:

1. Plot Ubuntu Business Deployments Globally: Using Google Maps, we’ll show readers where Ubuntu Server Edition and Ubuntu Desktop Edition are taking hold — country by country, region by region.

2. Explore Server Trends: We’ll explore the key business drivers for deploying Ubuntu Server Edition.

3. Profile Key Ubuntu Evangelists: Who are the IT managers and business managers driving corporate Ubuntu deployments? We’ll be interviewing dozens of business and technology managers who bet their businesses on Ubuntu.

4. Pinpoint Continued Challenges: We know. Ubuntu needs more certified application support from major independent software vendors. It also needs more pre-load agreements on servers and desktops. Through our follow-up interviews with Ubuntu business users, we’ll document how today’s organizations are procuring Ubuntu-based systems and applications.

Join the discussion and help us to shape the WorksWithU 1000 research.

Follow WorksWithU via Identi.ca, Twitter and RSS (available now) and our newsletter (coming soon).

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 answer, of course, is an audience that is used to the operating system and is not scared of change. Windows users are ingrained in their world and generally fear change. Mac OS X users are a little more open to change, but are often stuck in the ‘Apple is God’ mindset.

So, whom do we convert? The simple answer: Children.

The Kids Are All Right

Hear me out. Kids are extremely open to change, love the flashiness of the rotating cube/snowfall, and have possibly not been induced to brand loyalty on personal computers yet. As a bonus, Linux can offer everything children need for school in a completely free way (OpenOffice, games, Internet access).

My children have been using Kubuntu for the past three years without any complaints, save one. The network administrator forgot to install Flash so that Nickjr.com and PBSKids.org would work properly after a fresh install awhile back. After I got their games working properly, they have used the desktop with great success doing everything they need.

When I asked Erich (my oldest) if he noticed any difference between our computer and the one at school he replied, “Our computers at school are way slower, Dad.” One night at an open house at his school, I checked out the systems and they are no slouches (Windows XP on Pentium 4s with 1GB RAM) — roughly equal to my home machine. Another plus to Linux, and evidence that children will evaluate things on use instead of ingrained OS dogma.

Familiar Story

Ironically, the situation is similar for Joe Panettieri, editorial director and co-founder of WorksWithU. When System76 sent him an evaluation laptop running Ubuntu, his kids (pictured) gave it a try — and they didn’t want to send it back. (Memo to System76 President Carl Richell: Don’t worry, the kids touched the system for 15 minutes and the laptop finally is on its way back to you.)

While this argument is far from perfect or without fault, I believe the children will be our path to promoting Linux use for the future. The Helios Project seems to be making great headway in this direction, and mirrors what I believe to be a great path toward Linux adoption – get Linux to the children. The Helios Project is more specifically aimed at helping those in need, but where do you think those children will place their loyalty, with Linux or some restrictive OS/software they have to use as someone else designed?

While there will be a long wait for return on this investment, it should be worth the wait. Microsoft has a monopoly built by succeeding and then familiarity. Linux is a success at being ‘pretty’ and solid, now we need the familiarity that can easily be supplied by getting Linux into the hands of children.

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.

Certainly, the patronship of a billionaire is a unique advantage enjoyed by Ubuntu alone.  Fedora, Mandriva, SUSE and the like could only dream of having a single supporter with that kind of cash to back them up, and the more militant proponents of these distributions might like to think of Ubuntu as the undeserving rich kid of the Linux community, only here thanks to the wealth of its father.

On the other hand, Ubuntu isn’t a charity, and the fact that Shuttleworth has millions of dollars doesn’t mean he gives them to Ubuntu.  He’s a leader and he helped the project get off the ground, but at the end of the day, Ubuntu and Canonical have to be self-sustaining.

Besides, if money were the chief ingredient in free software’s success, the GNU project would have never made it out of the womb twenty-five years ago.  There may be some big-name contributors, like Intel and IBM, supporting Linux, but the vast majority of its $10.9 billion value is derived from the work of volunteers.

I would contend, moreover, that the key to Ubuntu’s success so far has been its focus on the desktop.  While Red Hat and Novell chased the server market, Canonical established itself as the preeminent Linux distribution for desktop users, which it has used as a base to pursue servers.

And catering to the desktop market doesn’t just mean a focus on being user-friendly.  Ubuntu’s aggressive pursuit of desktops in schools (via the Edubuntu spin-off) and its partnership with IBM to power workstations in large businesses, for example, reflect a commitment to the desktop that surpasses simple usability, and which no other distribution has tried to match.

As for the charge that Ubuntu remains a quixotic dream: as the article points out, Ubuntu already counts 10 million users, and Canonical collects $30 million in annual revenue.  That may be a drop in the bucket compared to Microsoft’s budget or Shuttleworth’s personal fortune, but it’s a figure that means Ubuntu is already successful and self-sustaining–the battle is no longer uphill.

The fact that a desktop-centric Linux distribution has managed to become solvent enough to independently ensure its continued existence, regardless of the size of its budget, is proof enough that Ubuntu amounts to more than a rich hippie’s dream.

WorksWithU is updated multiple times per week. Don’t miss a single post. Sign up for our RSS and Twitter feeds (available now) and newsletter (coming in 2009).

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.

Sure, Dell has successfully introduced Ubuntu PCs and laptops to the niche buy-direct geek crowd. But now it’s time for Dell to disrupt the very PC industry it helped to build.

Remember: Michael Dell himself used Ubuntu on a home PC before Dell (the company) decided to sell Ubuntu systems in mid-2007. Greg Davis, Dell’s new global channel chief, should do the same.

Start using disruptive technology, Greg. In addition to blogging about your global partner strategy, start speaking with solutions providers who sell into large government organizations and large school systems. You’ll hear demand for desktop open source — very loudly — from those solutions providers. (Heck, look at our WorksWithU 1000 list for dozens of schools and government organizations already running Ubuntu.)

More Than Microsoft

Of course, Windows 7 (whenever that arrives…), Windows Small Business Server and Microsoft’s enterprise software will remain a huge revenue opportunity for Dell and its channel partners.

But there’s room at Dell, too, for a strong Ubuntu channel strategy. Dell promoted Ubuntu-based Netbooks to kids and parents during the holidays. Next, empower solutions providers with Ubuntu, and you’ll accelerate sales into emerging markets. And you’ll give Canonical’s own Ubuntu channel efforts a major boost.

Steal a page from IBM and investigate virtual Ubuntu desktops hosted on centralized servers. Get creative — and aggressive — by introducing so-called Mobile Internet Devices running Ubuntu.

Greg: Seek freedom. Seek disruption. Seek leverage against Microsoft. But most of all, seek new solutions that will drive channel profits for Dell’s partners around the world. No doubt, Ubuntu could play a role in that effort.

Are you listening, Greg?

WorksWithU is updated multiple times per week. Don’t miss a single post. Sign up for our RSS and Twitter feeds (available now) and newsletter (coming in 2009).

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.

Cornell College began using Ubuntu in May 2007, when Web Developer/Programmer Brian Steere was hired as a full-time employee. “We realized that many of our Web applications were created and designed for Linux and ill-suited for running on a Windows/IIS [Internet Information Server] stack,” wrote Steere in an email to WorksWithU.

Fast forward to December 2008, and Ubuntu currently hosts Cornell College’s:

• Wordpress-Mu install (http://blogs.cornellcollege.edu)
• News center (wordpress @ http://news.cornellcollege.edu)
• Master calendar (http://webapps.cornellcollege.edu/events)
• and Moodle installation (http://moodle.cornellcollege.edu)

What’s next for Ubuntu at Cornell College? “We may migrate our MySQL install to Ubuntu, but that is currently undetermined,” writes Steere in email.

Ubuntu On Campus

To date, more than 10 percent of the organizations completing our WorksWithU 1000 survey are K-12 schools, colleges and universities.

No doubt, Ubuntu will spill over from college IT departments out to student populations as more and more Netbooks (preloaded with Ubuntu) arrive on college campuses.

Still, I suspect Fedora, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, OpenSUSE and Novell SUSE Linux each have larger followings than Ubuntu in college IT departments. But that’s just a hunch based on writing about Red Hat and Novell for more than a decade.

WorksWithU is updated multiple times per week. Don’t miss a single post. Sign up for our RSS and Twitter feeds (available now) and newsletter (coming in 2009).

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.

“Our large-scale deployment of Ubuntu began last April 2008,” writes Tagle. “The reason to choose Ubuntu started due to cost issues brought about by Microsoft’s base licenses and subscription licenses.  The choice of Ubuntu is due to its ease of use as a desktop OS and the availability of Edubuntu.”

Still, Ubuntu has not made the leap from Xavier’s desktops to servers. “Our servers are mostly Linux-based, though most of the run Red Hat or CentOS.  Red Hat is required by IBM for a supported installation of Lotus Notes.”

Meanwhile, the school also has a 50-computer mobile lab, which is standardized on Ubuntu. “Aside from this, we have another 120+ MacOS desktops and 100+ MacBook laptops used by our faculty members,” writes Tagle.

In the months ahead, WorksWithU will take a closer look at Ubuntu in the K-12 and higher education markets. Also, we continue to amass the WorksWithU 1000 — a fast-growing list of Ubuntu deployments across the globe.

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.

Our goals for the survey are simple. We want to prove:

• Ubuntu has a loyal and growing installed base on business/organizational desktops and servers
• Ubuntu has global momentum on desktops and servers
• Ubuntu has an ecosystem of integrators, solutions providers and VARs who can accelerate Ubuntu deployments
• And ultimate, Ubuntu can be used for mission critical applications

Organizations that fill out the survey will land on our Works With U 1000 list (here’s a preview). And once we compile a complete list of 1,000 organizations running Ubuntu, we plan to publish a comprehensive — and free — report that shows readers how Ubuntu is gaining traction in specific vertical markets, in specific regions, etc.

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.

At first glance, I was very concerned when Canonical pulled the plug on Ubuntu Live. Initially, company insiders spun some creative stories, assuring me Canonical planned to host multiple regional events to replace Ubuntu Live. Then the reality began to settle in: Spending big bucks on Ubuntu Live — and preaching to a niche audience of Ubuntu fanatics — wasn’t a great use of Canonical’s marketing dollars.

Instead, Canonical hosted a range of education sessions at OSCON. I attended several of those sessions and noticed a key trend: Many attendees were Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SuSE Linux and Windows Server administrators, who were seeking more information about Ubuntu. In other words, Canonical was preaching to new listeners rather than the same-old Ubuntu crowd. Smart move, Canonical.

That trend continued — in a much bigger way — during LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco last week. Canonical’s booth was big and business-focused. Demo stations featured a range of third-party applications — such as Alfresco content management and Zimbra email — running on Canonical.

Back in July our sister site — The VAR Guy — reported that Canonical would launch a server application blitz at LinuxWorld Expo. That report was right on the mark. Canonical spent all of LinuxWorld Expo talking about its business strategy and ISV (independent software vendor) support. Although foot traffic at LinuxWorld Expo seemed light, Canonical’s booth was standing-room-only, even as the show wrapped up on August 7.

Several years from now — if Canonical manages to convert thousands of small, midsize and large organizations to Ubuntu — then it may make sense to revive the Ubuntu Live conference. In the meantime, Canonical spent its money far more wisely preaching to new converts at LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco.

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.

Let’s take a quick look at how the Installfest, driven by Untangle, benefited multiple parties.

• Schools — $375,000 In Savings: If a school wanted to buy 750 new PCs with Windows Vista pre-installed, they’d likely have to spend at least $500 for each new system. That’s $375,000 for 750 new PCs. But even then, performance would be awful (have you seen Vista on entry-level PCs?) and productivity applications like Microsoft Office would require additional budget.
• Kids: Ever seen a kid work on a PC for the first time? My sons “lit up” when they got an Eee PC to share. Similarly, kids in low-income areas need to see and learn how the Web is a platform for creativity, collaboration and learning. With the proper supervision and guidance, the Web can be a kid’s ticket to greater earning power.
• The Environment: Roughly 35 million PCs get dumped into landfills, though I’m not sure if that figure reflects an annual trend or a longer-term tally. Regardless, it’s a huge number that needs correcting.

I’m not suggesting Linux is a perfect alternative to Windows. But it’s hard to find a slim version of Windows backed by an army of Installfest supporters. It’s good to see Untangle and Linux giving old PCs new life, and giving kids the tech tools they need.