Call it a small but strategic step in the right direction. Following in the footsteps of Red Hat and Novell, the folks at Canonical are positioning Ubuntu for use by Wall Street firms. Some details about the effort could surface on April 19, during the HPC (High Performance Computing) Linux Financial Markets conference in New York. Here are some details.

One of the lesser-discussed changes to the default Ubuntu application stack for Lucid is the addition of gbrainy to the GNOME games suite.  Wondering what gbrainy’s all about?  Here’s a look.

Canonical is making multiple moves to engage and energize Ubuntu software developers. The latest example involves Ubuntu Opportunistic Developer Week, scheduled for March 1 to 6, 2010. Here are some quick details plus the implications for Ubuntu in business.

Talk about a careful balancing act involving Ubuntu. Canonical appears to have financial relationships with both Google and Yahoo. Here’s how the relationships — involving Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and Google Chrome OS — are shaping up. Plus, the potential financial implications for Canonical.

As Canonical prepares to launch Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) in April 2010, there are signs  Dell will show considerable love to the Long Term Support (LTS) release. Here are some preliminary details about Dell’s look at Ubuntu 10.04.

During the Ubuntu 9.10 launch a few weeks ago, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth hinted that Ubuntu may ultimately gain music and entertainment store capabilities — similar to offerings from Apple (iTunes) and Amazon.com. Fast forward to the present, and Canonical appears to be preparing the Ubuntu One Music Store. Here’s why.

ZaReason is taking a small but significant step to help strengthen the Ubuntu brand. To help celebrate the Ubuntu 9.10 launch, the PC maker is offering “a stick of Ubuntu aluminum case badges with each computer ordered” October 29 through November 5. Here’s why you should care.

As Ubuntu 9.10 nears its official Oct. 29 debut, the hype around this new Ubuntu is reaching a fever pitch. Some folks wonder if it can be the de facto alternative to Windows. I’ve obviously bet a portion of my IT media career on Ubuntu’s continued advancement. But let’s keep Ubuntu 9.10’s debut in perspective. Here’s a reality check — including a longer-term look at Canonical’s server and cloud strategy, which hinges far more heavily on Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).

Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth on Oct. 26 is set to speak with the press about Ubuntu 9.10 Desktop Edition and Server Edition. WorksWithU will be extra careful not to “hype” Ubuntu 9.10 over the next few days. Instead, we hope to ask Shuttleworth some timely questions about the new Ubuntu and Canonical’s long-term business strategy. Here’s a sampling of issues on our mind.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical and Ubuntu, sat for a video interview with Dell Cloud Computing Evangelist Barton George. In it, Shuttleworth takes a “service pack” shot at Windows 7 and covers numerous questions about Canonical’s business and cloud strategy. Here’s the video — plus some perspectives from WorksWithU.