My day job revolves around early-modern European history, which I study in graduate school.  While most of my fellow graduate students know very much about obscure dead people, computers are generally not their forte: many of them remain unsure of the difference between Microsoft Word and Microsoft Windows, for example.

There’s been a lot of ink spilled—er, pixels fired—about Canonical’s decision not to offer a graphical interface in the server edition. The debate is understandable. After all, given Canonical’s professed commitment to ease of use, it might seem a bit strange that Ubuntu Server Edition should not come with some kind of desktop environment by default.

First, the good news for Canonical and its loyal followers: Yes, Wikimedia Foundation (the company behind Wikipedia) is embracing Ubuntu on its servers in a big way. This is the latest in a growing list of large and small organizations that are betting their back offices on Ubuntu. Now, the challenge: It sounds like there really isn’t much — if any — money flowing from Wikipedia to Canonical.

I applaud Canonical for pushing Ubuntu beyond the desktop — up onto servers, and down onto mobile devices. But I’m starting to wonder:  Can Ubuntu really gain traction on Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs)?  Or put more bluntly: Does the world really need another mobile device operating system?

Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in blogging about Ubuntu for Works With U. We’ve received dozens of inquiries from across the world. We’ll send a group message to all candidates on Thursday, Sept. 4. If you have any questions in the meantime please email Works With U Editorial Director Joe Panettieri (joe [at] ninelivesmediainc.com).

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.

One of the classic problems that newcomers to Linux face is locating and installing software to do the work they want to accomplish. With Synaptic in Ubuntu, installing the software has been made simple, but choosing which software to install can still be a challenge. The more than 20,000 packages that Ubuntu offers up can be daunting indeed. This is where sites like Gnomefiles.com can come in. Gnomefiles is a clearing house of software built on GTK, the application toolkit that underpins the Gnome desktop that Ubuntu uses.

We launched Works With U on May 2, 2008. In less than 24 hours, I’ve been flooded with a range of email filled with questions, feedback and even some constructive criticism from Ubuntu users in North America, Europe, Australia and other regions. And we’re listening to our early readers.

Welcome to Works With U, from the folks at Nine Lives Media Inc. We’re set to document the rise of Ubuntu Linux in academia, business and consumer settings. We’ll show readers how to unlock the full power of Ubuntu in their organizations. And we’ll help millions of readers understand that Ubuntu is a true platform — mobile, desktop, server — for the modern age. Here’s some background about this site, and what we hope to achieve.