A few weeks ago, I wrote about my search for an Ubuntu netbook.  I finally made a decision and received the new machine this week.  Read on for the details.

I recently came into the market for a new Ubuntu netbook, and have been scouring the Internet looking for the best deal.  It’s been a fun experience, but also one replete with frustration at certain large computer vendors with byzantine websites that treat Linux as a dirty word.  Read on for details.

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.

After a business trip to China (stay tuned for details…), the ZaReason team is back in the US preparing to offer Ubuntu 9.04 on PCs and laptops the day Canonical’s latest Linux distribution launches. But that’s not all: ZaReason is preparing to expand its Ubuntu server lineup. Here are the early details, based on an email interview with ZaReason CTO Earl Malmrose (pictured).

ZaReason, one of the best-known companies developing Ubuntu desktops and notebooks, plans to introduce Ubuntu server products soon. I welcome the news, but the Ubuntu server market still faces tall challenges.

As big PC companies like Hewlett-Packard finally push into desktop Linux, WorksWithU will give equal time to the industry pioneers that evangelized desktop Linux before it went mainstream. A case in point: System76 continued its long-term Linux commitment today by launching the Gazelle Ultra (pictured) — an Ubuntu laptop with some pretty slick hardware specs and a biometric fingerprint reader for security.

Over the next few days, I will be testing ZaReason’s Breeze 3110 mini-tower PC. It has an Intel Atom processor and runs Ubuntu 8.04 desktop edition. I’m curious to see whether this system is truly consumer-ready. When I opened the shipping box, the included two-line directions said:

1. Plug it in
2. Turn it on

It sounds like the Breeze 3110 is too good to be true. But I’ll draw some clearer conclusions over the next few days.

Dell’s new sub-notebook, the Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook, is the latest vote of confidence for Ubuntu Linux in the desktop and mobile markets. I’m genuinely impressed with Dell’s commitment to Ubuntu. But Dell can learn two key lessons from ZaReason, a small PC maker that specializes in Ubuntu systems.

So, I’ve been shopping for a new laptop for a few months. I’ve got an old Thinkpad T23 that is showing it’s age — both in terms of performance and functionality. It has developed a number of minor quirks over the years, as most well-loved laptops do. Numlock is flaky, the PCMCIA port is flaky, everything is just broken enough to be annoying — but not broken enough to fix.

Interesting update from The Debian User, indicating that sub-$200 PCs running a variant of Ubuntu have sold out at Wal-Mart and ZaReason. I was at Wal-Mart Saturday. When I asked about the sub-$200 Linux PCs (built by Everex), the Wal-Mart sales team said they had never heard of it. Bummer.