ubuntu

Macedonia picks Ubuntu for 20,000 PCs

A batch of 7,000 PCs with Ubuntu Linux have been sent to Macedonian schools, the first of a collection that Ubuntu sponsor Canonical expects will reach 20,000.

Through a program called Computer for Every Child, the Macedonia Ministry of Education and Science plans to install the PCs throughout its elementary and secondary school system. Ubuntu will run on the 20,000 PCs, but 160,000 more students will be able to share those machines using hardware from NComputing, Canonical plans to announce Tuesday. The PCs are being supplied and installed by Haier, a Chinese PC maker.

"The … Read more

Red Hat's Fedora 8 hope: An all-purpose Linux foundation

Over the years, Red Hat's Fedora has made a name for itself as a version of Linux for enthusiasts, developers, and those who want to try the latest thing in open-source software. But a curious feature of the new version 8, released Thursday, is the ability to strip out the Fedora identity altogether.

The reason: Red Hat wants Fedora to be a foundation for those who want to build their own Linux products on a Fedora foundation. With Fedora 8, that's easier, because all the Fedora-specific elements are wrapped up into one neatly optional package, said project leader … Read more

Dell [does not] drop[] Ubuntu in the UK [Update]

As Mark Shuttleworth just pointed out to me, Dell is still committed to customer choice. Communication breakdown, but not a Linux breakdown.

If you want to get Ubuntu on your Dell, you may be out of luck if you live in the UK, according to The Inquirer.

A call to Dell's marketing folk in the UK confirms Dell no longer supplies Ubuntu pre-installed. "It has been discontinued in the UK," a closed source said.

That didn't last long. Sheesh.

It would have been nice to inform Mark Shuttleworth, too. I asked him this morning if he … Read more

Ubuntu and the future of the Linux desktop

I will admit to being a Linux desktop nonbeliever. It feels a bit like yesterday's battle fought with the wrong weapons: geekiness rather than ease of use. There's a chance--still a slim one, but a chance nonetheless--that Ubuntu will change that.

In three separate places today I read reviews of Ubuntu's new desktop (7.10). Two were very complimentary, while the third suggested that Ubuntu give up.

Ubuntu upgrades the Linux desktop experience in two ways: user interface and form factor. While Novell continues to be the leader in traditional desktop replacements, Red Hat is reinventing the Linux desktop for new markets with its One Laptop Per Child involvement. Ubuntu is arguably doing the same, but is going one step further in disruption: Changing the notion of the Linux "desktop" completely:… Read more

The secrets of Ubuntu's success

I've written on this topic before, but came across this list of seven reasons for Ubuntu's success that I thought were worth noting.

The Linux distribution battle will come down to two distributions: Red Hat and Ubuntu. Red Hat is the market leader while Ubuntu is arguably the community leader (though Fedora is also coming back strong). How has Ubuntu managed to make such a significant impression on the market, despite its late start?

Having talked about a few of the other reasons on this blog, I'll call out two that I missed:… Read more

Canonical's new Ubuntu paves way for server push

Canonical plans on Thursday to release "Gutsy Gibbon," the Ubuntu Linux version 7.10 that the company hopes will lay the foundation for a serious push into the server and other markets six months from now.

That's when Gutsy Gibbon's sequel, "Hardy Heron," is scheduled to arrive. Gutsy Gibbon will have the usual Ubuntu support life span--18 months--but Hardy Heron will be the company's second version to feature long-term support, which lasts three years for the desktop product and five years for the server.

Some of the Gutsy Gibbon work involved introducing new … Read more

Novell lays off AppArmor programmers

Two years after acquiring the company that developed the AppArmor security software for Linux, Novell has laid off team members behind the project, CNET News.com has learned.

AppArmor's founder and leader, Crispin Cowan, joined Novell in 2005 when it acquired his company, Immunix, which developed the software. But he and four others from the project lost their Novell jobs in Portland, Ore., on September 28, Cowan confirmed.

However, he plans to continue AppArmor development. He and two other laid-off AppArmor programmers, Steve Beattie and Dominic Reynolds, launched an AppArmor consulting company on Wednesday called Mercenary Linux.

"I … Read more

Ubuntu pride--on the basketball court

The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association and the Linux community now have more in common than you might have thought.

In the NBA, most of the established talent is out west, on teams like San Antonio, Phoenix and Dallas. The Eastern Conference is a wide-open race in which there's no clear favorite, and any team's chances of winning can change very quickly with the addition or subtraction of a few key players.

With that in mind, the Boston Celtics engineered the most dramatic off-season overhaul in the league, trading for superstars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen … Read more

Mark Shuttleworth on Ubuntu, Larry Ellison, the OpenOffice mess, and Google

That's right! It's time for another episode of The Register's Open Season podcast, this time with special guest Mark Shuttleworth. We talk about a wide range of topics, including whether Larry Ellison/Oracle can out-Red Hat Red Hat (nope), what strange things are afoot at OpenOffice (and whether developers can write good non-developer products), and a host of other things.

Well worth a listen.