Canonical taking on Microsoft with Ubuntu Business Remix

A new tab has appeared on the Ubuntu.com website along the top menu. It appears that Canonical, the lead development company for Ubuntu, is looking to take on Microsoft by directly entering the business PC area. If you click through the links and attempt to download the Remix version of software, you are even asked to sign off on some licensing agreements. This new version of Ubuntu contains some proprietary software. I have not downloaded or tried out this latest version of Ubuntu. It appears to be running the Unity desktop. The oft criticized Unity desktop just may be seen as a slightly better evil to work with than the upcoming Windows 8 version.

Microsoft has continued to dominate the business PC desktop world over the past couple of decades with its Windows based operating system. However, support for Windows XP is coming to an end, and Windows 8 is creeping on the horizon. Many businesses have already upgraded from Windows XP to Windows 7, and may be looking at shelling out more dough to upgrade to the next version of Windows. Ubuntu Business Remix may be the ticket for businesses to convert to to avoid the Windows update costs.

However, Canonical's launch of Ubuntu Business Remix may still be coming about a year too late. They could have really taken advantage of Microsoft's Windows Vista debacle. Windows 7 is a much improved version of Windows. Since Remix is free, it may still make significant inroads into the business arena if Windows 8 comes in at a premium price point, especially in the cost cutting era phase of the economic downturn.  

SD Card for Acer Aspire One 532H-2326 In Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot

In the past, I have been having trouble with using the SD card on my Acer Aspire One 532H-2326 netbook with Ubuntu 11.10.  Last month I updated to Oneiric Ocelot Ubuntu 11.10 and while it is taking time for me to get used to the Unity interface, I am happy to report that the SD card reader is now working just fine with this latest version of Ubuntu.

I had a SD card in a digital camera that I recently took some pictures on, and normally I would boot to Windows 7 to transfer the pics.  But on a whim I decided to give the latest version of Ubuntu a try on my netbook, and voila, it recognized the SD card and my pictures transferred over just fine.

With the latest version of Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot it would seem that just about every single feature is working, except for FN-F2, which turns the wireless on and off.

Ubuntu based Tablet PC Coming in 2011?

I saw some reports that an Ubuntu based tablet is in the works from a Taiwanese manufacturer.  PCWorld is reporting that the P07, built by Teng, is a 10 inch tablet with a multi-touch display.  This new Ubuntu tablet will be initially be released running Ubuntu 10.10.  The tablet will have a 1.66 GHz CPU and a couple of Gigs of ram, along with an SSD hard drive.  There are some pictures floating around the internet that indicate that this Ubuntu Tablet PC will be a sharp toy.

The addition of an Ubuntu tablet adds another software player in the tablet wars. The dominance by Apple's iPad may still remain in place due to savvy marketing practices.  However, it seems to me that Samsung's Android based tablet is starting to pick up steam.

The one major software player that seems to be falling far behind in the tablet wars is Microsoft.  Windows 7 is a much improved operating system, but it does not seem modular enough to have a version that runs smoothly on light operating systems.  Perhaps that is the one advantage that Linux and BSD based operating systems have over Microsoft Windows is that they can easily be slimmed down to work well on lighter devices.

Look for the new Ubuntu Tablet to be release sometime in early 2011.  I have a little money stored up, and just may take the plunge and get a new Ubuntu based toy.

Source: PC World

Covert a Business from Linux to Windows

I love to read stories about how small businesses convert to Linux from Windows. There are many paths to follow when converting Linux but there is always one common thread. The first is to take it slow and have the patience to work with individual users to make sure that they become more comfortable with working with the new operating system. In addition, if it is a business that make heavy use of applications, you should always try to find the open source equivalent of those applications to run within Windows first.  This will  make users comfortable with the open source applications before the big switch.

Here is a link to an interesting article about the conversion of Windows to Linux. Hey, and they are using Ubuntu too!

UNR 10.04 on Acer Aspire One 532h-2326

I created a USB disk with Ubuntu 10.04 Netbook Remix and took my new netbook for a spin.

So far every thing works. In order to boot from the USB disk, plug in the USB key, hit F2 when you turn on the power, and in Setup, arrow over to Boot. then select the USB key you wish to book from by moving it to the top of the list with the F6 key.

So far, it appears most things are working. Wireless was recognized right of the bat, which is a first for me in Linux. The interface for Ubuntu Netbook Remix is nice too! Plus you can change the background, which is not possible in Windows 7 without a third-party work around.

Now the question is, should I wait for the final release of 10.04? Install 9.10? or use the current beta of 10.04 and upgrade later?

What a conundrum!

Ubuntu Netbook Remix on Acer 532H-2326

I got a new netbook today and want to run it with Ubuntu Netbook Remix. The Acer AspireOne 532H-2326 is one of the cool blue ones that come with a 250GB disk drive. I figure I can use Windows 7 on a smaller partition and set aside about 150GB for Ubuntu Netbook Remix 10.04.

The first thing I did was upgrade the netbook to 2 GB of memory. There seems to be a little bit of confusion on the internet about whether these Acer netbooks are upgradeable. Some sites say you need to update the BIOS. The system I have had BIOS V1.02 which seems out of date. I popped in the memory without the BIOS update and it was recognized, and is working great. The memory stick I am using is the following:

Crucial 2GB 256Mx64PC2-5300 CT25664AC667 DDR2 200-Pin SODIMM Laptop Memory

and it cost about $45 Amazon.

This is may first time using Windows 7, and so far it seems pretty nice. It runs pretty good on this little netbook. I also want to keep Windows just in case a BIOS update is needed. It is much easier with Windows installed. Yea, I know about FreeDOS, but for now it is worth it to keep Windows around for a little bit longer.

Windows 7 Black Screen of Death

I have not had a chance to give Windows 7 a try, other than playing around with it on a couple of demo PCs and laptops at my local retail outlet. It seems like an OK operating system, and seemed to use a lot less resources than Vista. I tried Windows 7 out on a couple of low end netbooks at the store, putting them through their paces. Windows 7 seemed to run its applications pretty fast. It is too bad that none of these systems were running any virus software. I bet they would have been dogs if I gave it try.

I just can not bring myself to put down the $100 or so to upgrade to this operating system, when everything I need a PC for is already available in Ubuntu Linux. Maybe someday...

There have been reports that the latest security updates for Windows 7 is causing some system hangs. After the update you are left with a black screen, with now task bar, no icons, no system tray, or sidebar.

So, they went from the "Blue screen of Death" (BSOD) to the "Black Screen of Death."