Showing headlines posted by thevarguy

As it continues to develop and polish Windows 7, Microsoft has made three fatal mistakes that will kill the operating system’s chances for success on Netbooks -- and open the door even wider for Linux. Skeptical? Here's the scoop.

At first glance, SugarCRM has launched new programs to train customers on open source CRM (customer relationship management). But take a closer look and you’ll see the continued evolution of SugarCRM’s channel partner program and SaaS (software as a service) initiatives. Here’s the scoop.

The love affair between netbooks and Ubuntu continues, this time with Hewlett-Packard and Toshiba launching new Ubuntu-driven portables. However, not all Ubuntu netbooks are created equally — especially when it comes to the graphical user interfaces. Here’s why.

Some pundits think Canonical's new Ubuntu Server Edition user survey is designed to attract more customers to Canonical's server software. In reality, I think Canoncial had a far different — and far wiser — goal for the survey. Here it is.

Microsoft plans to launch six -- count 'em, six -- versions of Windows 7. Imagine if Red Hat, Novell or Canonical tried to market six versions of their desktop operating systems? The Linux market would stall. Yet, Windows marches forward -- at least for the folks who are sticking with Microsoft. Here's the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Despite the recession, Cisco Systems and Digium are holding strategic events within days of each other in Miami, Florida. Cisco’s agenda is all business. Digium’s agenda is mostly technology. The VAR Guy’s agenda: Stirring up some controversy. Here's the scoop.

Instead of ignoring open source conferences, Microsoft continues to invade them. The latest example: A Microsoft general manager is scheduled to keynote Digium AsteriskWorld on February 3. Why is Microsoft paying such close attention to an event for open source IP PBX advocates? The answer is obvious.

Two Microsoft Business Solutions veterans have joined Openbravo, a fast-growing provider of open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) and point of sale (POS) software. The moves signal growing momentum for business-centric open source applications. Here's the scoop from The VAR Guy.

When Sun Microsystems announced financial results this week, The VAR Guy had a moment of clarity: Sun is looking more and more like a larger version of Novell. And The VAR Guy means that in a complimentary way. Here’s why.

Five years from now, Google -- rather than Microsoft -- will dominate the software as a service (SaaS) industry, according to a weekly reader poll conducted by MSPmentor, the ultimate guide to managed services. Here are the details.

In this podcast, Fonality CEO Chris Lyman describes competition with Digium, his views on contributing to Asterisk, and the IP PBX market for partners. Here's the scoop from The VAR Guy's site.

Take a look at this letter from a Microsoft Corporate VP to the company's partners, and you'll see the biggest problem facing Microsoft isn't rivals nor open source. Instead, Microsoft's own marketing and branding has created too many product names and variants for partners to master. Here's the complete Microsoft letter, posted on The VAR Guy.

IBM's latest Lotus Symphony suite plus growing relationships with Red Hat and Canonical could put new competitive pressures on Microsoft Office. Here's the scoop from The VAR Guy.

Very few Ubuntu users, at least outside of the enterprise, pay for support. Instead, they turn to various free resources, ranging from IRC channels to the documentation wiki to the official Ubuntu Forums, when they run into trouble. While free support in the Ubuntu world is often quite good, it could be improved if those providing it paid more attention to a few key guidelines.

Microsoft has extended the download deadline for its Windows 7 public beta. The new deadline suggests that demand for the beta might be lower than Microsoft originally expected.

Red Hat North American Channel Chief Roger Egan answers six key questions about Red Hat’s partner strategy for the new Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 and JBoss Middleware. Here's the podcast.

Plenty of folks are getting certified on Linux. But what's the next big open source certification? The VAR Guy is betting on Asterisk.

Slowly but surely, Canonical's Ubuntu operating system is making the leap from desktop Linux onto the server, thanks to increased server application support, reports WorksWithU, the independent guide to Ubuntu. Here's the scoop.

Opengear, which develops open source-based network management tools, plans to double the size of its channel partner program in 2009. Here's how, reports The VAR Guy.

Canonical's ambitious plan to create a mobile internet device (MID) market based on Ubuntu appears to be behind schedule and facing numerous challenges. Here's the scoop from Works With U, the independent guide to Ubuntu.