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Canonical and the Ubuntu community are busy polishing Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx), a major upgrade set to debut in April 2010. But before the new Linux distribution arrives, the Ubuntu community will host an Ubuntu Global Jam from March 26 to March 28. The big questions: Will customers also join in the Jam? Should they? Here are some thoughts.

Open Tech, an open source partner program organized by Tech Data, has gained a new member. Specifically, KnowledgeTree, an enterprise content management company, has joined Open Tech. The VAR Guy welcomes the news but our resident blogger wonders: Are VARs starting to embrace Open Tech and the rival Open Source Channel Alliance? Here are some clues.

Each day, the drumbeat for Ubuntu Server Edition is getting a little louder. In recent weeks, a growing list of ISVs (independent software vendors) have vowed to support Canonical’s Linux server operating system. The latest example involves Mailspect launching antispam and email archiving solutions for Ubuntu Server. Here's the scoop.

Chalk up another win for open source. Opengear, which makes an open source server console, has won a $1 million business deal. Plus, Linode (a virtual private server specialist) is embracing Opengear. Here are quick details.

Talk about a careful balancing act involving Ubuntu. Canonical appears to have financial relationships with both Google and Yahoo. Here’s how the relationships — involving Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) and Google Chrome OS — are shaping up. Plus, the potential financial implications for Canonical. Here's some perspective.

Originally, I strongly believed Canonical needed to build rock-solid relationships with traditional server vendors like Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. But fast forward to the present and my thought process is changing. In fact, I think Canonical has found a back door into the server market. It's cloud computing. Here's what I mean.

On January 27, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will share his vision for the Oracle-Sun Microsystems business combination. But before the Oracle webcast kicks off, industry rivals and partners are offering a key piece of advice to Ellison: Don’t mess up Sun’s Java programming language. Here’s the scoop — including perspectives from Red Hat’s middleware team.

Talk about owning a market -- or at least a term… In a savvy marketing move, Red Hat has launched opensource.com, a web site that strives to explore “the different ways that the open source way is already having a positive impact on business, education, law, government and our daily lives,” according to a Red Hat spokeswoman. But here's one important question about the site.

Launched in 2007, Red Hat Exchange sounded promising. But over time, Red Hat gradually rethought the online marketplace. Visit the original site now (http://rhx.redhat.com) and Red Hat Exchange seems non-responsive. Does it still exist? Here are thoughts from The VAR Guy.

Shortly after the European Union approved Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems (and MySQL), I interviewed Ingres President and CEO Roger Burkhardt about his views on the Oracle-MySQL combo. Here are his thoughts.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is pretty darn confident the European Union will soon approve Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems and MySQL. Still skeptical? Ellison is planning a big announcement on January 27. Here are the details.

As Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) nears its April 2010 launch, Canonical is taking steps to make Ubuntu Linux more attractive to business customers. The efforts include new support pricing plus closer relationships with application developers. Here’s some analysis.

Digium this week is officially launching Asterisk Exchange — an online marketplace that allows customers and partners to piece together solutions involving Asterisk (the open source IP PBX). If successful, Asterisk Exchange could expand the ecosystem for alternative VoIP and unified communication solutions. Here’s the scoop, including an interview with Digium CEO Danny Windham.

CompTIA — a large association serving the IT channel — has longstanding relationships with Microsoft and the traditional software industry. But one of CompTIA’s new board members could help to drive open source solutions across the IT channel. Here’s the scoop.

At first glance, Red Hat’s biggest rival is Microsoft. But take a closer look and Red Hat seems to be equally concerned about two other fierce rivals. They are (1) Free Linux and (2) so-called low-cost Linux support offerings from Novell and Oracle. Here’s the story.

Canonical, as The VAR Guy expected, is set to announce some Ubuntu news at IBM’s Lotusphere conference in Orlando the week of January 18. The effort — which includes channel partners — will involve Canonical and Ubuntu countering Microsoft’s Windows 7 push.

Open source appliance maker Vyatta has unveiled the 3500 networking appliance family, which combines routing, firewall and VPN functionality. Vyatta claims it costs 1/20th the price of rival Cisco gear. But are partners and customers listening?

The major Linux distribution providers — Red Hat, Novell and Canonical — are preparing to attend IBM’s Lotusphere 2010 conference (Orlando, January 17-21). The VAR Guy is keeping a particularly close eye on Canonical, backer of Ubuntu. Here’s why.

For the second time in recent days, a major SaaS software company says it’s introducing tools to remotely manage Linux devices. Suddenly, VARs and managed service providers seem to be jumping on the Linux remote management bandwagon. Here’s why.

Amid the pomp and circumstance of tablets and hybrid netbooks from CES 2010, there’s a few notable introductions that slipped under the radar. The HP Mini 5102 — backed by a SUSE Linux option — is one of those devices. Coming soon from HP, the Mini 5102 is shipping with some interesting features. Here’s the deal.