OStatic

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, and the analysts at RedMonk presented the results of a recent survey conducted on Ubuntu's use in server deployments. Nearly 7,000 people (representing the same number of organizations) participated in the survey, which was promoted on Ubuntu's web site and several Linux server-specific forums.

Canonical's marketing head, Gerry Carr, says that the survey is essential reading for any organization using (or considering using) Ubuntu's Server Edition. After taking a closer look at the survey, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in current server technologies, or where the server market is headed -- even if Ubuntu Server isn't part of the equation.

Last year, following a crash in its share price and the replacement of its CEO with a seasoned Microsoft executive, I wrote about the perils that virtualization titan VMware faces. The problems come from two trends: 1) open source virtualization offerings; and 2) free virtualization within operating systems. From the free virtualization project Xen to the virtualization that Microsoft, Sun, Red Hat and others offer in operating systems,VMware's proprietary strategy looked mighty shaky. Today, VMware made what I consider the shrewdest move it could: launching an open source client for virtual desktops.

It's no secret at this point a few of us at OStatic are passionate about the use and adoption of open source software in educational environments. Education is an area where the use of open source software feels so natural, but hardware lifecycles, the timing of support and license expirations, and budget crunches slow down the adoption process for many educational institutions.

The Brazilian government officially embraced open source software in its schools, announcing it had selected Userful,Positivo, and ThinNetworks to supply 324,000 virtualized desktops in each of the country's municipalities. This is not only the largest deployment of virtualized desktops in the world -- it's also the largest single deployment of Linux desktops.