A few weeks back, IBM and Canonical, the head sponsor of Ubuntu Linux, announced a plan to deliver Linux desktops and software to Africa. The effort was originally announced over a year ago, in August of 2008 as the Microsoft-free PC Effort. The basic idea was to have a Linux operating system with IBM smart client applications called Open Collaboration Client Solution software, for enterprise apps.
Surprisingly, IBM and Canonical have now announced the launch of Linux and cloud-based desktop software in the U.S. The solution that has now been announced leverages the IBM Client for Smart Work, which includes the same set of IBM's collaboration software. It seems that Windows 7 has prompted this rather competitive marketing solution.
In their press release, IBM and Canonical have stated that the cost of migrating to Windows 7 will be as much as $2,000 for most PC users, with hardware accounting for much of the expense. Linux together with the IBM software is according to the two partners, much cheaper to deploy. Courtesy of blog.internetnews.com
