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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Cyber Cynic

Canonical to offer Ubuntu desktop support

53 comments

TAGS:Canonical, desktop linux, desktop support, Linux, Steve George, support, Ubuntu
IT TOPICS:Linux, Management, Operating Systems, Software

Do you want to save desktop support money? Do you have Windows and Mac-using friends or co-workers who want to try desktop Linux? Well, in either case, you're going to want to check out Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, latest desktop support offerings: Starter, Advanced and Professional.

Canonical will be announcing these new support services for the Ubuntu desktop for individuals and small businesses tomorrow, July 31st, in London. These services are particularly designed for small business owners who are looking for cost effective alternatives to Windows and Apple Mac.

You may not have know it, but Canonical has long been in the Linux support business. With this new offering, though, Canonical is making a special effort to reach individual users and SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) users.

Steve George, director of Canonical's Corporate Services division, said, "Canonical's Desktop Support Services provides an easy, inexpensive way to get Ubuntu up and running in the home, home office and small business - reaching the vast majority of computer users. With our team supporting them, Ubuntu is ideal for people who just want their computer to work, where the goal is to get up and running with no fuss, focusing on the things they want to accomplish." George added, "So, if you have an old computer, or you're just stuck with Vista, you can install Ubuntu and experience peace."

To be exact, here's what Canonical is offering with its new Desktop Support Services. First, you get both phone and e-mail support with all these plans. You also, of course, Ubuntu updates and upgrades.

The Starter Desktop Service supports installation, set-up and basic functionality. To Canonical that means helping you to use the Internet, creating documents play music and videos and so on. For a year's support, it will cost you 54.99. A three-year plan will run you $140.22. I see this as a home-user plan.

The Advanced Desktop Service is for more experienced users who need help migrating files and settings from a previously used operating system or assistance with desktop publishing and personnel accounting. According to the Ubuntu store's description, "The Advanced support service for Ubuntu Desktop Edition is for experienced users who use a wide range of features and applications. Ubuntu Desktop Edition is a computer operating system made available free of charge every six months for use with PCs. This service enables an Ubuntu user to perform an advanced installation, use a wide range of applications and manage their system, with access to Canonical's expert team if there are any problems.' This plan costs $ 114.98 per year or $293.23 for three-years. This is the plan that would be appropriate for a business Ubuntu desktop user.

Finally, there's The Professional Desktop Service. This comes with installation support that ensures the Ubuntu machine is set up on the corporate network and integrated into existing IT services. And, yes, that includes help integrating your Linux desktop into a Windows networks. It also comes with support for desktop virtualization and guarantees you quicker access to support personnel. This plan, which is what I'd give to your office network or system administrator, starts at $ 218.54 per year or 558.42 for three-years.

Sounds high to you? If it does, you haven't priced Windows or Mac support lately.

While I would have liked to have seen group pricing-a five-user Advanced Desktop Service package for example-this is still an attractive deal. If you've been thinking about saving money by switching to desktop Linux, but the lack of an individual or SMB support plan was stopping you, you can take your foot off the brake now. Canonical is ready to get your Ubuntu desktop Linux rolling.

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Where's that popcorn?

Submitted by Anonymous on July 31, 2009 - 8:40 P.M.

First, Canonical (read Ubuntu), Xandros and Mandriva deserve a lot of credit and admiration. They are quintessential entrepreneurs swimming upstream in a very strong current to get Linux onto the desktop of consumers, SMBs and enterprises. Both Red Hat and Novell have backed off of desktop linux for the consumer, but are moving full speed ahead with the enterprise desktop.

Microsoft is fighting for it's continued dominance in the enterprise, SMB and consumer space. Their Linux competition? Cisco Systems, Google, IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Dell, Sun Microsystems, Canonical, Xandros, Mandriva, Asus, etc. And don't forget Apple, which is not Linux, but is *nix. It will be an epic battle. Where's that popcorn?

Some history:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/125853-the-15-most-cash-rich-companies?source=feed
"The 15 Most Cash Rich Companies
by: Joseph Calhoun March 13, 2009
"2. Cisco Systems - (CSCO), Total Cash: $29.531 Billion
3. Apple - (AAPL), Total Cash: $25.647 Billion
7. Microsoft - (MSFT), Total Cash: $20.298 Billion
8. Google - (GOOG), Total Cash: $15.846 Billion
11. IBM - (IBM), Total Cash: $12.907 Billion
13. Intel - (INTC), Total Cash: $11.843 Billion
14. Hewlett Packard - (HPQ), Total Cash: $11.255 Billion
15. Oracle - (ORCL), Total Cash: $10.646 Billion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Project
"The GNU Project is a free software, mass collaboration project, announced on September 27, 1983, by Richard Stallman. It initiated the GNU operating system, software development for which began in January 1984. The founding goal of the project was, in the words of its initial announcement, to develop "a sufficient body of free software [...] to get along without any software that is not free."
"To make this happen, the GNU Project began working on an operating system called GNU. GNU is a recursive acronym that stands for "GNU's Not Unix". This goal of making a free software operating system was achieved in 1992 when the last gap in the GNU system, a kernel, was filled by a third-party Unix-style kernel called "Linux" being released as Free Software, under a GNU GPL v2 license.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel
"The Linux kernel was initially conceived and created by Finnish software engineering student Linus Torvalds in 1991.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM
"1875–1925: The origin of IBM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_AIX_(operating_system)
"AIX Version 1, introduced in 1986 for the IBM 6150 RT workstation, was based on UNIX System V Releases 1 and 2.
http://www-03.ibm.com/linux/community.html
"Supporting the community development of Linux since 1999
http://www-03.ibm.com/linux/dist.html
"IBM maintains strategic partnerships with both Red Hat and Novell for their enterprise Linux distributions. All IBM systems are certified for Red Hat and Novell enterprise Linux server products and supported on a similar basis as IBM supports AIX, i5/OS, and z/OS. IBM also supports over 500 middleware products on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewlett-Packard
"HP incorporated on August 18, 1947, and went public on November 6, 1957.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP-UX
HP-UX (Hewlett Packard UniX) is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on System V (initially System III).
"Versions 1.0 (1984)
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-224696.html
April 20, 1999
"HP says it will beat IBM out the Linux support gate, offering technical support for Linux users worldwide by May 3, and in the process start to put financial pressure on the companies that helped launch the Linux revolution. Hewlett-Packard will offer worldwide technical services and support for Intel-based computers running the four major commercial distributions of Linux: Red Hat, SuSE, Pacific HiTech, and Caldera Systems, the company said today.
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3625871
August 14, 2006
"HP today said it will support Debian GNU/Linux on its ProLiant and BladeSystem servers, adding to a short list of Linux distribution support that includes Novell SUSE and Red Hat.
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/02/04/hp-releases-netbook-interface-for-ubuntu/
Feb 4th 2009
"Hewlett Packard has released a custom version of Ubuntu Linux designed for netbooks. For the HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition, to be exact. Under the hood, the operating system is based on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. But what makes the Mi Edition software stand out is the graphical user interface which looks nothing like Ubuntu or even Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft
"1975–1984: Founding
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/
"Microsoft claims that free software like Linux, which runs a big chunk of corporate America, violates 235 of its patents. It wants royalties from distributors and users. Users like you, maybe. Fortune's Roger Parloff reports.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/04/19/ms.asks.15.for.xp.netbooks/
4/19/2009
"Microsoft's determination to wrest control of netbooks from Linux has seen it drop the bulk price of Windows XP for the systems to under $15 per copy, according to a leak from an unnamed source.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/072009-microsoft-linux-source-code.html
"In an historic move, Microsoft Monday submitted driver source code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPLv2 license.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Microsystems
"Sun Microsystems, Inc. founded on February 24, 1982.
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1016-994602.html
March 28, 2003
"Sun Microsystems will phase out its customized Sun Linux and move instead to partnerships with Red Hat and other mainstream Linux companies, executives said Friday.
The move, as first reported by CNET News.com, will let Sun join with a much larger group of software business partners and will bring the company's Linux strategy into closer alignment with the strategies of its major server competitors, IBM, Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat
"Founded in 1993
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/04/red-hat-novell-desktop-linux-ready-for-workplace-not-home.ars
"In a statement issued by Red Hat's desktop team last week, the company says that building a general-purpose desktop Linux operating system isn't a profitable strategy. "Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops, this is much harder to do than with servers," Red Hat wrote. "The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today's Linux desktops simply don't provide a practical alternative."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell
"The company began in Provo, Utah as Novell Data Systems Inc. in 1979, a hardware manufacturer producing CP/M based systems.
"In November 2003, Novell acquired SuSE, a developer of a leading Linux distribution, which led to a major shift of power in Linux distributions.
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/04/red-hat-novell-desktop-linux-ready-for-workplace-not-home.ars
"Although Novell and Red Hat both agree that desktop Linux is mostly an enterprise play right now, Novell still continues to maintain a presence in the consumer-oriented retail space with its own community-driven distribution, openSUSE. This is the point at which Red Hat and Novell's desktop strategies diverge considerably. Users can purchase boxed openSUSE installation media with 90-day phone support and printed manuals from retail outlets. Red Hat doesn't do anything similar for Fedora. OpenSUSE also has a two-year update and support cycle which makes it more viable for regular consumers on the desktop.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
"In July 2005, Google acquired Android, Inc., a small startup company based in Palo Alto, California, USA. Android's co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin ... At Google, the team, led by Rubin, developed a mobile device platform powered by the Linux kernel which they marketed to handset makers and carriers on the premise of providing a flexible, upgradeable system. On 5 November 2007, the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of several companies which include Texas Instruments, Broadcom Corporation, Google, HTC, Intel, LG, Marvell Technology Group, Motorola, Nvidia, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile was unveiled with the goal to develop open standards for mobile devices. Along with the formation of the Open Handset Alliance, the OHA also unveiled their first product, Android, a mobile device platform built on the Linux kernel version 2.6. Since 21 October 2008, Android has been available as open source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Corporation
"June 16, 1977: Oracle Corporation incorporated in Redwood Shores, California as Software Development Laboratories (SDL)
"October 1998: Oracle 8 and Oracle Application Server 4.0 released on the Linux platform.
"October 25, 2006: Oracle Corporation announces Unbreakable Linux

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_Corporation
"Intel was founded on July 18, 1968, as Integrated Electronics Corporation and based in Santa Clara, California, USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moblin
"Moblin, short for mobile Linux, is an open source operating system and application stack for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), netbooks, and nettops. Built around the Intel Atom processor, current builds are designed to minimize boot times and power consumption to create a netbook and MID-centric operating system.
"Intel launched the Moblin.org site in July 2007 and significantly updated the site in April 2008 with the launch of the Intel Atom processor family at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. In April 2009 Intel turned Moblin over to the Linux Foundation. Development is now overseen by the Moblin Steering Committee, currently consisting of Imad Sousou, Arjan van de Ven, Matthew Allum, and Rusty Lynch. Barring Matthew Allum, founder of Intel's recently acquired OpenedHand, all committee members are Intel employees.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9021078/Dell_launches_three_Ubuntu_Linux_PCs
May 24, 2007
"Dell Inc. will officially launch its first three consumer PCs running the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux OS on Thursday -- two desktops and an Inspiron E1505n notebook PC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cisco_Systems
"Cisco Systems founded in 1984
http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/networking/?p=476
"Cisco has been talking about the “network as a platform” for a long time, but what does that actually mean, and what does the AXP network module have to do with it?
"The Cisco Application eXtension Platform (AXP) is made up of a hardware card (three different models), modified Linux software that runs on the card, and a program for software developers. You could also say that the AXP represents “network virtualization.” ... what Cisco’s AXP offers is network virtualization (NV). With NV, you are moving applications that typically run on a server into the network.
"To make this work, Cisco AXP provides an open Linux development environment. That’s right — the AXP is a card that goes into your Cisco router and that card runs a hardened version of Linux, customized by Cisco. So, you aren’t running Linux on your current Cisco router CPU, RAM, and Flash or in the IOS. You are running Linux on a card that is inserted into the router.
"Once you have this card and the Linux OS, you can then run third-party applications on that platform. Think about that for a minute. What if you could run a protocol analyzer like Ethereal or an IPS like SNORT “in your router?” What if you could run WAN Compression, performance monitoring, and network management software ‘in your router?” Wow — that would be amazing!
"AXP is the first example I’ve seen that really lives up to the idea of Cisco’s “network as a platform” solution. With the AXP, the router becomes a platform, not only to route packets, but also to provide a platform to run any application you want — whether it is a network-related application or an application that is tailored to your business.

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Get real - License is not the cost driver...

Submitted by Anonymous on July 31, 2009 - 5:52 A.M.

Saving money on Desktop support?

Linux is a great operating system.
But, as long as Linux (any distribution) try to position itself as cheaper alternate, is unlikely to get dominating position.

Been there, seen that in practice...

Get real, stop the 'cheap' pitch.
Sell Linux on its value...

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License is cost driver

Submitted by Brent R Brian on July 31, 2009 - 6:14 A.M.

Recent converts to Linux keep saying the same thing, in the press:

* No / low purchase price
* No annual licenses
* No auditing expenses
* No new hardware

Check out the GAP ....

And in the top 15 skills to have list the top 3:

Java (free)
Linux (free)
Virtualization (free in most cases)

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people are willing to pay -

Submitted by Anonymous on July 31, 2009 - 9:46 P.M.

The major issue Linux really has is that people are willing to pay for what they get. I know the whining that will follow about how little they get with Windows.

That's sort of the point. Windows though it costs money isn't the point. It's the software that Windows gives the people access to.

Linux fanboys are some of the dumbest people I've ever met. They howl about how wonderful Linux is and how terrible Windows is never really understanding that No one cares about either OS except the dedicated idiots that don't do any real work.

Normal humans (that's about 99.9% of the people out there) just want access to their favorite or familiar software. Suggest Linux and changing their office suite or favorite game, and Linux is out the window so to speak.

In the cases where DT Linux gives access to their favorite software without complexity, then Linux is viable. Otherwise it's Windows or Apple.

Windows can be unstable, unsecure, uncool, and just about every other "un" in the book including unfree and people will still buy it because it gives access to the software they are familiar with.

People are willing to pay for familiarity.

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Normal computer users?

Submitted by Anonymous on August 1, 2009 - 11:30 A.M.

"Normal humans (that's about 99.9% of the people out there) just want access to their favorite or familiar software. "

For 99% of the hapless Windows users out there this amounts to looking at their digital camera pics, doing email, web browsing, some word processing, and a light spreadsheet. If you rename the equivalent Linux programs the same as the Windows programs most of those casual users would not be able to tell the difference.

"...people will still buy it [Windows]..."

Those casual users we just talked about do not choose to buy Windows. They have it just because it came with the computer.

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Actually, people can tell the difference

Submitted by Anonymous on August 1, 2009 - 11:11 P.M.

For so long the Open Sourcers have claimed that their equivelant programs are just as good as the Windows programs. GM claimed they were as good as the Japanese for decades as well.

People can tell the difference, they do complain when you attempt to change their beloved spreadsheets. Just try to substitute Open Office for Excel. You'd be on the losing end of a blood bath.

Always remember that people are highly resistent to change, even if dealing with a monopoly. It's the devil they know. The other software is another devil they really don't want to dedicate the time to get to know. Too expensive.

By the way, as for licensing costs being a driving factor, the average CPA charges well over $100 per hour. Two hours fighting a problem they already solved in Excel for the sake of switching to Open Office more than paid for the Microsoft license. They have a job to do, we only support.

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"Two hours fighting a problem they already solved in Excel"

Submitted by Richard Chapman on August 2, 2009 - 12:12 P.M.

Until the next upgrade that is. An upgrade they must pay for. In spite of your marketing-type logic, people, enterprises, municipalities and governments are leaving Microsoft's locked-in "solution".

I don't know who you are trying to convince. Anyone who might believe you will never see your words. Everyone else knows better.

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Needed for ages

Submitted by Tolga on July 31, 2009 - 2:16 A.M.

We all knew that desktop users needed support. I have put that in the forums, in all my conversations on the subject and on article on Bright Hub:

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/linux/articles/32747.aspx?p=3

It's already too late. From the beginning Canonical should be doing this. SuSE, before Novell was doing this but for a price that was a little bit high.

Newcomers to Linux was asked to google, they were asked to go to the forums, read the man pages, which finally made them go back to Linux. Was it so hard before? I really don't think so.

Thank you Canonical. To provide the support and to do it after so many newcomers are lost.

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Ubuntu > OS X

Submitted by anechoic on July 31, 2009 - 12:11 A.M.

I wrote an article for http://createdigitalmusic.com
talking about my recent switch from OS X > Ubuntu for my music production work.
All those Windows and OS X fanboys are funny but little else.
Oh and yes you can find a netbook with Linux installed -- the company is called Dell - perhaps some of you have heard of them?
:)

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Is this like that claim back in May about Netbooks?

Submitted by Anonymous on July 30, 2009 - 11:35 P.M.

On May 21, 2009 you said, "Today, you still need to do some hunting for a Linux desktop equipped PC. By the end of the year, Linux desktop netbooks, laptops, and PCs are going to be everywhere."

It's almost impossible to find a preloaded Linux Netbook now, lots worse than when you made that May 21 post. Somehow I doubt that finding Linux netbooks will be any better in December.

I hope this prognostication goes better. Gee wiz, If you are as right about this support system as you were about netbooks, Linux is doomed I tell you, Doomed!

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