Canonical on Tuesday posted its Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device (MID) Edition to its website.

This is a developers’ release based on the desktop edition of the Linux fan-favorite Ubuntu operating system. The release should help developers tailor apps to smaller screens

Ubuntu MID will start to follow the usual Ubuntu six-month release cycle starting with the Ubuntu 8.10 release.

MySQL is switching version control ships, leaving BitKeeper for Bazaar, an open-source version control system.

“Both the main MySQL server code and the code for many ancillary projects have been converted to Bazaar and are published on Launchpad,” blogged Kaj Arno, MySQL’s vice president of community. (Sun Microsystems bought MySQL earlier this year.) Read more »

MySQL execs took to the road this week, talking up the database’s increasing relevance to big businesses.

The message at a Boston event Tuesday night, was that Sun Microsystems’ buyout of the open source database company gives MySQL easier entry into very large accounts.

Read more »

Given all of the apparent love flowing from Microsoft to its new-found open source allies and given that Microsoft’s go-to open soruce guy Sam Ramji keynoted at the recent EclipseCon 2008 conference, the obvious question is: Will Microsoft join The Eclipse Foundation?

Ramji listened politely and said it was not something under consideration. Funny. BEA Systems once said the same thing and look where they are now!

He then also quoted physicist Niels Bohr “who has a few more Nobel prizes than most of us.” Bohr once famously said  that predictions are difficult, “especially if they’re about the future.”

But finally Ramji deferred to the Eclipse Foundation’s executive director Mike Milinkovich: “He said Microsoft would probably join before Sun will,” said Ramji.

So that leaves the door open then.

Barbara Darrow can be reached at bdarrow@techtarget.com.

Here’s an interesting juxtaposition. On Tuesday, Microsoft’s  Sam Ramji talked up the company’s progress wooing open-source ISVs to Windows Server 2008.

 Zend Technologies, the self-proclaimed “PHP company,” is the first ISV  to qualify  for Windows 2008 certification  (for its Zend Core.) Certification is a step up from the “works with”  Windows 2008 label.

Also SpikeSource, which tests various  software stack components together, is now testing with Windows Server 2008 and its virtualization components. JasperSoft’s business intelligence offering will also work with Windows Server 2008, And Spikesource will test its stack against Windows Server 2008, much as it did with Windows Server 2003 but will now incorporate the new server’s virtualization capabilities  into its test suite

While coming from the LAMP-y open source world, all of those vendors had previously talked up the need for fruitful coexistence with Microsoft, so none of this was particularly surprising.

 But, minutes after talking with Ramji (who was in San Francisco at the Open Source Business Conference), a Microsoft partner called to complain that the bulk of his other software vendors (his anti-virus/anti-spam provider, his data back up vendor etc.) are dragging their feet in fully supporting Windows Server 2008. These are allegedly the good citizens of the Microsoft stack world and yet …

Why would these Microsofty ISVs be so slow on the draw?

Simple, he said: They got caught up in Microsoft’s Vista push-and were then burned by  slow adoption. These ISVs are not feeling particularly disposed to go to the same level of effort on Windows Server 2008. They will support it but they’re in no hurry to do so.

One of these vendors, when he pressed, said not to expect native Windows Server 2008 support until at least April of 2009.

These “ISVs have a bad taste in their mouths because of Vista and I think they’re punishing me and my clients,” said this VAR.  Microsoft pressured these vendors in getting their wares ready for the big Vista wave which turned into a ripple.  Also, even Microsoft insiders blame the company for breaking app compability in Vista while still pressuring partners to get their apps ready for what became a moving target release.

Anyone can understand their concerns.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if Microsoft has a better stable of open source players suited up for Windows Server 2008 than traditional Microsoft allies?

Barbara Darrow can be reached at bdarrow@techtarget.com.

Just in case the public relations buzzwords haven’t been jumping out at you enough, PR-mageddon! this week unveils a new feature: bold buzzwords. Enjoy …

Microsoft
Microsoft Launches Document Interoperability Initiative, March 6: “The launch of this initiative is an important step in Microsoft’s commitment to implement a set of strategic changes in its technology and business practices to expand interoperability through the implementation of its interoperability principles. The Document Interoperability Initiative focuses on bringing vendors together to promote interoperability between document format implementations through testing and refining those implementations, creation of format implementation test suites, and the creation of templates designed for optimal interoperability between different formats.”

SAP
SAP and IDS Scheer Partner to Bring Customers Easier Modeling and Visualization of Enterprise Services, March 4: “Users will have visibility into a variety of scenarios including the harmonization and standardization of heterogeneous IT landscapes and the implementation of specific process innovations enabled by enterprise services.”

Oracle
Oracle Strengthens Content Security, Enhances Enterprise Content Management Platform, March 3: “Oracle also delivered several new features to Oracle Universal Content Management including: Support for BPEL-based (Business Process Execution Language) processes, or standards-based integrations and processes, which helps streamline the integration of document workflows and enterprise applications to enable organizations to more effectively use enterprise content, improve efficiency and accelerate business processes.”

Symantec
Symantec Delivers Endpoint Encryption Offering to Help Protect Sensitive Information, March 3: “Designed to help customers protect sensitive information and mitigate the increasing risks of data loss, Symantec Endpoint Encryption offers scalable, centralized management for easy deployment and administration. Customers may also leverage existing tools through synchronization with Microsoft Active Directory for group policy management.”

PR-magdeddon! is a new feature here on Channel Marker, where we call out vendors for press releases that aren’t exactly the most clear and concise things in the world. Check out last week’s debut if you missed it and then read this week’s worst offenders. If you’re brave enough to try and decipher what these press releases mean, leave a comment.

Red Hat
CSC Standardizes Nordic Linux Hosting Services on Red Hat Solutions, Feb. 20: “CSC has also implemented the Red Hat Network Satellite Server systems management platform for a unified and centralized management, administration and provisioning  model for its Linux systems.”

Oracle
Oracle Unveils New Release of Oracle Identity Manager, Feb. 20: “A component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Identity Manager is a user provisioning and administration solution that enables organizations to automate the process of adding, updating and deleting user accounts from applications and directories; and helps improve regulatory compliance by providing granular reports that attest to who has access to specific data, resources and information.”

SAP
Hobby Lobby Turns to SAP to Help Build Its Future, Feb. 20: “Demonstrating ongoing leadership in providing innovative solutions to retailers worldwide, SAP America, Inc., a subsidiary of SAP AG (NYSE:SAP), today announced that Hobby Lobby has selected SAP to provide a stable, predictable solution platform and a clear solution road map to help the company manage operations and continue to grow successfully.”

Symantec
Symantec Backup Exec 12 Delivers Certified Data Protection for New, Existing Windows Systems, Feb. 19: “Backup Exec 12 rapidly restores data from a single pass backup with patent-pending Granular Recovery Technology, which obviates the need to run mailbox backups to recover individual Exchange emails, and makes it easy to restore SharePoint, SharePoint Services, and Active Directory data-from documents to user attributes and properties-in seconds.”

EMC is buying Pi Corp., and Pi’s founder, Paul Maritz, will now head EMC’s software-as-a-service effort. The news was reported by The New York Times and others.

And it is extremely interesting news. Maritz was a well-regarded top Microsoft exec for 14 years before taking his act on the road.

In its earlier “about” statement on the company Web site , Pi said its “next generation software environment” was expected to be available in both “free (open source) and licensed forms.” That open source verbiage is now only viewable in a cache. Hmmm.

Note: Pi ’s environment was going to help “users create, repurpose, store, share and access personal information in novel ways.” (Personal Information = PI. )

Barbara Darrow can be reached at bdarrow@techtarget.com.

Prove it.

The European Commission has heard it all before when it comes to Microsoft’s vows to be more interoperable and generally better behaved than in the past. Basically, Microsoft has never won good marks in the “works well with others” category, at least in the eyes of European regulators.

Microsoft’s latest interoperability  efforts — were outlined today by Steve Ballmer, Ray Ozzie, Bob Muglia and Brad Smith on a conference call. And the moves appear to be pretty aggressive.

But the EC appears unmoved.

In a statement posted to its Web site, the EC says it’s heard all this before.

Money quote:

“The European Commission takes note of today’s announcement by Microsoft of its intention to commit to a number of principles in order to promote interoperability with some of its high market share software products. This announcement does not relate to the question of whether or not Microsoft has been complying with EU antitrust rules in this area in the past. The Commission would welcome any move towards genuine interoperability. Nonetheless, the Commission notes that today’s announcement follows at least four similar statements by Microsoft in the past on the importance of interoperability.”

So there.

VMware’s attempts to drive a wedge between virtualization partners Microsoft and Citrix first became public last month, when what was supposed to be an internal memo to VMware’s sales staff leaked online.

Today the feud escalated when Mike DiPetrillo posted on his personal blog a scathing 650-word criticism of Citrix’s XenSource acquisition. Virtualization.info identifies DiPetrillo as a VMware industry research and competitive analysis engineer and says his attack is “even worse” than last month’s leaked memo.

In the blog entry, “Citrix Acquires XenSource — Still Scratching My Head,” DiPetrillo says “it’s just crazy” that Citrix spent $500 million for XenSource and claims that XenSource will have lost $13 million for Citrix from the fourth quarter of 2007 through 2008. He also goes after Citrix’s channel strategy:

“In Q3 XenSource announced 1,000 customers. On the call they said they added another 400 customers. Good growth! That puts the total at 1,400 customers. Then came the partner count - 1,817 partners certified to sell XenSource. Hmmm. So now we have 1,817 partners trying to get business from the 1,400 customers that total $2 million in revenue (that’s $1,100 in revenue per partner). Good days to be a Citrix partner.”

Virtualization.info notes that the leaked memo and DiPetrillo’s blog will “radically change” VMware’s relationship with Citrix, which had been “great” before the XenSource acquisition. And it raises the question of whether DiPetrillo was giving just his opinion or taking part in a larger “guerrilla marketing” campaign by VMware against Citrix:

“While it’s true that this is an employee opinion appearing on a personal blog it’s worth to note that Mike’s position in the company is highly relevant, and that VMware has a very strict policy about personal blogging efforts. It’s hard to believe that this post appeared without being reviewed first (no matter what’s the official position of VMware).”