The London OpenStack meetup.

This is the 3rd meeting to take place and promises to be a good one with 3 talks planned so far:

* Software defined networking and OpenStack – VMWare Nicera’s Andrew Kennedy
* OpenStack Summit Overview – Rackspace’s Kevin Jackson
* An introduction to the Heat API – Red Hat’s Steven Hardy

For a 4th talk we are looking at a customer example – watch this space.

To come along please register at:

http://www.meetup.com/Openstack-London/

The MySQL Meetup.

This group hasn’t met for quite some time but MySQL remains as popular as ever and new developments with MariaDB mean the group has plenty to catch up on. There 2 talks planned so far:

* HP’s database as a service – HP’s Andrew Hutching

* ‘Whatever he wants to talk about’ – MySQL and MariaDB founder Monty Widenius.

With David Axmark also in attendance it could be one of the most significant MySQL meetings in London ever. Not one to miss if you are interested in MySQL, MariaDB or related technologies

MySQL meetups are managed in Facebook – please register to attend here:

http://www.meetup.com/The-London-MySQL-Meetup-Group/events/110243482/

Of course given the events are running in rooms next to each other you are welcome to register for both and switch between them based on the schedule. We hope to see you there!

Today, Microsoft Corp. has announced the general availability of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, its public cloud offering with the ability to create and manage both Windows and Linux virtual machines. As part of Canonical’s Certified Public Cloud Program, Ubuntu on Windows Azure is fully certified and has been tested and optimized by Canonical and Microsoft for excellent performance and reliability. Enterprises that require both Windows and Linux can choose the right operating system for running their workloads based on application performance and availability.

Canonical and Microsoft have been working together to make Ubuntu run seamlessly on Windows Azure. As Bob Kelly, Corporate Vice President, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft commented:

“Windows Azure is committed to openness and interoperability. Having Ubuntu available to Windows Azure users is a big step forward for interoperability in the public cloud. Our customers can deploy mission critical applications on both Windows Server and Linux and across both public and private clouds.”

Ubuntu Server is highly available, secure, built for scale and provides the tools that simplify and reduce the cost of cloud deployments. So, for enterprises looking to deploy demanding cloud oriented workloads such as Hadoop, Cassandra and other scale out type applications,  Ubuntu on Windows Azure will be a familiar and well suited offering that provides maximum deployment flexibility. This includes hybrid clouds where applications and data can remain behind the company firewall for security or compliance reasons, and that are able to access public cloud resources on demand.  As the leading guest OS in most major public clouds, Ubuntu can be deployed across multiple public clouds at scale for pricing and redundancy benefits as well as avoiding lock-in to a single cloud provider.

At Canonical, we invest in the Ubuntu experience to provide the most complete combination of performance, update handling, compliance and reliability in the market. We also extend our commercial offerings of support, systems management, audit compliance and IP assurance to commercial customers using Ubuntu on certified public clouds.

In May 2012, Dell launched the OpenStack Cloud Reference Architecture using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on select PowerEdge-C series servers. Today’s announcement expands upon that offering by combining the benefits of Ubuntu Server Certification, Ubuntu Advantage enterprise support, and Dell Hardware ProSupport across the PowerEdge line.

Dell customers can now deploy with confidence when purchasing Dell PowerEdge servers with Dell Hardware ProSupport and Ubuntu Advantage.  When these customers call into Dell, their service tag numbers will be entitled with ProSupport and Ubuntu Advantage, which will create a seamless support experience via the collaborative Dell and Canonical support and engineering relationship.

In preparation for this announcement, Canonical engineers worked with Dell to enable and validate Ubuntu Server running on Dell PowerEdge Servers.  This work resulted in improved Ubuntu Server on Dell PowerEdge support for PCIe SSD (solid state drives), 4K-block drives, EFI booting, Web Services Management, consistent network device naming, and PERC (PowerEdge RAID Controllers).

Dell hardware systems management can be done out-of-band via ipmi, iDRAC, and the Lifecycle Controller.  Dell OMSA Ubuntu packages are also available but it is recommended to use the supported out-of-band systems management tools.  Dell TechCenter is a good resource for additional technical information about running Ubuntu Server on Dell PowerEdge servers.

If you are interested in purchasing Ubuntu Advantage for your Dell PowerEdge servers, please contact the Dell Solutions team at Canonical.  If your business is already using or thinking about using a supported Ubuntu Server infrastructure in your data-center then be sure to fill out the annual Ubuntu Server and Cloud Survey to provide additional feedback.

Mobile World Congress kicks off today and we’re gearing up to show off Ubuntu running on multiple devices. We’ll be demonstrating phones, tablets and desktops at the stand, have Ubuntu developers flashing spare hardware, as well as be showing integration and interoperability with Orange and Deutsche Telekom through the GSMA’s One API initiative.

GSMA’s OneAPI initiative aims to provide application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable applications to exploit mobile network capabilities, such as messaging, authentication, payments and location-finding with a cross-operator reach. For example, a payment network API could be used to add an in-app purchase directly to the user’s mobile phone bill.

Ubuntu is the first smartphone operating system to be able to demonstrate integration and interoperability with a carrier’s authentication and billing systems. Working with Deutsche Telekom and Orange, we’ll show how a single API can be used to instantly log users in with their operator identity and seamlessly link that with Ubuntu One, Ubuntu’s identity and payments services, and provide carrier billing options upon purchase of music and eventually, apps.

This is a massive step forward for the industry as the GSMA and partners such as Canonical, are spearheading an initiative to standardise access to operator facilities via network APIs across all operators. The initiative will benefit operators, developers and consumers:

• It puts operators in a position to forge stronger relationships with their customers.
• For developers, OneAPI reduces the time and effort needed to create applications for and content that is portable across mobile operators, increasing reach and ultimately enhancing the consumer experience.
• For consumers, it makes it really quick and easy to make application purchases directly from their phone. It’s also more secure because it’s not necessary to input credit card details for each purchase.

Also at Mobile World Congress:

• Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu, will participate in a keynote panel discussion alongside Mozilla and Tizen on Tuesday 26th Feb at 18.00 at the MWC Conference Auditorium and broadcast live on Mobile World Live
• We’ll be taking part in the App Developer Day on Tuesday 26th Feb. Stuart Langridge, technical architect at Canonical will be presenting the Ubuntu phone, SDK, HTML5 and native apps as well as discussing app development for Ubuntu on phones and tablets. We’ll also have engineers available at the event to flash spare handsets with Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu. This will take place from 9.00-9.30 and 11.40-11.55, and 13.30-14.00 in Hall 8.0, Theatre A.
• The GSMA Seminar on “Unlocking Value with Network APIs” will run on Thursday 28th from 9am to 10.30 am in Room CC1.1. Canonical’s Stuart Langridge will present and demo the Ubuntu Phone during the session. We’ll also be demonstrating Ubuntu’s OneAPI solution at the GSMA stand daily.
• Look out for Ubuntu engineers who will flash spare hardware with developer images for phone and tablet throughout the show close to the Ubuntu stand.

As we reported in November, the Dell XPS 13 is a high-end ultramobile laptop, offering developers a complete client-to-cloud experience. It is the result of Dell’s bold Sputnik initiative which embraced the community and received terrific response from developers around the world.  With Ubuntu 12.04 LTS preloaded, the machine is perfect for developers and anyone who wants high speed, brilliant graphics and smart design.

If you’re keen to get your hands on a new Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition with Ubuntu pre-loaded, check-out our web page for more details and links:

  http://www.ubuntu.com/partners/dell/dellxps

We’ll post more links allowing you to buy in additional countries as soon as we can.

To celebrate this release Steam has every Ubuntu title on sale for 50-75% off until Thursday, 21 February at 10:00am US Pacific time in what is the first of many Steam sales. Steam also brings with it some amazing Valve titles on Ubuntu, Half-Life, Counter-Strike and the free to play Team Fortress 2. As a launch giveaway and for the hardcore gamers who need every item in Team Fortress, for a limited time when you play Team Fortress 2 on Ubuntu you will get a Tux penguin item to keep or trade.

We welcome all the new Steam users who can now upgrade to Ubuntu. Steam Big Picture running on your Ubuntu computer connected to the living room TV is a great way to experience the future today. Canonical looks forward to the steady progress of games from all our partners on Ubuntu on the desktop and soon on the Ubuntu phone and tablet in due course.

The Canonical/Teuto.net stand will be in the Open Source Arena (Hall 6, Stand F16, (030) and we will be showcasing two enterprise technology areas:

• The Ubuntu Cloud Stack – demonstrating end user access to applications via an OpenStack cloud, powered by Ubuntu,
• Ubuntu Landscape Systems Management – demonstrating ease of management of desktop, server and cloud nodes.

We will be running hourly demonstrations on our stand and attendees have the chance to win a Google Nexus 7 tablet! Simply come to out stand and watch a short demo or your chance to win If you would like to pre-register for a demonstration, email me at anthony.beckley@canonical.com

We look forward to seeing you at the show!

CeBIT draws a live audience of more than 3,000 people from over 100 different countries. In just five days the show delivers a panoramic view of the digital world’s mainstay markets: ICT and Telecommunications, Digital Media also Consumer Electronics.
To learn more about CeBIT click here.

When we began developing Unity a few years ago, the aim was to create a single family of interfaces that work the same way on different devices. This means that unlike most of our rivals, we are able to use a single underlying OS across all the devices which people use, be they PCs, phones or any other device.

With the arrival of Ubuntu on smartphones, we can reveal the extent to which that work has paid off. It’s not just that it boasts a beautiful phone interface (which it does). What is remarkable about the Ubuntu phone interface is the extent to which it is instantly recognisable as Ubuntu in terms of how everything looks and works, yet it is perfectly designed for its form factor. Ubuntu makes finding and switching between apps and content easier than any other mobile OS I’ve ever used.

This focus on usability has always been a driving principle of the Ubuntu project, and it’s wonderful to seeing our multi-platform vision in action. But there’s another way in which Ubuntu changes the game – and that’s in the way that apps are developed.

We introduced the concept of installable web apps in the 12.10 desktop release, last October. But they really come into their own on the phone. Developers can re-purpose web applications for the phone, using the very same web app API, or they can adapt HTML5 apps they’ve already written for other mobile platforms. Both require minimum effort, which should ensure that we have plenty of new apps coming to the platform in the coming months. It’s the development of native apps, however, where things really get interesting.

By using the new QML-based Ubuntu SDK, it’s possible to develop a native app in such a way that makes it available for both the desktop and the phone – not to mention any further form factors we address in the future. As long as you create the right interfaces, you can deliver an app for all Ubuntu form factors, but build once and upload once to the same single store, the Ubuntu Software Centre. It’s this point that I hope really enthuses the developers in the Ubuntu community – not to mention all those developers around the world who work on the web or in mobile and who already use Ubuntu on their desktops.

Ubuntu phones aren’t yet available for purchase, but we are ready to start working with partners with an aim to releasing phones before the end of 2013. You can see Ubuntu for phones demonstrated at the Ubuntu booth at CES next week and we’ll be showing it again at MWC in Barcelona in February. We’ve got more interesting things to come in the first half of the year but, for the time being at least, my lips are sealed. So watch this space.

You can learn more about Ubuntu on phones at ubuntu.com/devices/phone

To start developing your first Ubuntu mobile app, go to developer.ubuntu.com/phone

These games debut in Ubuntu thanks to the Humble Indie Bundle 7 which is our favorite cross platform, pay-what-you-want, DRM-free bundle that also includes donations to great charities. Game delivery on Ubuntu with the bundle is powered by the Ubuntu Software Center which brings easy installs that are kept up to date with all of Ubuntu just like all of the other thousands of apps available. Enjoy this latest bundle, we will.

If you are curious about the current indie gaming trend, this bundle is for you because it includes the award winning documentary Indie Game: The Movie no matter what you pay.