Canonical vs. Microsoft: Netbook Cat Fight

The VAR Guy loves cat fights as much as the next guy. Jennifer Aniston vs. Angelina Jolie? Classic but a bit dated. Canonical vs. Microsoft? Not quite as sexy, but certainly timely and just as much fun. The latest spat involves Canonical dismissing Microsoft’s claims in the netbook market. But the feud ignores the bigger netbook problem.

The clawing started when Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc declared victory in the netbook market, noting third-party research that said Windows has 96 percent market share in the netbook industry. Meow.

Canonical wasn’t going to sit on its paws. The Ubuntu proponent fired back with a blog (written by Chris Kenyon) titled Microsoft, FUD and the netbook market.  For those who are new to the IT industry, FUD is a classic term that stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. In other words, Canonical thinks Microsoft is spreading misinformation in the netbook market in order to ensure victory for Windows.

The Bigger Story

Frankly, The VAR Guy thinks the netbook market has a larger problem than the Windows vs. Linux debate. Regardless of which operating system you choose, some netbooks come with cheap keyboards, lousy batteries and other money saving items that deliver less-than-stellar user experiences.

No doubt, the forthcoming Ubuntu 9.04 and Windows 7 launches will trigger the next battle in the netbook war. Let’s hope hardware improvements keep pace with operating system improvements.

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