Xandros and LinuxCertified have announced a partnership that teams the Xandros Linux desktop with LinuxCertified line of laptops. Currently targeting the educational market, the notebooks offer a Linux desktop with developer tools targeting students, educators, researchers, and developers in several North American universities, and are available online.

The LinuxCertified-Xandros laptops support fast ethernet, high-resolution screens, DVD & CD-R/W, and 3-in-1 card readers along with optional 802.11b wireless networking. Development tools are also included.

Models LC2210 and LC2410 are both being offered at the introductory price of US $1400. Quantity discounts are also available.

Gateway, Inc. today launched services that are designed to tackle the mid- to small- sized (SMB) business customers' IT needs with an emphasis on migration strategies. Gateway Professional Services are tailored for business, education and government customers ranging from 100-seat firms to enterprise-class organizations, announced the company. Gateway's OS Migration Services is the first offering available.

The new services team IBM Global Services with Gateway, offering customers access to over 5,000 highly trained, certified experts nationwide. Customers benefit from best-practice methodologies for the plan, design, implementation and training for their IT projects, using Gateway services says the company.

Future services that Gateway expects to roll out this year include server consolidation services, network assessment and design services, security consulting services and training.

Gateway supports Microsoft products and SUSE Linux.

" At the Intel Developer Forum, Intel announced that it would be giving Linux its full support in future software and driver releases. Intel's commitment to supporting Linux in the same release cycle as Windows should be solidified by the end of 2004. Previously, Intel had been very reluctant to support Linux, but recent criticism from open source developers has helped Intel change its tune. "

Turns out the DoD loves Linux after all. Pamela Jones of Groklaw recently posted an email exchange with a Chief Scientist for a variety of special programs at the Pentagon. In the dialogue, the insider offers many examples of Linux being used successfully in the US military -- in the intelligence community and embedded devices. "Mac586," as he is known, provides details about using Linux in the field during the Kosovo conflict as part of a successful mission to locate a downed pilot. His verdict for Linux? Expect additional rollouts in the government sector, and perhaps more public deployments soon.

Linux is finding its way into vertical markets like healthcare. This BusinessWeekOnline article discusses how Albany-based Capital Cardiology Associates moved from Microsoft Windows to Linux systems throughout the 160-person company. The organization is not only a pioneer in the medical community, now they are on the forefront of a global movement to bring choice, greater security, lower cost, and increased interoperability to the desktop.