August 24, 2006 1:31 PM PDT
Commercial marketing for Ubuntu Linux begins
The first sign of the commercialization of the Ubuntu version of Linux has appeared. Literally.
A billboard on Highway 101 north of Silicon Valley in California declares, "Ubuntu: Linux for servers and human beings," an expansion of the standard "Linux for human beings" tagline. The extra words reflect the growing ambitions for the software to be more than just a widely used desktop software product.
A South African company, Canonical, sponsors Ubuntu, and the most recent version 6.06, called Dapper Drake, now comes with long-term support that the company sells.
Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank. 
