According to Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical, the company has been approached “by a number of OEM’s who want to sell netbooks (small, low-cost laptops with an emphasis on the web) based on Ubuntu.” That’s impressive. Here’s some more analysis on of the news.

The paint has barely dried on Ubuntu 8.04 when Canonical announced at the Computex trade show in Taiwan on June 3rd that it will be releasing a new version of Ubuntu 8.04 just for Intel Atom-based netbooks and UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs).

Canonical has announced the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, a version of Ubuntu designed for small computers with Intel's new Atom processor. These include: netbooks; (small laptops such as the Asus Eee PC), and MIDs; (small handheld computers).

IBM, Canonical and Simmtronics today announced they will market a low-cost, Intel Atom-based Simmtronics netbook in emerging markets. The Simmbook will be preloaded with the IBM Client for Smart Work Linux distro, based on Ubuntu Netbook Remix, and will first be made available in Africa for just $190, says IBM.

Canonical has finally “branded” its Internet-centric device strategy for Ubuntu. The company says “Ubuntu Netbook Remix” devices will emerge as affordable, power-efficient, small screen devices driven by Intel’s Atom processor. But which PC companies and device makers will back Ubuntu on netbooks? Here are some thoughts, plus four key questions facing Canonical’s netbook strategy.

Sorry if I’m the only person who’s confused about Canonical’s mobile Linux strategy. The company has at least two Ubuntu software projects — one for Netbooks, the other for Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) — that sound strikingly similar. So what’s the difference between Ubuntu for Netbooks and Ubuntu for MIDs? Canonical gave me some answers during OSCON 2008.

It all started at the beginning of last week. I wanted my 11th and 12th Grade ICT students to start using Ubuntu Linux on their laptops/netbooks at the beginning of the second quarter. I knew it would take me nearly two weeks to get them working Ubuntu Linux systems on their laptops or netbooks...

This week, Canonical announced a reworked version of Ubuntu at the Computex trade show in Taiwan. The new Ubuntu Netbook Remix (UNR) is specifically built for new so-called "netbooks" -- mini laptops with small screens geared towards Web browsing and built on Intel's new, low-power micro-architecture called Atom.

Recently Ubuntu/Canonical contacted me for the use of buntu in our domain name. I had emailed them long before any announcement of the site but with no reply until the site began to attract visitors/users.

I understand that Ubuntu/Canonical has a job to do when it comes to protecting their best interest. But Ourbuntu is doing nothing more than giving users the ability to setup a Ubuntu/Linux based system and sell it at no cost. Which helps promote the use of opensource software.