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Canonical has updated its flagship Ubuntu Linux operating system to version 8.10 “Intrepid Ibex” with the KDE-centric distribution, Kubuntu, the first to ship with KDE4 as the default desktop.

Canonical, the commercial backer of the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system, is not yet turning a profit, but founder Mark Shuttleworth said Monday during a teleconference that he is prepared to bankroll the company for three to five more years.

Since the free, online Wikipedia user-created encyclopedia began in 2001, the Linux-based IT infrastructure behind it has been expanded and lassoed together to keep up with the demands of the popular Web site.

Canonical, which wants Linux to challenge Apple's Macintosh in usability on the desktop, is unveiling on Monday upgrades to its Ubuntu Linux distributions, offering 3G and virtualization improvements. Version 8.10 of Canonical's Desktop and Server Linux distributions are being announced Monday and will be available Thursday.

Canonical, the commercial sponsor of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has joined the Linux Foundation, the foundation said Monday.

Ubuntu Linux Founder Mark Shuttleworth urged development of a Linux desktop to rival what Apple has done in this space and aired a vision of software changing the world.

To keep up with the growing popularity of the recent wave of low-cost, flash drive-equipped, wireless, small form factor "netbook" computers, Ubuntu Linux this week announced its own specially modified Linux operating system that can run on the machines.

Yet another six months has passed and another Ubuntu Linux release is out the door. April 2008 signals the release of Ubuntu 8.04, or Hardy Heron, and follows the Feisty Fawn and Gutsy Gibbon releases of 2007 with the intention making Linux as desktop friendly as Windows or Mac OS X.

With its release today of its Ubuntu 8.04 Long Term Support (LTS) Server Edition, Linux vendor Ubuntu is firmly aiming its long-awaited, enterprise-ready server operating system at the world of business computing.

When 3Ghz dual core computers running 2GB of RAM weren't being used for many heavily CPU-intensive applications in a Victorian secondary school library, the school's IT department initially joked about replacing them with older and previously abandoned hardware. Then it saw the serious side.

With all the people out there willing to offer help on Linux, getting started should be pretty easy. But with many options in introductory books and easy-to-install distributions, choosing a place to start can be the hard part.