bproffitt's blog

With Linux powering nearly every mobile device that hits the market, the demand for Linux-related jobs is rapidly growing despite national unemployment figures. Combine this with the ongoing success of companies such as Red Hat and it’s easy to see why demand for Linux professionals is on the rise.

That’s why today Linux.com is adding an important function that will connect job seekers, employers, and recruiters.

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Thanks to tech like Moblin and Android, netbooks, smartbooks, and smartphones are all the rage right now for consumers, but Linux is also showing up on the very sales counters where all of these devices are being bought.

While there's no denying the rise of Linux on these consumer systems, there's been a rather quiet but steady rise in Linux deployments on point-of-service (or point-of-sale) systems.

Retail systems are an interesting niche for Linux...

To say there was a lot of Linux news coming out of CES last week was an understatement. As I watched the morning TV shows present their inevitable "look-at-what-the-nerds-have-made-this-year" segments from the CES floor during the event, I had the distinct pleasure of turning to my family many times and proclaiming: "See that? Runs Linux."

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There's been a lot of technology predictions for the upcoming year, with Linux playing a big part in the future direction of tech. Fortunately, we won't have to wait long to see how some of those predictions will play out: it's just a mere three more days until the start of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

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After five years as CEO of Canonical Ltd., Mark Shuttleworth is stepping down from that role, as current Canonical COO Jane Silber steps up as the new executive leader of the popular Linux distribution vendor.

The changeover is starting now, and will be effective on March 1, 2010.

Outside observers might get more than a little jolt at the news, but in reality Shuttleworth and Silber have shared many of the same responsibilities leading Canonical since Silber joined the company in 2004. This shift represents a definite change, but not a radical one.

The technology event season has come to a close, as the holidays approach and 2009 draws to its end.

This was a great year for events in the Linux community. Several regional Linux and open source shows filled the calendar around the world, so most Linux enthusiasts got a chance to visit at least one event near them. There were also the big shows, like OSCON, Open Source World, CeBIT, and, of course, LinuxCon, which came off as an unqualified success for the Linux Foundation.

As you get your holiday shopping done, you may find yourself wondering what you can get for the student in your life. Thanks to a new Linux Foundation program, if you sign up for an individual membership with the LF, the LF will donate a free one-year student membership either to a student you know, or students who are seeking a sponsored membership.

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There was a good story on Ars Technica last week about the current state of browser share on the Internet. Browser news is always interesting because it gives us one window into how far open source has come on the desktop.

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Some of you might be too young to remember the space race: the frenzied decades of the '50s and '60s where the US and the USSR poured massive resources to be the First [Anything] in space. But all of us might have a chance to watch some of this in microcosm as OEM vendors jockey for the coveted "first Chrome OS netbook shipped" position.

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If you have any gold in your portfolio, then you are indeed a fortunate soul. With gold at an all-time high, upwards of US$1,100 per Troy ounce, lots of people with this precious metal are feeling quit flush right now.

No need to look at the URL field; you haven't accidentally landed on an investment site. Trust me, I'm the last guy you want money advice from. But something's going on with the gold market right now that could be analogous to a potential problem with cloud computing.