tvnet

An online retailer specializing in mini-ITX boards, systems, and accessories has started selling mini-ITX and pico-ITX systems pre-installed with Ubuntu Linux. Logic Supply says that as a Canonical Solution Provider partner, it has staff ready to support approved systems under the popular desktop and server Linux OS.

In a posting on the company's corporate weblog, the company's resident graphic artist, Kristina Drobny, reported that the company tested many of the mini-ITX and pico-ITX products that it distributes, in order to determine which work best with Ubuntu. To be supported, boards were required to:
Boots without errors

All peripherals recognized and function correctly

Graphical user interface functions correctly -- desktop displays properly and standard screen resolutions are supported and display correctly

Audio device works correctly

So far, boards approved through the program include:
VIA EPIA PX10000G (VIA VX700 chipset)

MSI MS-7265 (Intel 945GM chipset)

MSI MS-9642 (Intel 945GM chipset)

IEI KINO-9452 (Intel 945GM chipset)

Jetway J9F2-KHDE (Intel 945GM chipset)

MSI MS-9803 (Intel GM965 chipset)

VIA EPIA SN (VIA CN896 chipset)

The news comes just days after industrial PC vendor Ampro announced plans to distribute Ubuntu with every one of its board-level system products. Board vendors, board distributors, chip vendors... these days, everyone's a Linux distributor! And that's a good thing. I mean, 15 years ago, you paid $15,000 or more for a copy of Unix that didn't work as well as Linux does today.