IBM readies Microsoft-free desktop

An article in The Wall Street Journal claims that the firm has developed a virtual desktop system that runs in a virtual environment on servers in the back office. It is based on Ubuntu Linux and includes a suite of office applications and collaboration tools based on IBM's Lotus software products.

The paper quotes IBM figures for the Virtual Linux Desktop as costing US$59 to US$289 per user, which IBM believes will have a significant influence on sales.

"Deploying your technology this way is going to save you something more than 50 per cent of your total costs," Jeff Smith, IBM's vice president for open source and Linux, told The Wall Street Journal.

"As customers face an increasingly challenging economic situation, they are looking at everything they are spending money on."

According to the article, the Virtual Linux Desktop is available now.

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