Since coming onboard with the Linux Foundation, one of the things that I have missed is taking a look at the week gone by to see what's what. I'm glad to say that things have settled down enough that I can now take the time to provide some analysis to what's happened this week.

Time to Grab the Pitchforks? Hardly...

The big news this week came out of the Lenovo Group, which announced they were no longer planning to sell pre-loaded ThinkPads and ThinkCentres to consumers. Needless to say, there were some folks in the community who were a wee bit upset.

I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed, too. Pre-loaded Linux machines are a good way to get Linux out to the masses. But then I noticed some bit of news that seemed to be oddly buried in all of the reports. In the last paragraph of the Computerworld report, Lenovo spokesman Ray Gorman is cited as saying "...that Lenovo is slated to deliver Linux-based servers and IdeaPad netbook models in September and October, respectively." The netbook angle is also highlighted by Joe Panettieri in his blog.

In my mind, getting another Linux netbook model on the market is a big plus. In fact, it's probably a better impact on potential Linux users than the ThinkPads since the Lenovo Linux ThinkPads were (a) hard to find and (b) kind of expensive. Netbooks, especially those that show up in retail chains, are neither of these.

It's too bad this news wasn't emphasized more. Perhaps that will change.

Another Repository?

Sun Microsystems announced Project Kenai this week... a free software repository: "It’s a developer hub with SCM and issue tracking and forums and all the other stuff you’d expect. We built it because we needed it, but it’s open for use by the world for free."

First off, that's sounds cool. Second off, is this really something the world needs? With SourceForge, CollabNet, BitBucket, and GitHub (to name a few), there seems to be an abundance of forges and repositories out there. Why does Sun feel it needs another one?

I noted that Sun's xVM Server was hosted on the new Kenai site. Is it a clue to why a new repository was wanted?  That Sun didn't want such a project hosted on a third-party site? If so, it's another sign of Sun's apparent need to control a lot of aspects of their open projects.

Mozilla Plans to Rule the World (More)

Mitchell Baker outlined some mid-range plans for Mozilla this week. Her 2010 plans are pretty straightforward:

• Deepen Mozilla's role as an Internet centerpiece
• Improving data collection and management
• A push into the mobile market
• Increase Firefox mindshare and marketshare momentum

Nothing really surprising here, but I gotta ask: how does Google's Chrome fit into the picture now?