"There is a business behind the popular Ubuntu Linux operating system and according to its lead commercial sponsor Canonical, that business is good. Canonical is set to debut its latest Linux release Ubuntu 8.10 also known as the Intrepid Ibex on October 30th. The new release will include networking, virtualization and user management improvements.

The Ibex release will also be a milestone for Canonical, a company that is barely four years old that is now challenging established Linux and proprietary vendors alike. Canonical is claiming that its users, contributors and revenues are all growing as Ubuntu aims to grow its overall share of the operating system market.

"In terms of numbers we're very confident this is an 8 million plus user base of active users," Chris Kenyon, director of business development at Canonical told InternetNews.com. "That is a hard thing to count and there are lots of issues about methodology for counting but I have seen nothing that sheds doubts on that."

Link: http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3780651