Stock up on Ubuntu-branded merchandise and software

LONDON/Lexington, Mass., November 18, 2008: Canonical launched today an U.S.-based on-line shop for Ubuntu-branded merchandise and software. With a new fulfillment house in St. Louis, Missouri, shipments are faster and less expensive for Ubuntu users and enthusiasts in the U.S.

The U.S. Ubuntu Shop (shop.ubuntu.com) carries a wide range of Ubuntu-branded items, from best sellers like organic cotton t-shirts to CDs and DVDs of the latest Ubuntu software, and will soon include Kubuntu merchandise for the first time.

Canonical's international shop, on-line since August 2007, also carries commercial software, support and training.

“Our goal is to sell fun, useful and beautiful items for people who love Ubuntu,” said Andrew Rodaway, marketing director at Canonical. “The U.S. has long been the most popular shipping destination, so we're delighted we can save our customers shipping costs as well as reduce the environmental impact of air freighting goods. Buying Ubuntu merchandise is a great way to show support for the project.”

The U.S. shop was 'soft-launched' during the Ubuntu 8.l0 release on October 17, 2008. With the distribution and ordering system fully tested it is now on general release.

The U.S. and international shops can both be found at shop.ubuntu.com.

Canonical Ltd, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is a global organisation headquartered in Europe committed to the development, distribution and support of open source software products and communities. World-class 24x7 commercial support for Ubuntu is available through Canonical's global support team and partners. Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world.

Ubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.