LinuxWorld does not have streaming video access to any of its proceedings, which is something the show should consider in the future. This missing element ruins the lead I was going to use for this newsletter, which would have read: "If you can't make it to Boston for LinuxWorld, you can be there virtually." I'd then segue into discussing one of the big themes of the show: virtualization.

So I guess I can still do that. Virtualization actually will be all over the show this week. Dell's CTO, Kevin Kettler will touch on the benefits of virtualizing not just Linux servers, but clients as well. In the data center, virtualization's benefits are clear - lower costs through server consolidation onto fewer hardware platforms. On the client side, Kettler says, blade-based PCs that can virtualize the operating systems used by clients could make security and desktop applications easier to manage.

Behind this virtualization theme, product announcements abound at LinuxWorld this week. An interesting one is a joint announcement between 3Com and IBM; the companies have developed a version of 3Com's Linux-based VCX IP PBX platform to run as an virtual Linux server on an IBM System i (AS/400) midrange server. The vendors say this combination of Linux-based telephony with IBM collaboration and messaging apps - such as Lotus Notes - can help reduce server costs.

Other virtualization news comes from Virtual Iron, XenSource and SWsoft. This news includes:

* Virtual Iron integrating its virtualization and policy-based management tools with the Xen virtualization technology.

* XenSource's release of XenEnterprise, which allows multiple Linux instances to run in one box.

* SWSoft's Data Automation Suite, which manages virtual servers under the vendor's Virtuozzo virtualization product.