Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced that Technalign, an Open Source and Linux solution provider, has chosen Kubuntu as the base for its future Linux solutions.

"Technalign has been delivering complete and easy-to-use Linux solutions since 2002, and we are very pleased to be using Kubuntu as the basis for the next release of TaFusion Pioneer," said Dianne Ursini, CEO of Technalign. "We will also work with Canonical to ensure we return more of our development effort back to the Ubuntu community."

Kubuntu, a member of the Ubuntu family, is based on the K Desktop Environment and is proving very popular with users who are moving from non-Linux desktops, or migrating from other Linux desktop systems.

"Canonical is delighted to partner with Technalign. With the experience that Technalign has with consumer-based Linux solutions, and their willingness to fully embrace source, we expect to see more collaboration between us," explained Malcolm Yates, ISV and Partner Manager at Canonical.

Technalign includes the ability to play many media types and maintain compatibility with popular non-open source applications within Pioneer, combining this with the ease-of-use of Kubuntu will give users and easy-entry to Linux.

TaFusion Pioneer is targeted at new Linux users, and is available in the United States through many retail computer stores. Providing compatibility with many existing, proprietary applications, TaFusion Pioneer enables migration to Linux with the minimum of effort. By running the most popular desktop Office suite, users can keep their data safe and secure, and initially not learn a new application.

As experience with Linux grows, then proprietary applications can easily be replaced by the equivalent free, open source applications. To enable this, the Open Office productivity suite, Firefox web browser and Kontact, a full personal information manager are all included, together with many more applications.