From the "what?!" files:

Big news friends, Canonical (the lead commercial backer of Ubuntu Linux) has formally joined the Linux Foundation.

Shocking isn't it?

Shocking in that Ubuntu is one of the most hyped (if not THE most) of all Linux distributions and Canonical was NOT previously a member of the Linux Foundation. Certainly you can be part of the Linux community without being a member of the Linux Foundation as Debian and Gentoo users know full well. Certainly the OSDL (the predecessor group) to the Linux Foundation was an expensive undertaking in terms of membership. But the Linux Foundation since its inception more than 18 months ago has tried to be as inclusive as possible.

There are those that have argued (not me necessarily) that Ubuntu/Canonical does not participate in standards and upstream development (particularly kernel.org) enough or at all given their user base. Being (finally) part of the Linux Foundation might help to change that perception and bring Ubuntu deeper into the mainstream of core Linux development.

"The Linux Foundation occupies a critical, non-commercial function in the use and popularization of Linux around the world. We've always seen the Linux Foundation's value and are pleased to now become an official member and support its activities. We look forward to working with them to continue the march of Linux in all areas of computing," said Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu program manager and CTO, Canonical in a statement.