IBM Virtual Bridges and Canonical today announced general availability of a Linux-desktop solution designed to drive significant savings compared with Microsoft-desktop software by amplifying Lotus collaboration software and Ubuntu to a larger user base through virtualization.

The lotus flower is nature’s “slip n’ slide,” where water beads skate along each petal’s surface like liquid metal. Now, chemists reveal the ying to the lotus’ frictionless yang: rose petals. Chemists have found the physical basis for the rose’s ability to grip water droplets in place, even when the flower is upside down.