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There are downsides, though. Although the company’s software ensures no one user will hog too many computing resources, that means that high-end tasks like serious gaming or graphics arts applications are probably out. Still, it’s proved to be a good option for those in emerging markets as well as for schools here in the U.S.

Dukker said the company has deployed over 1 million seats over the past 20 months, with half of those in emerging markets like Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Among the company’s deals is one to provide computing for every elementary and secondary school student in Macedonia. Adding Poole to the company’s board, he said, is a sign of the company’s maturity.

Poole won’t have an operating role, but will help guide strategic planning and serve as a global ambassador, the pair said. Poole is also taking a small stake in the company, joining its existing backers, which include two venture capital firms and a Korean company that provides rare gasses for use in computer chip manufacturing.

Through its own virtualization software, the Redwood City, Calif., company allows a single server to serve up to 30 users a PC-like experience–allowing an entire classroom or business to be wired for about $175, including keyboard, monitor, software, and the hardware terminals.

“It really is kind of a signpost of us leaving the company’s adolescence,” he said. Among the other tech names on NComputing’s board is Advanced Micro Devices’ longtime marketing chief Rob Herb.

Poole, who left Microsoft earlier this year after more than a decade, will share the chairmanship with Stephen Dukker, the eMachines founder who has been NComputing’s sole chairman and remains its chief executive.

NComputing’s approach takes advantage of the fact that basic computing tasks use only a fraction of the power of a standard PC or server. The result not only saves money, but also power. That’s especially important in places like India where access to the grid can be limited.

“I was really impressed technically with what’s going on and, of course, the price speaks for itself,” Poole said.

In a telephone interview, Poole said he got to know NComputing as part of his final role at Microsoft, where he helped head the company’s emerging markets efforts.

NComputing, the start-up that aims to provide cheap Internet access by allowing one PC or server to be shared by many, is set to announce Tuesday that former Microsoft executive Will Poole will join its board as co-chairman.

The plans call for cross-distribution of AOL and Bebo content and applications. For example, AOL will promote Bebo’s original programming across several AOL channels, and Bebo will integrate AOL music and entertainment content.

The new unit will include Bebo, AIM, ICQ, and AOL’s other community platforms, with a reach of about 80 million users worldwide, the company said Monday. Joanna Shields, CEO of Bebo, will serve as executive vice president of AOL and president of People Networks.

The new unit will combine several social-media technologies at AOL. People Networks will also include widget technology company Goowy Media and social-search question-and-answer service Yedda.

AOL has closed its acquisition of Bebo, which it plans to fold into a new People Networks business unit.

AOL in March announced the $850 million acquisition of Bebo, designed to boost the company’s international presence. The youth-oriented social network is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand.

A product called Red Hat Global Desktop that is targeted specifically at resellers, which focus on emerging markets, has been delayed for almost a year because of business issues. The company hopes to release it “soon,” according to its corporate blog.

Red Hat likes Linux on the desktop, but it also likes making money.

Instead, Red Hat is focusing on desktop software that works with its server products aimed at businesses and developers.

An explanation: as a public, for-profit company, Red Hat must create products and technologies with an eye on the bottom line, and with desktops, this is much harder to do than with servers. The desktop market suffers from having one dominant vendor, and some people still perceive that today’s Linux desktops simply don’t provide a practical alternative.

The Linux Desktop team explained:

The company’s desktop software unit on Wednesday released an update on its plans, saying it will focus its efforts on specific markets but not face off against Microsoft in the consumer market.

Red Hat’s Fedora Project has announced several cool things this week. The first was Intel’s defection from Ubuntu to use Fedora in its Moblin (Mobile Linux Internet Project). Intel’s Dirk Hohndel billed it as driven by the project’s preference for Fedora’s RPM-based packaging system, but it’s still significant, given Ubuntu’s momentum in mobile.

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But the most interesting Fedora announcement may well have had nothing to do with its code, and everything to do with the process that creates that code. I’m referring to Fedora Talk, a voice-over-IP system that “allows Fedora contributors to use any standard VoIP hardware or software to sign into the Fedora system and make and receive calls to other Fedora contributors.”

OStatic highlights some reasons that this is important, and why Fedora couldn’t simply use Skype. It’s an intriguing way for the Fedora community to tighten the development process by bringing developers together. IM, mailing lists, and e-mail are great, but talking with someone is sometimes the best way to make things happen.

I’ll never forget my online correspondence with Comcast’s Frank Eliason earlier this year. The small Twitter message I sent chronicling my woes in setting up my new Internet connection got an immediate response from him. As “Director of Digital Care” for Comcast, Eliason frequently goes above and beyond the call of duty by tracking and responding to nearly all mentions of his company on social networks and blogs (you can track his efforts here).

Most companies don’t have a Frank though, and in a time when layoffs mean deep cuts in staffing, sometimes it’s the customer service that gets the axe first. To help take some of the pressure off of trying to stay on top of your company’s online reputation, there’s a tool called Brandwatch that does the work for you.

In addition to your own company, you can use the tool to track competitors. For fledgling companies, this could be an easy way to figure out how your competitor is failing in some areas and where it’s getting noticed for others.

All this work doesn’t come cheap. The beginning subscriptions start at $477 per user, per year, although anyone can get a free, weekly analysis of any company name sent to their e-mail in-box by signing up on this page. If you want to know more, you should watch the demo video I’ve embedded below.

Brandwatch introduction from IanProCastsCoUk on Vimeo.

The idea is simple. Like Google Alerts, you simply give it the name of your company and it starts tracking when and where it’s showing up. This includes online newspapers, blogs, forums, and even social networks. You can monitor these mentions one at a time in list form, or see them combined together in a central location, which includes an analytics engine to weed through what’s important.

To cut through this massive influx of data, there’s a tool that figures out how much influence each source has. Smart users can take advantage of this to figure out which places are worth targeting for the appropriate follow up. This includes individual writers at multi-author blogs, and how far positive or negative their mention of your company went.

Frustrated or confused by the nondelay delay of the DTV switch? Sound off below.

Which stations are switching early? An updated document at the FCC’s DTV Web site will let you know which (if any) stations are in your area (PDF). Here in New York–as in most large metro areas–no stations are transitioning early. But those of you with antennas in smaller or rural markets may begin to see stations blink out in the next 24 hours, if they haven’t already.

Anyone who still has questions can read the in-depth CNET Guide to the DTV Transition.

Just last week, President Obama signed the DTV Delay Act into law. But despite appearances, the delay isn’t mandatory: about one-third (650-plus) of the nation’s TV stations will be pulling the plug on their analog towers by the end of Tuesday. The remaining stations will be taking advantage of the new legislation, transitioning to digital between March 14 and June 12.

Remember: anyone with cable, fiber, or satellite TV service shouldn’t see any disruption in service. Likewise, anyone with an antenna attached to their DTV or DTV converter box should be up and running on the digital versions of their local stations. (See a side-by-side comparison of analog and digital broadcasts during New York City’s October 2008 analog shut-off test, for example.)

Meanwhile, some analog stations will be running a “night light” service for the next few weeks–basically a public-service announcement confirming that antenna viewers need to get a DTV converter box if they wish to continue receiving the channel. (My take: if the FCC had mandated a more aggressive version of this sort of on-screen reminder months ago, people would’ve been better informed, and no delay would’ve been necessary.)