Dell Approves Consumer Computer Shipped W/ Linux

[Mudi]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6506027.stm

Hmm... I've disliked Dell for some time now... but this is making me reconsider somewhat. I'm excited to see what comes of this.

 

[nickspoon]

So far, Dell have only half-fulfilled their promise. Actually, they haven't really done much at all. All they are doing is offering desktops and laptops at higher prices than their Windows counterparts, and the only difference is that the harddrives are blank and a copy of FreeDOS is provided to install if you really want to. And you can only find these computers if you visit dell.com/linux. There is no link from the main site, this is not presented as an alternative.

It may be a step in the right direction, but Dell have yet to shine for me.

 

[DemonStar55]

So far, Dell have only half-fulfilled their promise. Actually, they haven't really done much at all. All they are doing is offering desktops and laptops at higher prices than their Windows counterparts, and the only difference is that the harddrives are blank and a copy of FreeDOS is provided to install if you really want to. And you can only find these computers if you visit dell.com/linux. There is no link from the main site, this is not presented as an alternative.

It may be a step in the right direction, but Dell have yet to shine for me.

that's what they have in for now, but with this article it's talking about pre-loading PCs with linux, guaranteeing hardware support etc. They plan on using as much hardware that have free drivers supported by the linux kernel as possible, most likely choosing nVidia for graphics etc and things like that. So this is pretty much a big step in the right direction. And they actually get the whole open-source idea too. (or so it seems)

They will most likely have multiple distros, but they have not decided on a set yet. (they said distrobution(s) in one article making me believe they will have multiple, because a lot have said to)

Just taking a guess at distros: Red Hat and SuSE and their community based ones (FC, oS) and Ubuntu.

 

[Ravnos]

Honestly, I can't see them offering a "free" distro, if only because it will cause support issues. They'll probably team up with Novell or Red Hat and use their commercial distros. That way if they get a support call and they can determine without a doubt that it's not a Dell issue, they have someone to pass the buck to.

 

[DemonStar55]

Honestly, I can't see them offering a "free" distro, if only because it will cause support issues. They'll probably team up with Novell or Red Hat and use their commercial distros. That way if they get a support call and they can determine without a doubt that it's not a Dell issue, they have someone to pass the buck to.

I believe they would be doing something with community supported distros so they don't have to do the support or something

 

[Orkie]

I would be surprised if they didn't go with Ubuntu, it just seems to be the simplest for a Windows user to get the hang of (especially with the new Windows settings/files import tool in Feisty).

 

[DemonStar55]

I would be surprised if they didn't go with Ubuntu, it just seems to be the simplest for a Windows user to get the hang of (especially with the new Windows settings/files import tool in Feisty).

I suspect if it will be one or more of these: Red Hat, Fedora Core, SuSE, openSUSE, and K/X/Ubuntu

 

[nickspoon]

Honestly, I can't see them offering a "free" distro, if only because it will cause support issues. They'll probably team up with Novell or Red Hat and use their commercial distros. That way if they get a support call and they can determine without a doubt that it's not a Dell issue, they have someone to pass the buck to.

In the case of Ubuntu, Canonical offers commercial support.

 

[clarky2o2o]

for every linux computer thats sold at the same price of a windows machine dell gains alot more profit from it.

i hate dell (and consequently alienware too)....which is why im using 1 right now <_<

 

[b._.o._.b]

It's a good step forwards. Hope Linux will take of on the desktop because of this move.

I agree with nickspoon. I've installed Feisty and I love it, it's already very stable and has more to offer than dapper or edgy. I hope Dell will choose for Ubuntu.

 

[Mudi]

A bit of a bump...

They'll ship with Ubuntu Feisty. http://news.com.com/Dell+picks+Ubuntu+for+..._3-6180419.html

 

[purple_goat]

A bit of a bump...

They'll ship with Ubuntu Feisty. http://news.com.com/Dell+picks+Ubuntu+for+..._3-6180419.html


OOOO feisty!
:lol: I wonder if you can just put ubuntu on a computer, sell it and no have to make a deal with ubuntu..

 

[Orkie]

I wonder if you can just put ubuntu on a computer, sell it and no have to make a deal with ubuntu..

Of course.

 

[purple_goat]

I wonder if you can just put ubuntu on a computer, sell it and no have to make a deal with ubuntu..

Of course.

for reals? :blink:
(can you link me to that?)

 

[Vimacs]

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt ?

 

[purple_goat]

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt ?


thanks!