Is Dell Just Testing the Market?

sarig_magik asks: "It seems that Dell is testing the Linux desktop market worldwide, and their choice of desktop is Linspire 4.51. I wonder how Microsoft will view Dell, now? Could this be a real attempt to gain a foothold before any of the other distributors do? We know the hardware vendor, but can anyone comment on the choice of OS?" Although Dell is offering a system with a preloaded Linux Desktop, they aren't doing it here in the US, but through their Italian partner, Questar. While the choice of Linspire as a desktop may leave a few of you underwhelmed, this does seem to be a step in the right direction. Is Dell testing the market? Of course they are. How well do you think they will do?

Comments

It's a good start

[agraupe]

Dell (IMO) is a good manufacturer for the "average" computer, and the brand recognition is quite high. I think Linspire is a good choice for a pre-installed distro. Most Linux geeks (who would prefer, say, Gentoo or Debian or whatever) would want to install it themselves anyway. Linspire is a good "first-time" distro, or so I've heard. The people who need the OS to be installed when they buy the computer will like what Linspire has to offer.

Re:It's a good start

[tindur]

If some kind of Linux is installed on the box when it's bought it should be trivial to install some other distribution. It probably isn't stuffed with Windows only hardware.

Re:It's a good start

[southpolesammy]

This is very true. While we might view optimization and total control as desirable attributes, the n00b Linux user who is testing the waters outside the Microsoft pool is likely to be overwhelmed by this requirement, and will probably not stay long enough to give Linux a good test drive.

While Linspire might not be ideal for the hard core folks, it's a good first choice for people who want to find out what all the buzz is about and see what it's like to live in a world free of virii and pop-ups, without having to worry about the administrative overhead of a Debian or a Gentoo install. Let them get comfortable first before suggesting such a quantum leap like that.

Not Very Well

[Gumph]

I think Linspire is too unknown/controversial.
If I was buying a new linux distro, I would go with Either Redhat (known and trusted) or Suse (rising star) not some recently name changed article
IMHO of course

For the second? third? time?

[shoppa]

Dell offered Red Hat Linux circa 2001 along with their desktop machines. We bought several dozen machines this way. Then, of course, this option mysteriously disappeared. (I think it may have only ever been available for corporate customers to begin with).

Yes, the new option is different. What I see is not so much "testing" but something being there and then disappearing, and then something different being there and disappearing. I'm not going to count on Dell supporting any particular distro, but I think that it is nice to be able to buy a machine without a Microsoft tax.

the REAL question is...

[Richthofen80]

Because it comes with the Linux distro pre-installed, is the computer $99 less because it hasn't paid the 'microsoft tax'?

its a good marketing move to sell to people who don't want to buy / have Windows XP.

VAR loads Linspire, Dell sells machines...

[WizzleWizzleWizzle]

I thought Dell said they had nothing to do with the VAR that was loading Linspire and selling the PCs in Europe other than selling them machines?

Story Here

This isn't Dell's doing

[sixteenraisins]

The writeup may be a little misleading; Dell isn't the entity behind installing Linspire on these machines, it's Questar:

A PC dealer in Europe has begun selling Dell desktops equipped with Linux, but Dell emphasized that the systems were customized by the dealer and that this isn't the first time this has happened.

That article can be read here at Cnet.

Dell has already clarified this.

[oneiros27]

Dell is not using Linspire. That is completely the doing of their reseller, and Dell has distanced themselves from Linspire.

See the article at C|Net from last week on the matter

Re:Methinks not

[ePhil_One]

It ain't no test, just the usual amount of freedom of movement Dell grant to their partners.

I don't get any of this. Dell's been offering Linux on its servers and Precision Workstations for about three years, partnered with RedHat. Some time ago in the US they created an "N series" line which shipped with no OS, with Linux as an option. Dell has employed developers to work on improving Linux's stability and compatibility. Dell has been very good about Linux in general, even having agents for its Open Manage software that run on Red Hat.

Admittedly they don't heavily advertise what is really a niche product, but they have http://www.dell.com/linux plus a page that is dedicated to these alternative OS desktops; Their support pages typically have several variation of Linux listed for downloading drivers, etc.

Seriously, how much Linux support do you want from them? Are you waiting for the Dell guy to announce "Dude, you're getting a Gentoo Dell!"

Marketing opportunity?

[travail_jgd]

I think the first big vendor[1] to properly commit to shipping Linux-based systems has the opportunity to make a killing.

Anyone can sell a cheap x86 box (Windows or Linux) to Joe Sixpack.

The first big vendor that offers a complete Linux system can really rack up the profits. By system I mean modem, networking, scanner and printer. The vendor would be in a position to (somewhat) honestly claim "if you don't buy from us, good luck getting it to work." Reinvest the MS-tax in Crossover Office, so they can advertise compatibility with Office, Photoshop, etc[2].

[1] Big == national, with an advertising budget to reach non-geeks.

[2] Having Office compatibility makes switching to Linux easier to swallow for Joe Sixpack -- even if he never uses it.