Dell's Secret Linux Fling

Slagged writes "The Register has up an article on Linux-based Dell systems being sold in China. While Microsoft quashed an attempt by Dell to create a market for Linux PCs in the U.S., such restrictions are not the case in Asia. From the article: 'Fifteen months ago our own Ashlee Vance, who broke the news of the first break-up in 2001, proved how hard it is to buy a PC from Dell without Windows. Not pre-loaded with Linux mind you - but simply a bare bones box. But far away from the prying eyes of Steve Ballmer, romance is blossoming. An eagle-eyed reader found the fruits of the union, brazenly on display in a Beijing subway.' The article has pictures of the advertisements, which offer Dell PCs preloaded with 'Red Flag Linux'."

Comments

Tinfoil hat time

[wsanders]

> Microsoft quashed an attempt by Dell to create a market for Linux PCs in the U.S

Disclaimer: Both my grandfathers were Freeemasons, so I'm in on the conspiracy.

I subscribe to the Dell Poweredge Linux mailing list - it a continual litany of woe from Linux newbies whining about how they can't get the latest random distro to work perfectly with the latest something-or-other. (Along with the odd message about the Broadcom ethernet and onboard RAID drivers locking up.) It's perfectly within Dell's rights to sell only preloaded systems with their qualified OSes, particularly since they have only a skeleton crew of talented people to support Linux, and their onboard RAID controllers are mostly useless unless used with drivers built with this morning's patches. And it's perfectly within our rights to buy boxes better-suited for the task, or to cough up the bucks for RHEL or Suse. There's plenty of competition here, see Penguin, et al.