Dell To Offer Win XP On Consumer PCs Again

phalse phace writes "With so many consumers still asking for Windows XP to be loaded on Dell's consumer level PCs, the PC maker has finally decided to offer that as an option. 'Like most computer makers, Dell switched nearly entirely to Vista-based systems following Microsoft's mainstream launch of the operating system in January. However, the company said its customers have been asking for XP as part of its IdeaStorm project, which asks customers to help the company come up with product ideas. Starting immediately, Dell said, it is adding XP Home and Professional as options on four Inspiron laptop models and two Dimension desktops.' The Dell models with the Windows XP option are: Dell Inspiron 1405, 1705, 1505, and 1501; and Dell Dimension E520 and E521."

Comments

Does it hurt Microsoft financially...

[Orig_Club_Soda]

...whether we buy VIsta or XP?

Re:Does it hurt Microsoft financially...

[Kadin2048]

True, as a company, giving them $100 is giving them $100 (or $20, or whatever, I don't know exactly how much they get per copy from Dell).

However, if they spend a billion dollars developing Windows Vista, and then they only sell $800M worth of Vista-related crap, because everyone else is still buying XP (because Vista sucks that badly), then they've effectively 'lost' $200M on Vista, because it didn't generate as much in profit as it took to develop. It's not lost in the same sense of the money you blew on blackjack in Vegas is 'lost,' but it shows that Vista was a very, very bad investment, and it'll probably make them not meet their projections to their investors.

It doesn't really hurt them as much as make them look like a bunch of idiots.

Re:Wow

[walterbyrd]

This also means the hating of Vista is stronger then msft's influence over dell. You know that msft must hate this.

Dell vs. Microsoft

[TheMeuge]

This raises an important question - who's more important to whom?

1. Is Windows essential to Dell's business model of building and selling PCs?
2. Is Dell essential to Microsoft's business model of establishing a monopoly and locking in customers?

In an ideal world, it's obvious that #2 would be more true than #1, given the huge percentage of the PC market that Dell occupies. However, customers still demand Windows, and while Microsoft has the power to raise the wholesale prices for Dell, and render the latter unable to compete in the low-margin world of hardware sales, Dell is still quite dependent on directives from Redmond.

This latest trend just serves to underline the inherent instability in this partnership. In this context, it is not surprising that Dell is looking into Linux, since proliferation of the latter will benefit Dell in that it will limit the extent to which Dell depends on Microsoft in the long run; in the short run it'll give Dell more bargaining power with regards to wholesale Windows price negotiations.

Re:Dell vs. Microsoft

[CelticWhisper]

I'm inclined to say that Dell is more important to Microsoft than Microsoft is to Dell.

Remember that PC hardware stands on its own and free operating systems exist to drive it. However, Windows does not stand on its own and requires hardware to run.

Add to that the fact that many, many people do not distinguish between the OS and the PC (or even the "computer" and the "hard drive" for that matter, but I digress) and they'll blame problems with --anything-- to do with their PC squarely on Dell, and you have a culture that strongly associates the OEM with everything computer-related.

When you have the company with the greater amount of mindshare also creating the components that are more flexible (versus the OS which, as previously mentioned, requires hardware) you have a situation in favor of the OEM telling the software company what for.

Simply put, it only takes a few commercials from Dell about "the power of open source" to get people doubting Microsoft.

YMMV, of course, and this is just my experience dealing with the public for 7 years working in a library. Thank Cthulhu that's over.

Re:Dell vs. Microsoft

[chris_mahan]

People have this amazing realization when they see their computer running 1 month straight with Linux and Mac: Windows was a piece of crap, and it is not normal to have to reboot more than a 1-2 times a year. By that point, they are ready to blame everything on Windows, not the PC manufacturer.

As far as games: They follow the money.

The problem with games and Linux is that if a game runs in linux, it can be trivially copied to another machine (blame the geeks) so copy protection and all that does not work at all. Running as a service also is not so hot. See valve's latest troubles.

Ultimately, the Personal Computer (PC) is not a gaming machine to most people. It's a tool to Get Shit Done (term paper, email, research, or work-for-hire), and those people are Dell's bread and butter.

I suggest that Dell is going to put together a Ubuntu-ready line of desktops and laptops, price them aggressively, and cause the Microsoft meltdown. Remember: The best way to predict the future is to invent it. (Alan Kay)

I am not saying they will be successful, but I can guarantee Michael is thinking real hard on how to make it work. By August 1st 2007 is my guess, but maybe sooner (no later than that for sure).

It has become clear

[michaelmalak]

It's become clear that IdeaStorm isn't about soliciting ideas from users -- it's about using the web to publicly humiliate Microsoft into letting Dell sell to its customers what Dell already knows they want. It should be called PassiveAggressiveStorm.