Dell to Sell Machines with Ubuntu Pre-Loaded

kotj.mf writes "Cnet is reporting that Dell will shortly announce a partnership with Canonical to offer Ubuntu pre-loaded on certain consumer-oriented desktops and notebooks. The announcement comes after a groundswell of support for pre-installed Linux on Dell's IdeaStorm site. 'The company is starting its business by trying to appeal to users of desktop computers. From there, Canonical Chief Executive Mark Shuttleworth has said, the company plans to head to the server market, where the real Linux bread and butter can be found. [Dell spokesman Kent] Cook wouldn't comment on whether Dell plans to offer Ubuntu on its servers as well.'."

Comments

Vista

[rhennigan]

I think we owe this to Microsoft. This would never have happened were it not for Vista.

Re:Vista

[borizz]

I don't agree. What has Vista got to do with it? Linux (and Ubuntu) gained a user base large enough to gather some attention.

Re:Vista

[Anonymous Coward]

i'm having a parade tomorrow. perhaps you could drop by and piss all over it.

Re:Vista

[dAzED1]

also, the CIA was behind 9/11 - as we could see in Oakland this last weekend, concrete and steel don't melt and become unstable.

It could be, and I know this is crazy, but it could be that what lots of people have requested (or several people have requested many times each, depending), Dell is simply providing. There is a potential demand, but no supply. Dell knows they did a piss-poor attempt with their previous Linux offerings, so they can't really count that failure against Linux on the Desktop as a paradigm. Additionally, it has been a few years, and Linux has matured in the desktop world a bit more.

What Ubuntu brings in to all this is an integrated role-based system with handy tools and such. This means Dell can sleep a little better at night not thinking everyone is logged in as root on their boxes, surfing the web. RedHat doesn't do this, and Ubuntu has this huge silly grassroots thing right now (a grassroots movement that will feel the sting of betrayal in about 18 months, by my guess).

There are actual reasons to do this, sans some silly bargaining chip for negotiations with MS. Sometimes a cigar is, indeed, just a cigar.

Re:Vista

[Ian Alexander]

Yeah, good luck with that. Seriously. I have nothing against Linux but the fanboism is really starting to stink up the place. Do you honestly think that the Windows user who can't be bothered to download Linux is going to jump at the chance to buy a machine with it on? At least with the download Joe Sixpack has a Windows disk to fall back on if Linux turns out to be something that he simply doesn't want. With the Dell offer he's either going to have to put up with an OS that he was already too lazy to download or he's going to have to go Windows on a retail basis. Guess what kind of bitching and moaning that's going to cause.

Wouldn't it be the opposite? Someone who can't be bothered to download the half-gig .iso's, burn them, install them, and possibly configure the newly installed OS so it actually works correctly on their hardware might like the idea of having all that done for them so they get a sqeaky-clean install that works out of the box?

Re:Vista

[enharmonix]

Someone ... might like the idea of having all that done for them so they get a sqeaky-clean install that works out of the box?

We have a winner. This is why Windows and Macintosh have had commercial success in the desktop market while Linux flails: the computer works out of the box. And Windows wins out of the two because PCs are cheaper than Macs. The big problem with Linux distros is a lack of usable, pre-installed software and working drivers. Users have never liked or understood command lines.

You almost need a manufacturer to bother taking the time to put together a bundle where everything "just works" out of the box. If they can negotiate selling Ubuntu desktops/laptops without the Windows tax, you just might see a real shift in marketshare. The only thing missing is some form of Bootcamp: Linux Edition (UboontuCamp? nah...) so people can play their games.

Will people buy it??

[Hokie06]

Now lets see if half of those people that voted for Linux on the ideastorm site actually buy a machine. Because if this flops it will seriously hurt Linux in the mainstream market.

Re:Linux needs no Windows Tax

[physicsnick]

The problem with Windows machines is that you don't just get Windows; you get Windows and a pile of craplets, which companies are paying Dell to supply to you. Windows can have a negative price tag on low-end computers because the cost is offset by all the garbage your computer comes filled with.

Obligatory

[eosp]

Does it run Li...ooh, it does!

Linux on Dell

[oneandoneis2]

http://geekblog.oneandoneis2.org/index.php/2007/03 /29/linux_on_dell

(To the tune of "Road to Hell")

Well I'm here to place an order
But there's a choice I don't know
It's weathered every crisis you can think of
And I came here to buy Vista
But the Windows joy I know
Is priced beyond belief way down in the shadows
And the need for anti-virus
Chokes the smile on every face
And common sense is screaming, "What the Hell!?"
This ain't no technological breakdown
Oh no, this is Linux on Dell

And I don't need to ask for credit
And there's nothing they can do
But watch the E.U.L.A.s, flying away from you
Oh look out world, take a good look
What goes down here
You must learn not to have fear of the G.P.L.
This ain't no vendor lock-in-forced upgrade
Oh no!
This is Linux
This is Linux
This is Linux on Dell

Re:Linux needs no Windows Tax

[TobascoKid]

But with Ubuntu installed, all you need to do is:

sudo apt-get install dell-crapplets

No need for Dell to send you a CD.

Brand awareness...

[LinuxGeek]

works for some products, but not everything. Your coke/pepsi/generic cola example is about a cheap and quickly consumed product. If they don't really like the generic,it will only last a short while and is cheap enough that they can toss it out if it is truly horrible.

Where windows/linux is concerned, let me relate a recent experience. My nephew just moved out of his parents house and out from behind the router and firewall I had configured. He got dsl and hooked it up to straight from the modem and into his computer. Guess what? Within three days he couldn't run either IE or firefox, they would just crash when launched. Before, he hadn't really appreciated the delicate nature of windows or the importance of a good firewall.

I installed the newly released Ubuntu 7.04 and he is tickled. He can do everything that he needs with totally free (in every respect) software. I showed him some windows games running under wine on my laptop and he was interested, but since he is now working and going to school, games are not as important. We haven't even bothered fixing his winxp install yet. His roommate was watching me setup Beryl and was asking a lot of questions about this linux thing, completely surprised at the maturity and features of the new Ubuntu. Brand awareness of Windows and Microsoft is very high with both of those guys, but seeing the differences in action has greatly tempered any effects of that awareness.