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How Dell Is Making Ubuntu Linux More Attractive
CWmike writes "Dell was the first of the major computer manufacturers to support pre-installed Linux, but it's not just pre-installing Linux. The Austin, Tex. company is also adding functionality to Ubuntu Linux on its desktops and laptops, writes Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols. It began by adding DVD-playback to its systems shipping with Ubuntu 7.10. With the recent release of Dell PCs with Ubuntu 8.04, Dell is now including 'Fluendo GStreamer codecs for mp3, wma (Windows Media Audio), and wmv (Windows Media Video) playback' in its latest Ubuntu-powered desktops and laptops. On Ubuntu systems with ATI or NIVDIA graphics, Dell also now supports HDMI output. Yesterday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said his company hopes to steal a page from Apple's playbook and change how it works with hardware makers in an attempt to duplicate its rival's success. Is OS customization the way forward for desktop Linux, and Windows?"
....or saving on support costs?
It's really a no-brainer- if you're going to sell computers, they better be able to do out of the box everything that people know computers can do. They'll save $$$ on call-centre robots, there's no choice.
"Be light, stinging, insolent and melancholy"
Dell are releasing BIOS upgrades for their laptops to cope with the Nvidia weak component problem (basically the fan will spin up sooner). This includes the laptop models that come with Linux preinstalled. Except there's no BIOS updater that will run under Linux; they're all Windows based (although if you have a DOS floppy knocking around you can use that)
<tongue location="cheek"> Of course that might be ok as lets face it 3d gaming under Linux is as likely as Stallman shaving and looking respectable</tongue>
Yes.. it does seem that Dell is at least paying lip service to Ubuntu/Linux, but just *try* to find the few systems that Dell has deemed to have Ubuntu installed on.. Not easy at all.. And when you do stumble upon the page, they try to scare you off by insinuating that you won't be getting Windows if you buy a system from the following pages.. Oh yeah, they're *really* supporting Linux.. I wanted a nice Core2Duo laptop with Ubuntu on it.. The only ones they preinstall Ubuntu on are the Inspiron/XPS systems.. I wanted a corporate system, ie: Latitude or Vostro system with it... Solly Cholly, only these few systems will we offend the great M$ on.. So I checked out the Dell Outlet, found a VERY nice Vostro 1400 with most everything I wanted, for $519, and proceeded to wipe Microsoft Yawn (also known as Vista) off it, and installed Ubuntu, which was a piece of cake.. But, since it came with Windows, MS gets to claim it as one of the hundreds of thousands of copies of Vista they've shipped..
Thanks Dell.. Great machines, but you don't seem to have the balls to stand up to M$...
THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
Do these come with restore discs? (I'm presuming being Dell they will.
Otherwise I can imagine the call from Great Aunt Mildred when she tries to work out how to reinstall:
I knew these computer thingies were new fangled, but mine wants to MAKE out with me, sonny!
The Mothership
Canadian website
I just did a quick test, the Inspiron 1525(Windows) and 1525N(Linux)
same specs, the Linux system cost 350$ more than the windows one
http://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=windowsol0.jpg
http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=linuxmq5.jpg
Anybody know of a motherboard with HDMI out that supports audio? The closest I've seen is the Asus P5E-VM HDMI, but haven't been able to find anything definitive on HDMI audio support in Linux.
HDMI is a nice step, but how does it handle h.264 decoding? Does it have hardware decoding in the GPUs or simply work by CPU decoding? And in either case, what kind of performance does it deliver? 1080p easily? Choppy? 720p?
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
So, are Dell doing good or bad?
AFAIK Lindows/Linspire where one of the first companies to provide the software necessary for using some non open formats, and IIRC they were almost crucified (and are not very liked) by the slashdot community.
So, is it finally "trendy" to provide a useful desktop experience to end users?
wth, going anonymous because I *know* I will be modded down badly
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Michael Robertson spent seven years trying to hammer this lesson home with Linspire and CNR.
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Every time some big player starts pushing Linux, Microsoft makes it go away. Wal-Mart has sold Linux machiens twice, then backed off; they no longer seem to sell any Linux machines. Fry's has stopped selling Linux machines.
Go to the Dell site and try to find a Linux laptop. It's quite hard to find. Even when you finally find the Ubuntu page, for which you will probably have to search, the first thing you see is "Not sure Open Source is for You? The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don't get a Windows® operating system. If you're here by mistake and you are looking for a Dell PC with Windows, please use the following link..."
You never get to a Linux PC from the "laptop selector", even though Dell does offer them.
These decoders are non free software, to me this breaks the spirit of the linux comunity.
You are new here.
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>> Elderly people STILL predominately vote Republican, and at THIS POINT, that is clearly stupid.
Not HALF as stupid as voting for the other pant-load..
We have two bad choices.. One's a steaming pile of cow-dung and the other one is merely a pile of barf.. I can tell you which one *I'll* choose, come November... It SURE won't be Obama-Mama!!
THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
Look, it's great they offer the option to get Ubuntu preinstalled, but you might want to look at what exactly they're doing before holding them up as a good example. If you go through the build process for an XPS1330, you'll find that there are FAR fewer hardware options available when building a Ubuntu-based machine compared to a Vista-based machine, and I'm not talking about hardware for which there may not be drivers, either. Fewer CPU options, storage options, etc. It's completely ridiculous, and it probably took more effort for them to eliminate those options than it would have to make the same hardware options available between the two OSs. I can't say I'm all that impressed yet with Dell's Ubuntu offerings, though it's better than nothing.
"Codices" is the plural of codex (i.e. book), not codec. Unless the summary really does mean that Dell is throwing in a collection of books from Fluendo about the mp3, wma, and wmv formats, in which case I apologize.
...wearing a skin-tight topless leather jumpsuit, with cutaway buttocks and transparent crotch panel.
I actually have a youtube video up posting about how Obama is a stuffed shirt corporate mouth piece very similar to McCain. I'm a fan of Kucinich. And the Senator that got whacked. I think his name was Wellstone. Going back further, I'm a fan of JFK, Jefferson, and Franklin. Not necessarily in that order.
I actively promote armed rebellion, and advocate every American citizen owning a REAL gun, so that we can get the Bill of Rights back, and the rest of the constitution, and maybe start tearing down the cameras.
Much Love,
rhY
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
My /. ID # is less than a third of yours!
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
As an American, I find your ideas intriguing and would like to form an association to discuss our mutual interest.
Why don't you offer Ubuntu on your XPS Desktop line?
The Ubuntu desktop box you are offering now is rather paltry by comparison.
If I were buying a Windows Desktop box from you, I'd be getting an XPS for sure.
I'm very happy that Dell is offering Ubuntu. It's good for everyone. But please give Linux users more of the model choices that you offer with Windows.
Scott
©20014 angrykeyboarder & Elmer Fudd. All Wights Wesewved
IMO thinking that your vote makes a difference or that changing presidents will change the direction of America is more stupid than voting for any party.
To quote Zaphod Beeblebrox, the job of the president is not to weild power but to divert attention away from it.
As for your 3rd and 4th paragraphs, I couldn't agree more ;o)
Who calls it "codices"?
where'd my typewriter go?
She might not know about linux. But if she knows enough about computers that she wants to do her genealogy on it, she'd better walk into the store with the software she has in mind, and say "I want to use THIS!". If she doesn't, then she deserves whatever problems she gets. Just because you don't understand something, doesn't mean the world should bend over backwards to explain it to you..
Being old isn't an excuse for being stupid.
You've been misinformed...
Trust me, ladies like it bigger, not smaller.
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1. It presupposes that most/all elderly are stupid
It is not stupid to admit that you are old.
That the days when you thought nothing of cracking open a 50 lb case to reset a video card are gone forever. That fighting the good fight for Linux doesn't matter to you any more.
2. It's easier to install the major Linux distributions than it is to install Windows of any flavor.
The OEM system install is the gold standard in the home and SOHO market. Service under warranty. In-home service. The-no-questions-asked return.
Chances are your DIY Linux install will be successful. If it isn't you are in deep shit.
That is how the game is played.
Most, if not all, Linux trojans need some sort of user interaction to work. One needs to deliberately shoot one's self in the foot for them to work
Which is simply another way of saying that infecting a Linux machine is more a matter of applied psychology, social engineering - as long as a user can be seduced into launching an executable the problem doesn't go away
- for all the Geek's talk of "Active Yecchs."
Microsoft to ratchet IE8 security another notch in Beta 2
A. Windows users think it's normal to wipe and reinstall every quarter
No they don't.
I've used an XP restore disk perhaps five times in five years to open the Recovery Console and run CHKDSK. I haven't found a reason for reinstalling Windows other than replacing an aging hard drive.
When I read the headline I thought they meant Dell was re-branding it and removing the orange/brown!
On a slightly more serious note, it's good to see that they're doing what the consumer needs and making things like MP3/DVD playback easier. Yes, it might upset some purists, but they can just buy the machine and wipe back to a default, or go for a machine from another company that can't afford to bundle the codecs.
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WalMart has tried to make a go of every OEM Linux distro known to man.
But inevitably the Linux product becomes the bottom feeder.
The gOS system that ships without a working modem in a market that is often still dependent on dial-up. That is installed in the biggest case anyone can find to make it look more impressive. Rather like a flea-market stereo.
the first thing you see is "Not sure Open Source is for You? The main thing to note is that when you choose open source you don't get a Windows® operating system"
WalMart puts the same warnings on its web site.
The Linux system gets a lukewarm send-off as a passable web browser. OpenOffice.org might get a sideline glance, but there has never, ever, been a link to a compatible printer.
Installing certain programs by default? That's what a distro is. As long as I can so-called "customize" my system by installing any of these programs that Dell is installing, I'll be fine. You don't need to buy a Dell computer to get certain programs though, unless they're the only provider and they aren't open sourced and you can't buy just the program from them, or unless you simply want those programs to be default. I'll take anything over Windows when I buy a complete computer, since I don't use it, and certainly having a good default program selection is a perk if that's the software you want.
Promote true freedom - support standards and interoperability.
So, is it finally "trendy" to provide *the manufacturers with our tacit approval to turn gnu/linux into a second windows*?
Last I looking Dell was only bundling ubuntu with the absolute bottom of the barrel machinery - all very well and good that they're offering linux to the masses but only matching it with crappy hardware sends a clear message to the consumer - "If you want a decent computer, you want windows"
After using Linux for a couple of years, it has become very clear to me that most Linux distributions run under the philosophy that they should distribute the bare minimum to allow the users to build up their custom drivers and software collection. Instead, shouldn't they distribute as MUCH as possible to increase compatibility? Knowledge is a burden. The people who don't know every little detail about their hardware shouldn't have to go through the extra work to get it working. It's the nerds, like us, who should know what we DON'T need, so we can remove it and optimize efficiency.
I don't know where you are looking on the Dell website but both the desktop and laptop navigational menus feature items clearly labelled: "Open-source PCs (Linux)".
Either that or put "linux" in the search box.
I think reinstating prohibition would be pointless, since that's already the existing situation with marijuana. But I enjoy your creative approach.
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
Really, you are still doing this after a story is a few days old already? Weird.
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
I work at a Walmart Super-center - now I know that most certainly doesn't make me an authority on much of anything, and some people might think I've sold my soul to the devil for a paycheck, but do you have any idea how many people out there just don't give a shit about morals? And I'm not talking about the corporations, I mean the so-called "customers" who will try to screw you and your store over and up the ass.
For example, somebody brings a game or other piece of software back to exchange it for the same thing - which is normally fine, except when they don't have the disc, claiming "Oh woe is me, I opened it and the disc wasn't there! I want another disc!"
Now if this is a legitimate case, yes, that basically just sucks for him, because he'll be screwed. But this is because all too often, it's not - the guy has the disc at home on his desk or coffee table, and possibly even numerous copies of the same disc (repeating it at different store locations).
So because of situations like that, nobody gets a return under that situation, even if it's a legitimate case, because then everybody and their brother would be doing this so they can get their friends and cousin twice-removed authorized prints of the software or a movie.
Well, I gotta say, after recently making a full switch on my main desktop from XP to Ubuntu, Linux is really ready for the average consumer now. If Dell computers came pre-configured with Ubuntu, I pretty much guarantee it would gain popularity. The only issues right now are that Hardy Heron comes with Firefox 3.0, which is pretty crippled due to some bugs that cause constant crashing, but with Firefox 2, it would be a real winner!