Dell Drops Ubuntu PCs From Its Website

Barence writes "Dell has stopped selling consumer PCs preloaded with Ubuntu from its website, and doesn't know when they're coming back. A search for Ubuntu on the Dell UK website returns only one laptop — the Dell Latitude 2100 from the company's business range. Dell insists that it's continuing to sell Ubuntu systems, but only over the phone, and has no idea when — or even if — the Ubuntu PCs will return online. 'We've recently made an effort to simplify our offerings online, by focusing on our most popular bundles and configuration options, based on customer feedback for reduced complexity and a simple, easy purchase experience,' Dell told PC Pro. 'We're also making some changes to our Ubuntu pages, and as a result, they are currently available through our phone-based sales only.' The move comes after Dell put a page on its website advising customers only to go for Ubuntu if they were interested in open-source programming."

Comments

it doesn't make any sense because

[BroadbandBradley]

Microsoft Windows is really so much harder to use than Ubuntu. Everything on Ubuntu just works, and you have to fuss with windows to get it to do what you want, keep it from getting a virus, hunt all over the web to get software updates.....

I think the only reason Dell does this is because Windows is setup like a toll booth where you have to pay extra to get it to do anything useful or keep it running. With the Ubuntu Boxes they don't sell any add-on software because Ubuntu already has everything it needs to work.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the only reason Dell ...

Don't forget that computer retailers like Dell get paid a lot of money to pre-install bloatware, e.g. all those trials, links to subscription services, etc. Even if the customer never buys any of these, Dell doesn't get that money for Ubuntu PCs.

Wouldn't be surprised if MS made an offer to "more prominently" position Windows or grant Dell some "MS premium platinum reseller" PR-badge either.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[loafing_oaf]

Dell could simply adjust the Ubuntu PC prices to compensate for the missing bloatware revenue. Of course, they probably would sell even fewer that way. But with Dell's just-in-time supply chain, it really shouldn't matter whether any particular models sell well because there's no inventory buildup or waste to worry about.

As for Dell's claim of reducing complexity... it's a single link on the side of the page! At the risk of sounding cliche, I think it's more reasonable to assume that there is some supplier exclusivity contract in play from Microsoft.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[couchslug]

Windows works for people who know Windows and have no need to invest time in anything different. The faults we find in Windows don't concern them enough to switch to something not Windows.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[__aaqvdr516]

In the words of Wolfgang Pauli, "you're not even wrong." However, if you wanted to stay open source on Windows, you can do so. The notion that Windows is a toll booth is a bit off the mark also. Right now I'm dual booting Ubuntu and Vista. The only thing I've paid for in the last two years between Windows and Ubuntu is the OS itself. Everything else is open source or provided free of charge by Microsoft or another third party.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[whisper_jeff]

Microsoft Windows is really so much harder to use than Ubuntu.

I don't know how this got modded insightful but, as someone who has computers with Mac OSX, Windows XP, _and_ Ubuntu, I'm going to have to say that's so utterly wrong that it's actually funny. I like Ubuntu and I look forward to the day that it truly hits the mainstream but it is not, in any way, easier to use than Windows. It may be the easiest of the Linux distros to use (I have no clue if it is since it's the only one I've ever played with to any degree); it may be easy enough for the average person to use; it may be incredibly easy for a hardcore computer user to use, but it is not easier to use than Windows.

I don't like Windows, at all, but let's be serious...

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[Devout_IPUite]

Pretty much. The linux devs don't realize that they're making cludget unfriendly processes. Number of clicks matter. If I can't, without a manual, install program X onto my computer in 3-6 clicks, it's too hard. "Oh just use the package manager" No. I want to go to their website and click the fucking download button. Then I want to open that downloaded file. Then I want it to install. Anything else is unacceptable for a typical user.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[Draek]

Try doing tech support sometimes. Your view of Windows is tainted by your own proficiency with it but I assure you: the average person cannot use Windows, and no, you can't be said to know how to use Windows with a malware-filled machine any more than somebody whose car is full of bumps and signs of crashes can be said to know how to drive.

Re:it doesn't make any sense because

[Risen888]

I sell machines with Ubuntu on them. To yoga instructors and flight attendants and 85 year old women. It's easier. Universally, across the board easier. Every single customer says so. You don't have to trust me, but I trust them, because they pay my rent. I mean, if you're comfortable being out-geeked by an 85 year old great grandma, okay, but don't blame the machine.

But can you buy a Dell without an operating system

[Palestrina]

That is what I really want. I can buy a Dell without a monitor, so why not without an operating system?

I have my own monitor already, and my own OS. It doesn't make sense to force me to by either of them.

Re:Yet Another Misleading /. Article

[Nimey]

For now.

They don't offer any with 10.04, and two of the four models they offer still have 9.04. Doesn't seem like they're too keen on it.

Re:Not a big deal

[markdavis]

Think about what you just wrote. So you think it is just about time installing Linux? No.

* For one thing, some of us don't want to pay a Microsoft Tax. If I don't plan on using MS-Windows on a computer, I should not be forced to pay for it.

* If a computer is available with Linux, it implies at least SOME amount of Linux support- even if it is just a compatibility guide.

* I wouldn't want to use Ubuntu, anyway, since there are (for me) much better Linuxes. So if they offered a computer with NO OS installed, I would be just has happy.

You can bet that Microsoft is behind the scenes again, pulling strings at Dell to squash any notion of freedom or choice.

Re:Recently been searching for a new job

[IANAAC]

That is why I did not get the job. I am not running Mac, Windows or Ubuntu. I run a different version of Linux.

And you couldn't get Ubuntu to do/act/feel just like your chosen version of Linux?

I wouldn't hire you either.

Dell's Attitude

[ncmathsadist]

I don't know why Dell thinks I am a second-class citizen because I use open-source programs. Boo and hiss.

They never really wanted it to work

[loufoque]

When it was announced that Dell was selling computers loaded with Ubuntu, I went to their site and looked. I looked hard, and didn't see anything. Then on another site I found a link to an obscure page on the Dell website that you wouldn't find in any other way.
And there, I saw that they were selling old models of their products, with only the low-end hardware choices, for a more expensive price than what they sell the new model with high-end choices and Windows. To the point where even a person who would want to buy a Dell computer and install Ubuntu on it would buy one preloaded with Windows and install Ubuntu himself.

And now they're going to say they're pulling it because it didn't sell enough. Of course it didn't, they purposely made it that way; it's like they wanted it to fail from the get go.

Re:really old MS FUD issue

[king neckbeard]

I would disagree. With a LiveCD, it's easier to save even a Windows users' data with Ubuntu than with Windows. I'd say the real issue with support is that it just isn't Windows, so it isn't familiar to many users.

What apps are like these but free?

[tepples]

i would like you to name one app that does not have a free alt.

The following are proprietary commercial programs available for PCs running Windows. What is the closest equivalent to each that is distributed under a free software license?

• Netflix Watch Instantly
• Adobe Photoshop, including those high-end features that distinguish it from GIMP mods such as GIMPshop
• Adobe Flash CS3
• TurboTax
• Stone Edge Order Manager
• Sonic 3 & Knuckles
• Diablo II
• Starcraft
• Street Fighter IV
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Re:What apps are like these but free?

[cmwalden]

I don't tend to game on the PC like I used to, so I don't have an answer for any of your games. So, yes... windows is probably a stronger arcade... though I've been more impressed with what Flight Gear can do than I ever was with the Microsoft Flight Simulator. Like many, I've moved my gaming to the Wii, or other consoles.

Hulu and other services provide instant viewing on Linux just fine. The Roku device which allows Netflix instant viewing is Linux-based, but for some reason they continue to deny access to Linux on their web site. This is a decision they have made... not a technological barrier.

I probably don't do the same things with graphics that you do, but I've found GIMP perfectly usable for anything I hand it. I've touched up photos, including removing reflections and other matter from photos, touched up blemishes and red-eye, and a number of other things. I've also used tutorials written for PhotoShop to learn how to do things in GIMP when they were about artistic technique and not idiosyncrasies of the tool. If you want Adobe PhotoShop, precisely and exactly, then it will need to be done by Adobe. That has to be their decision.

There are options to do things like Adobe Flash, including the OpenLaszlo project. Again, they are not precise and exact clones of Adobe. That's the funny thing about intellectual property is that when you create an alternative technology it has to have some differences from the existing version or you end up in court. Again, Adobe has made a decision on this... and if you're letting Adobe determine your technologies then you'll have to follow their lead and move when they say you can.

I've used TurboTax online for the last several years through Linux with no problem. I think their official decision is that they want to move people online and that version works for Linux. It's not free, but I'm not concerned about free... only that it will work for my environment. If everything must be free then I guess anyone can be right in this argument by only choosing technologies which have cost associate with them.

I don't know much about Stone Edge, so I can't say much about it. Looking at the web site it seems to be a pretty specific tool. A lot of people build their computing (and even their business) around a particular tool. If the tool doesn't do it, they don't either. If the tool must do it, then it becomes a core part of their methodology. If you've built your work habits immutably around how specific tools work, then you have to follow the tool.

It is probable that you will never be in a position to move to Linux. That's OK. You need to stay in your comfort zone and where you feel you are most productive. (I know one guy who still swears by his index cards... and they still sell them at the office store.) I think, though, that there are many users who don't have your specific requirements who would find that Linux does everything they need to do "out of the box." I think many who are new to computing would easily develop the knowledge and flexibility on a Linux system in the way that you have developed it on Windows. Many who get the chance to try Linux will make the choice to stick with it... not all... maybe not even most. Isn't what's on each person's computer really about what works for them?