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Dell Drops Ubuntu PCs From Its Website

Posted by timothy on from the too-hard-to-spell dept.

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."

12 of 473 comments (clear)

  1. it doesn't make any sense because by BroadbandBradley · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    --
    "The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
    1. Re:it doesn't make any sense because by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

    2. Re:it doesn't make any sense because by loafing_oaf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

      --
      Always someone has power over you. The thing to consider is this: Is the power good, or bad?
    3. Re:it doesn't make any sense because by couchslug · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

      --
      "This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
    4. Re:it doesn't make any sense because by whisper_jeff · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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...

  2. But can you buy a Dell without an operating system by Palestrina · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  3. Re:Yet Another Misleading /. Article by Nimey · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

    --
    Hail Eris, full of mischief...

    E pluribus sanguinem
  4. Re:Not a big deal by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

  5. Re:Recently been searching for a new job by IANAAC · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  6. Dell's Attitude by ncmathsadist · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

  7. They never really wanted it to work by loufoque · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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.

  8. What apps are like these but free? by tepples · · Score: 4, Insightful

    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