Subscribe by EmailDell Embraces Ubuntu Linux
May 1, 2007 by Geeks are Sexy | 4 comments
A few weeks ago, Dell announced that they would soon start shipping computers with an unknown distribution of Linux, and lo and behold, it seems that this is going to happen this month! According to Desktop Linux, these systems will come shipped with the latest version of Ubuntu. I’m not really surprised about this since everyone knows that Michael Dell uses this distro on his home laptop.
While unable to confirm this through official Dell channels, we have heard the same story now from several internal Dell sources. They tell us that the Austin, Texas, computer giant will be preinstalling the newly released Ubuntu 7.04. These systems will be released in late May 2007.
Now that Dell has made its move, only one question remains: How will their technical support division handle calls that come from Ubuntu users? Let us wait and see. I’m sure it won’t be long until we start hearing horror stories from disgruntled Dell customers.
Dell to choose Ubuntu (Desktop Linux)
- Dell finally ships Linux PCs
- Dell’s Ubuntu Offering — Technical Details
- Will Dell Start Pre-installing Firefox on new systems?
- Lenovo will soon offer Linux on Laptops
I think they’ll be getting a lot more of people answering the wrong thing on the phone for tech support. See, now they have to ask “what operating system are you using?” and well, today someone told me their operating system was Internet Explorer, so…
anyway though YAY! A big OEM is supporting Linux on consumer (not server) hardware!!! I still think I’d rather get a System76 though :p
Hmmm, Nice systems, but they’re way more expensive then comparable Dell boxes….
Not really. I did a price comparison here: http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com/2007/03/system76-v-dell.html A comparable System76 was about $100 more. At the time, Dell didn’t offer Linux, so the convenience of having Ubuntu pre-installed, configured, and guaranteed to work on the hardware was well worth the $100. Now they do look a bit more expensive. We’ll have to see how Dell prices their Linux boxes. Linux boxes have traditionally cost more than Windows ones because of the lower production rate meaning higher hardware costs for vendors. It’s improved greatly (used to be double price for a Linux box) since then. Still, I’m inclined to think that the hardware is likely to be better quality on a System76. There’s also the matter of tech support. I’ve seen the System76 forums (it’s a section of ubuntuforums), and unlike Dell’s tech support which reads from a script and asks if it’s plugged in when you report that it won’t read CDs, they go straight to the actual problem. It’s like the difference between Best Buy’s Geek Squad and going to a local “mom&pop” computer store. You get much better service at the smaller place.
[...] As we’ve already blogged in the past, Dell recently announced they would soon start shipping some of their systems with Ubuntu, one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions out there. This decision was mainly made to answer a request made by thousands of people on Dell’s official forums, IdeaStorm.com. Now, the same users are asking yet another thing from the Texan manufacturer: they want Dell to start pre-installing Firefox in all newly manufactured systems. A petition was created to fulfill this goal, and everyone is encouraged to go sign it. Since its introduction on February 19, just a day after Ideastorm.com, Dell’s new official forum, went live, the petition has collected more then 70,000 names. [...]