What is Digg?Sponsored by Sony Pictures
Do you believe the 2012 Mayan Prophecy? view!
whowillsurvive2012.com - The Mayan Calendar predicts the end of time: 2012. See the trailer for 2012, opening November 13.
86 Comments
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -8/+37Dell is a big *****-tease. Either put out or get out you whore.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Why not just build your own PC?
- iluvdrbonner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22May I ask sir, what the hell are you talking about?
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+17Lets be fair to Dell. They never said they were pre-installing, that was a miscommunication. What they talked about was certifying hardware to run Linux. This could easily be a prelude to a future Linux offering but it could also be the beginning and end of the story.
In any case they cannot just come out and say they will support Linux. It would be a decision that will take time. They need to sort out a whole range of issues first. The hardware compatibility is the first, then they have to agree contracts for proprietary codec install, then they need to take legal advice on if the 3D accel. drivers are legal (the X.org modules definitely are, the question is over the kernel space shim. Perhaps they can convince Nvidia to GPL the shim. Then it's all good), then they need to work out support contracts (they will make a deal with whatever company they choose to go with for cheaper support contracts), finally they will look to get ISVs onboard so they can do their whole kickback thing and that requires some kind of standard install method.
Lets not automatically assume they are being evil or playing around. Give them the benefit of the doubt for now and cautiously support any efforts to make Dell hardware Linux compatible. If everyone goes off on one then Dell certainly will not support Linux. - ralph123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I think that's really unfair to Dell.
Despite all the hype about Dell preinstalling Linux, they never really said or suggested they would. All they did was talk about certifying certain models as Novell Linux ready. You can't really make the responsible for some commentators on the net getting overexcited.
That said, I really don't see the problem here. Even if Dell just decided to certify certain hardware as Linux ready, this would be a great step forward and certainly would impact my purchase decisions. All I want is to be able to know beforehand if what I'm about to buy will work with Linux or not.
And even if they decided to deliver some computers with Linux preinstalled, chances are that they won't choose my distribution of choice, so I will have to reinstall anyway. - MuddyPitch, on 10/12/2007, -12/+24A couple of years ago, I decided to abandon Dell. Fast-forward to last month, I decided my next computer purchase was going to be a Dell prebundled with Linux.
Then Dell date raped thousands of its current and future customers by reneging. Now they're talking about prebundling again. Whatever, Dell; despite the front you're putting up, once again you're proving that your customers matter not.
Maybe some other company will step up and offer the prebundle without the *****. *Sigh*...guess I better hold on to these distro cds... - higi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11If DELL prebundles linux in their computers, it will be the next computer I'll buy.
- jellygraph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9If Dell does pre-bundle Linux on their systems... that will be the next laptop I buy.
- jellygraph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9lol, jinx
- Fuckwad, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11So it comes with Linux.... but also with how much other Dell crap-ware added on? Why is this even a big deal? I mean if you don't want to build your own, which is the only smart way to do it, then buy it without an OS and install Linux by yourself. Problem solved. Sheesh.
- eplawless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9...'gingle'?
- Fuckwad, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Dude, your name is soooo cool, I'm glad I got to see it twice, so I could remember it....
- latova, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@jaxim: I agree, to an extent. Preinstalling linux on desktops from a popular computer manufacturer will help increase linux adoption, meaning more official drivers will be written and more programs will be ported. It's a win-win if they do this.
- naz37, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5i think he means if theres competition in a market it leads to better products and prices. but i dont get the gingle thing??
- t3hprogrammer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I remember seeing a story about a refund you get if you didn't want windows on your Dell computer. It was around $50. I think it turned out to be cheaper than buying a clean computer or one with Linux pre-installed.
- schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9"The customer is always right. Except, of course, when he's wrong."
Source: http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2025848,00.html - NinjaDuck12, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4jingle*
- insomuchas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Try installing xp again on a new computer. Its has no drivers for anything modern.
You have to spend days downloading and configuring.
The point of Dell preinstalling is that it is already configured for that system!
Then if you get a newer system you can upgrade your linux for free.
Want to change your motherboard? Hey you don't have to shell out 300 dollars for a retail copy! - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4As they seem to have a hard time deciding which distro to go with, they should 'only' provide a menu from which you can install any distro that works on the hardware, see http://freedomdrive.org
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4You're wrong, he just means "gingle", that's all.
- cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Ohh shut up. It's never too late for someone to do the right thing.
And here's a reality check: Dell gold support is actually pretty good. We generally have any replacement parts we need in less then 4 hours and they don't grill us with a hundred troubleshooting steps. If I say a RAM chip is bad, they send me a RAM chip.
It sounds to me like you just don't like Dell - you had some bad experiences with them, so now you're anti-Dell. That's fine, but it has nothing to do with them pre-loading Linux on some workstations. - cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Which is fine - see, the good thing about Dell doing this, even if you didn't want SuSE, is that you know the hardware in the machine will be supported with (probably all) other Linux distributions. Which is why I thought their "certification" idea wasn't a bad one.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@bbardlbradd:
Getting Linux setup is far quicker and easier than any Windows install. How often have you actually installed it. I have done it, many many times. Setting up a desktop in a far shorter amount of time than any Windows installation I've setup (which are just as numerous). These "plugins" or whatever your talking about shouldn't take much longer (I'm assuming you mean like mplayer-plugin for firefox??). Not to mention the fact that any place like Dell is just going to have an image of the resultant hard drive after all these few steps, and they just copy the image over every time.
I have found that Linux opens most any document I throw at it. In fact, I found support of a wide variety of formats to be easier to add on to Linux than Windows. Your gaming point is the ONLY valid issue that you've stated. There aren't as many games that run on Linux, but this is rapidly changing due to Wine and just wider adoption of Linux.
Support is an issue, but that's why you have Novel and Red Hat to begin with, accountability. They can train their techs to support those two OSs without many problems. Check your facts. - aliguana, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3and also two fingers up to Apple.. "if we can't bundle Leopard, we'll bundle Linux. We're going to do it... we are! look! *silence* we're installing it now... *silence* honest, we'll sell Linux! *silence*"
- drag, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2""One, it's not an EASY OS to get running. I mean, it's easier to USE than windows, IMHO, but to get everything that you need in a modern person's OS running the way they want it, in a professional look... Linux just can't do that. You have to get a million plug-ins for everything.""
Wel,l you see, that is the point of having your OS pre-installed.
If Dell sells you a computer with, say, Ubuntu pre-installed it's going to support all the features of that hardware out of the box. It will be configured and ready to go when you get it. It's not like they are going to hand out non-functioning computers with Knoppix cdroms or anything like that.
Any sort of special drivers that you need thjat wouldn't be aviable by default in a normal Linux distribution would still be made aviable on the 'driver cdrom' or from downloads from Dell's websites so if you want to reinstall with a official Ubuntu cdrom rather then the Dell restore disk then you can still just grab the 'driver deb file' and get it going with minimal of effort.
For example I figure that if Dell sold Linux-preinstalled it would be Intel CPU with Intel motherboard and onboard Intel video card.
They'll do this for a number of reasons, but mainly because Intel has very good hardware support for Linux. They work with Linux developers to produce open source drivers with their hardware were with Nvidia your going to depend on either propriatory drivers or reverse engineered drivers for video/sata/network which is not very good from a stability and support standpoint.
So the hardware you buy from Dell for Linux will be specificly tailored by choosing Linux freindly hardware. The setup shouldn't be anymore difficult then installing OS X on a Intel Mac.
It's not hard to do, for instance I can build you a machine personally for around 600 bucks that if you installed Ubuntu on it you'd get fully working with network, disk, 2d and 3d graphics, etc etc with absolutely no configuring on your part aside from popping in the disk and hitting 'enter' over and over again. - coredump0x01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It'll probably end up being Novell's Suse. In any case I'll be replacing it with Arch Linux.
- baaaan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Dell does a lot of "talking".. they need to quit "talking" and actually make some brave decisions in order for the company to survive.
- coredump0x01, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2eMachines?? The Horror!!
- insomuchas, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4I agree nothing pissed me off more than upgrading my emachines with a new motherboard and finding out I couldnt use the windows that came with it anymore or even the cd key from it with a retail windows copy. Screw their license to use windows with only that specific hardware configuration.
It's none of Microsoft;'s business which hardware I use. - cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yea, they have offered RedHat as an option on a very limited number of high end workstations, and some servers. That's not new. (I'm not sure why the article says they only sell those to Oil Rig expeditions?) What IS new, is hopefully the general availability to get desktop-class PC's (that don't cost $3000) with Linux installed, and set up for the normal desktop user.
- mercurysquad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Well, they can't call India, there aren't enough intelligent people there to master linux..."
Did you just pull that out your ass?? - cbreaker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Then Dell date raped thousands of its current and future customers by reneging."
What? They "raped?" Isn't that a little extreme? They didn't RAPE anyone. First of all, they didn't forcibly have sex with anyone. Second, they never even released a product or even SAID they were going to pre-install Linux distributions. They said they'd certify some systems, so you know it will have supported hardware. Isn't that a good thing, or at least a good start? It's not like they released some product you spent money on, and then a week later discontinued it completely. Jesus, get a grip on reality. - Spr0k3t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'm wondering if Dell does move on the prebundle thing, what will be the extra cost associated with technical support? Almost certain that will happen... My recommendation: build your own, roll your own, own your own.
- whatsupimphil, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The last time I read about Dell selling computers with Linux, they were charging more than for Windows Vista. I believe that was a popular story in Digg a couple of weeks ago.
- ChumpChief, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2eMachines? That's the best competitor you can come up with?
- tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@polymorphis,
Laptop? - tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They eventually went with AMD though.
- tomarocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They will have to train their Indian offshore customer service staff in an entirely new operating system. What a logistical nightmare. That is what is really keeping OEM's from shipping Linux pre-installed...supporting all the nubes who will be calling in asking where the start button and Internet Explorer is.
- Jammerdelray, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1So wrong, people have a choice...If anything looks like dell is trying to save a few bucks by offering only Linux....Give your customers the choice of Vista & Linux.
- tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Just guarantee hardware support and that's it. Let be an option, not a demand.
- tomarocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yer mo betta awf wit a E-Ma-cheen den adell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- tomarocco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1dat-do-dat-DOO
- aetas-nex, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I can guarantee that Dell is not going to be releasing any consumer computers with Linux on them. Atleast not this year, they have absolutely no infrastructure to support this operating system.
- ehask, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I am sitting at work now with a Dell Precision Pro 490 that came bundled with RedHat Enterprise 4 x86_64 so I dont know what the news is ??? We purchased 4 of these 3 months ago??
Check Dells site they offer the drivers?? - shanesemler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1jcm267 beat me to it but I'll second that. Why would you buy a computer from some crap company like Dell or HP in the first place? You don't get a real Windows disk unless you send them more money and beg for it. They are full of shovelware and their support sucks.
- mercurysquad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"It's a win-win because I'll save money by not having to buy an operating system I won't use, and I'll save time because Linux will come pre-installed."
A "win-win" is when both parties benefit. You talked about 2 benefits to yourself only :-b Dell on the other hand might not actually benefit becuase they would lose the revenue from trialware they install on Windows machines. - bbardlbradd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@mercurysquad
Yes, I did. It wasn't supposed to be a serious statement.
@every one else
Thanks for your positive input. I do see how, once you have the OS pre-installed, it wouldn't be such a hassle, especially if Dell had some good professionals working on it. - tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah. System76 and ilk are too expensive, sorry. I needed an inexpensive mid-range laptop and I checked out all the competition. Failing to find a better deal, I got a Dell Inspiron 1501 (dual core AMD, gig of RAM) for a little less than $800 after tax. It came with Vista but the only reason I'll keep that is for gaming to contrast Aero with Beryl. That is, if I ever get Beryl running.
- 808kick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There already is a cost assosiated with software technical support. Dell doesn't provide free software support, the only things covered under your warrenty are the hardware, and reverting the os to the factory default(pc restore).
- tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They don't have to buy the OS though and can streamline their manufacturing by installing a generic OS on each computer without having to track every Windows computer by label. All I care about though is a hardware certification for laptops (you can upgrade desktops)
-
Show 51 - 86 of 86 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is