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112 Comments
- inactive, on 11/30/2007, -8/+52This article gives no useful information whatsoever. They do not cite where they got the 40,000 and Dell does not confirm the number. It's entirely speculation save for a few ambiguous comments from a Dell representative. Buried as spam.
- ldog, on 11/30/2007, -1/+32What's up with only offering the low end CPUs on these things? The Pentium E2140 & E2160 only have 1 meg of L2 cache and are slower than the low end Core2Duo and AMD64 X2. They also aren't capable of us using the VT extensions for virtualization with xen or vmware.
I really want to buy an ubuntu box from Dell, but if I just needed something to surf the web, I'd grab one of the 200 dollar walmart boxes. - inactive, on 11/30/2007, -3/+33I'll Digg both of them! Submit more if you like... I'll Digg them all! Because I'm CrAzY!
- gorndog, on 11/30/2007, -2/+3140,000 ... not bad considering you cannot just choose Ubuntu when viewing Dell's product pages. You gotta actually dig to find the Ubuntu systems:
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/l ... - Remmy, on 11/30/2007, -2/+23Check saturn5's comments. He bashes Linux at every turn. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean that it's not a great Operating System. Seriously. It looks like your soul purpose on digg is to put down Linux. Guess what? You look like an idiot for doing it.
- Philluminati, on 11/30/2007, -4/+20And how many of these had Ubuntu erased and pirated Windows installed?
-- Probably less than the number of Windows preinstalled machines that get Linux installed on them.
I didn't vote at IdeaStorm for Linux because as much as I like Linux there wasn't enough choice and I knew I wouldn't have the beans yet to pay for it. If I did buy a laptop and I'm toying with the idea, I'm tempted to buy a Macbook Pro and install Linux on it. Only because the hardware looks nice. Superficial? Yes, but it's me flexing my freedom of choice.
One thing I do have to say is that a lot of techies (which is Linux's main userbase at the moment) like to build their own machines. You can't get more choice than that. I'm not suprised in the sligest that everyone who voted didn't end up buying. Another factor may be the recent OLPC, Asus (?) and gPc machies which have gone on sale with Linux preinstalled. They may actually be a little competition forming. - GMorgan, on 11/30/2007, -1/+1440,000 is sustainable and is fine as a first foray into the consumer market. You clearly are insane so I don't know if you honestly believed a system would magically start taking millions of sales immediately.
Also, all surveys like IdeaStorm are dominated by those who have no intention of following through. In fact, if a third truly have bought in then I suspect Dell are very excited by that.
It's also worth noting that they haven't sold in Europe yet which is the primary market for Linux in terms of uptake. - Phocion55, on 11/30/2007, -1/+14Nice let's see those numbers you have.
- basic0, on 11/30/2007, -1/+12I assume that 10 million quarterly number is worldwide. The Ubuntu offerings are only available in the US last I checked, and not exactly front and center on the first page of their website. The numbers are interesting, but I don't think you could seriously consider them indicative of the overall market for pre-installed Linux systems if they're comparing worldwide apples to US oranges.
- dwbell, on 11/30/2007, -0/+11Many of us who voted on IdeaStorm, myself included, haven't been given the opportunity to 'Vote with our Wallet'.
- earlycj5, on 11/30/2007, -0/+11Just because I may have supported the idea of Linux preinstalled on a laptop doesn't mean I'm in the market for one right now. That point was useless.
- fak3r, on 11/30/2007, -2/+12it's 40,000 Ubuntu machines vs the 10m they sell quarterly, but still, out of the gate I'd say adoption is good. I would have bought one, but the one laptop avail is hardly appealing when you consider the options...even the ones from Dell! http://fak3r.com/2007/10/10/buying-a-linux-laptop- ...
Oh, and Vostro is a great laptop for Linux, I'm surprised Dell didn't shoot for Linux on those, they're cheaper, would move more IMO (I would have bought one - instead of buying it and wiping it) - Phocion55, on 11/30/2007, -1/+10Compiz Fusion is enabled by default in Gutsy.....
- capiCrimm, on 11/30/2007, -0/+8Stop it. I'm not buying a car from you.
- inactive, on 11/30/2007, -1/+8I have to agree: "Definitely less than the number of Windows preinstalled machines that get Linux installed on them." The price difference was not that great to get a "Windows Pirate Discount." I bought two Dell notebooks just this year and both of them had Vista removed and Ubuntu installed. The only reason I bought the Windows preinstalled versions of these notebooks is because Dell allowed me to customize my notebooks more with the Windows option. Once I unboxed them, away with Vista, hello Ubuntu. Great hardware, great OS.
- Phocion55, on 11/30/2007, -2/+9I voted on IdeaStorm AND bought one.
Did your head just explode? - GMorgan, on 11/30/2007, -0/+7Dell have sold more than they expected and they've already said that even if they did worse than expected they would stick with it. Markets grow via attrition, not floods. It's very rare that a product can enter a market such as this and sell loads immediately.
For Dell there are lots of benefits to selling Linux computers. From simple PR, to keeping MS in line and for having a toe in the market for the future. You don't have to make a profit for a company to keep a line open (though I suspect Dell do). Companies spend all sorts of money on low margin or unprofitable ventures for all sorts of reason. It isn't going away any time soon. - flatfish, on 11/30/2007, -0/+7Personally I get the feeling that Linux usage numbers in the USA are behind that of the rest of the world so maybe Dell would do better if it was a worldwide campaign.
- zwaldowski, on 11/30/2007, -0/+6I call total *****. The price difference is marginal.
- thenativeraver, on 11/30/2007, -1/+7You do know that walmart and dell aren't the only ones who sell computers with Ubuntu pre-installed right? http://www.ubuntu.com/support/commercial/marketpla ...
- GMorgan, on 11/30/2007, -1/+7Proof?
Didn't think so. - geomon, on 11/30/2007, -1/+7"What exactly can you not do on vista that you can do on ubuntu?"
You can avoid cost of the Microsoft upgrade mill on ubutu. That is something you can't do on Vista.
That statement has nothing to do with hate. It is a statement of fact. Here is an additional fact: XP support will expire soon and you will be forced to make a decision on whether to install Vista, or change over to another OS, whether that be an Apple OS or Linux.
That also has nothing to do with hate. It has everything to do with Microsoft. - jerrycan, on 11/30/2007, -2/+8How about a system with no OS Dell?
- TheAttacks, on 11/30/2007, -0/+5I bet if they gave the users a choice of Windows Vista or Ubuntu on every machine, that number would have tripled. I'm not going to lie though, it would probably mostly be due to the price drop and someone having no idea what Ubuntu or Vista really is, they just see a price difference.
- Theli, on 11/30/2007, -0/+5"Proof that they are not?"
Morgan never said they were not. Why should he be asked to provide evidence for a claim he never made? - niallabrown, on 11/30/2007, -0/+5I agree. I voted it up because I am a Dell owner and I like the idea for my next PC. It will be another year before this computer is ready to be replaced and I can buy one of the Ubuntu systems.
- bruce89, on 12/01/2007, -1/+6I must be one of 100 then.
- cynicist, on 11/30/2007, -0/+4troll more please
- inactive, on 11/30/2007, -1/+5A lot of Ubuntu haters have never even used it.
- GMorgan, on 11/30/2007, -0/+4Automatic package management.
Non-insane access control system.
Run without a virus scanner.
Install as many copies as you like, including servers. - HonoredMule, on 11/30/2007, -1/+5Well pardon me for not buying a computer this year.
I voted for Linux preloaded Dell machines, and if I ever buy a Dell, it'll have linux on it. If Linux disappears from my options, I won't be buying a Dell. I guess it's up to Dell to decide whether that qualifies as voting with my wallet or not, but it's not like the OS is the ONLY factor when choosing hardware to purchase and vendor to supply it. Nor am I going to run out to buy a computer just because Dell is providing the kind of service I think they should. - twylight, on 11/30/2007, -1/+5people buy these to skirt doubling licence purchases on microsoft licensces under EAs...
Like ANYONE who knows what ubuntu is needs it to be preinstalled...like they would even like any of the options Dell picks in the install.
PLZ the first thing a ubuntu user is going to do is blow it away and redo it anyways... - inactive, on 12/01/2007, -1/+5Holy Crap. It's actually possible that the PS3 can outsell something.
- Fratz, on 12/01/2007, -0/+4The original question was Ubuntu vs Vista, and geomon's statements hold. To answer your question, commercial OSes (RHEL, SuSe, Windows, OSX) will always have a cost-driven upgrade model, but Open Source OSes (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc.) will have a feature-driven upgrade model. When upgrades are free, it sure seems to make sense to lock in to that as early as possible. Personally, I've avoided the Win98->XP and XP->Vista upgrade path by switching to Linux years ago.
- smacksaw, on 11/30/2007, -0/+4To me it was just lack of choice. They should treat us like we actually use Linux - from a repository of over 20,000 programs we are able to build our distro to suit us. The same goes for configuring our systems. If you go to Dell Business you get a lot more choices. They dumb it down for MS users. We don't need that. We should be able to configure everything have a driver for and can support. I just wonder if they want to limit how much (or how little) they have to support for hardware.
- niallabrown, on 11/30/2007, -0/+4Good point
- diggmc, on 12/01/2007, -0/+3Oh Dell? When are you going to offer these machines in Canada!
40000 machines (if the numbers are to be believed) is better than the 20000 they expected to sell (as reported shortly after they began offering them). The simple fact is that Dell and Walmart machines are selling very well and there is a demand for Linux based PC's and Laptops. - Bridea, on 11/30/2007, -4/+7Completely useless. Where do we buy these new PCs and, indeed, "vote with our wallets"?
- macoafi, on 12/01/2007, -1/+4Probably a lot of us haven't needed a new computer yet. Next summer they'll probably be selling two to my brother and sister when they start college.
- cjtannu, on 12/01/2007, -0/+3Why can't dell make the prices of the laptop reasonable so that it is comparable price to a windows laptop...logically the linux laptop should be cheaper because it is Free.
- zareason, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3It seems to me that Dell is closing down their Ubuntu systems. They're down to only one desktop and one laptop, with very few upgrade options on each, and they're shipping them with an old version of Ubuntu.
- Danikar, on 11/30/2007, -1/+4The problem with the number is that it is not obvious that Dell sells Ubuntu computers. The only way I have been able to find them is by using their search function. So we wont see any new adopters or even Linux enthusiasts that just so happen not to know this little tid bit I think Dell should put a link on their front page for the Ubuntu computers and I would almost guarantee that their would be a vastly higher adoption rate.
- bruce89, on 12/01/2007, -0/+3Nope, I'm in Britain, and I got one.
- TheAttacks, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3That is part of the problem. When the average user is browsing around the Dell website on their ancient P4 machine, looking for something fresh, they can't just stumble upon the Ubuntu machines without trying to.
- String, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3They would sell a lot more if the ubuntu PCs weren't so difficult to find in their site... ¬¬
If they had them next to the Vista PCs they would sell a lot more... - basic0, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3I would imagine that a big company like Dell takes this into account already. They know that a lot of people have just recently bought a computer, don't see the need to upgrade, can't afford it, whatever. I don't think they'll pull the plug on Linux systems because they didn't sell 5 million of the things in the first 3 months.
- flatfish, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3Sad but probably true. I would like to see the Ubuntu machines succeed but it's a tough battle. I'm actually surprised that Dell sold even that many, so maybe I'm wrong.
I hope so but selling Linux machines in what is, unfortunately a Microsoft world, is a tough sell and no matter how good these machines are, people are conditioned to go with the leader and that, for better or worse, is Microsoft. - cerealman, on 11/30/2007, -0/+3One thing they don't consider is the number of people that bought Dell because they support Ubuntu Linux. I may not have bought an linux box, but I bought Dell because they supported Linux.
- inactive, on 11/30/2007, -2/+5Crap, I just realized that schestowitz submitted this. I'm out. digg me down for even responding.
- GMorgan, on 11/30/2007, -2/+5I've used it. In 5 years MS produced an improvement smaller than what I'd expect in 6 months from Linux.
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