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45 Comments
- JennyWMR, on 10/12/2007, -6/+64THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU - damentz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37"We will work with our hardware partners to develop, test, and maintain Free drivers, and continue to make progress towards that goal for all drivers."
I really hope Broadcom is their main hardware partner. - schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+38This is excellent, especially with Linus saying that he is pretty pleased with the latest draft of GPLv3. Dell has also just confirmed that it will add Linux options to desktops and laptops.
- diggapleaze, on 10/12/2007, -2/+34and ATI, those *****. I still hate you for ruining Feisty.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20Normally that kind of comment gets Dugg Down :/
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Apple sold BSD to home users, and that worked well. Dell could sell Linux if they do it right.
- Kickersny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Honestly, I don't really care if they even do that. Anything is better than nothing.
- adml_shake, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13""We will work with our hardware partners to develop, test, and maintain Free drivers, and continue to make progress towards that goal for all drivers."
I really hope Broadcom is their main hardware partner.""
A-*****-MEN. The only reason why I'm still dual booting on my laptop. - shrewduser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13wow, dell seem like they want to go all the way with this, which is a surprise (a pleasant one!) i thought they would half arse their linux support, perhaps they wish to emulate HP's recent linux success?
- YourDoom123, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12wow.... looks like i'm going to have to start recommending dells... and buy one myself...
- lengau, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11All Dell needs to do is to do it well. Maybe they should sell a web browsing+email appliance computer for a really low price. They sell it as an appliance rather than a full computer, so people don't get surprised when it doesn't work with their programs (that's not why they bought it).
They could do it with an iMac (or Mac mini) style machine. I'm sure if they used very low end stuff (like the AMD processors going for $25 nowadays), they could sell it for $200.
Any us Linux fans could put all of our programs on it. - DevastatorIIC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Normally that kind of comment isn't shared by every Digg reader.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11this really a milestone, dell is a major player and this will mean better support for linux! wooo hoo! Who knows maybe others will jump on board the band wagon and mean great things for the future of linux
- scratched, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8This is one of those things that I'll believe when I actually see it for sale.
It'll be interesting to see what Dell does with this. I'd like to see them pull this off really well and then have others follow in their footsteps.
I still dislike Dell products and service in general, but their business practice seems to be getting better, so at least they got that going for them. - Neiby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but it appears that Dell really gets it. They seem really committed to make linux on the desktop be a reality in their product line, and they seem to be going about it the right way. Only time will tell, but this looks very promising.
- actionscripted, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Looks like someone's read The Cluetrain Manifesto.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It doesn't matter if Dell DO put all their rubbish on their new Linux machines - you'll be able to delete it all and install the Linux flavour of your choice AND have it supported by them!
- mrfrosti, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8It seems like it is just rhetoric. He says:
"..we’ll use drivers already in the mainline kernel.org kernels for as many components as possible..."
This isn't a guarantee, or a change of policy. It is just saying that Dell might choose a device with an open driver rather than one without. If "as possible" means for the same price or less, then this isn't going to change much... - 1310nm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This is a surprise, I expected them to, at best, offer binary blob drivers, but it sounds like they are actually going to maintain open drivers. Imagine how many more machines they'll sell once the enthusiasts who build their own linux-friendly machines buy Dells instead.
- deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6It's interesting to see how Dell has handled the Linux situation lately. I gotta believe Michael Dell isn't happy with the fact that Dell has basically become an extension of Microsoft Corp. It's not healthy for any company to develop such a parasitic relationship. Obviously they're not going to stop selling Windows anytime soon but it would be a smart move for the companies share holders to start looking at alternatives.
- martalli, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7If they write their own DellBuntu, DellDora, DellDebian, or DellDriva, I think they can darn well put their logo on it somewhere. That may help maximize compatibility between Linux and the hardware. Honeslty, one of the larger vendors might be able to add a framework for the hardware manufacturer to supply drivers in their own repository. That way, there would be less risk of marginalizing users of the hardware manufacturer's customers, or at least further Balkanization of the Linux world.
- dw2005, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10Hmm as long as thye don't go trying to bundle their Dell crap with the drivers and spam Dell logos everywhere in the driver dialogs like some OEMs do.
- MonkeyMCSE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I think Michael Dell coming back is the key to it all. The last CEO, can't recall his name was pretty bad. He made the Dell name mean crap when it came to desktops, and he did what was good for the corporate pocketbook. All in all, he gave the shareholders what they wanted, which is his job, but at what price? Mr. Dell likes technology and saw his name going to crap, so he took that and came back. I think he is helping push this as well, his return will hopefully change the Dell name back to when it was at least dependable.
- Skeithy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If Dell does this right Linux could be a huge money maker on the desktop. Like lengau said they could sell Linux powered appliance computers that are cheap for a few functions. You could run Kubuntu with Beryl on specs that would sputter and die running Vista. Dell could create a custom ubuntu install tailored for their machines, and even package a CD with it for a reinstall. But they need to educate customers on what Linux is, and what it isn't. If they come out and say "Hey this Linux thing can edit photos, watch movies, browse the web and read email. Its just not so good at games" it would work out very well.
There are some things I'm wondering. Does this mean Dell with only sell Linux PCs with parts that have open source/ good closed source drivers. Will Dell try and create gpl'd drivers for parts on their machines that lack it? - prammy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It would be scary to see Linus on TV saying Dude! get a Dell!
- srouquette, on 11/12/2007, -0/+4ATI should listen to this, their driver sucks and I will switch to nvidia for my next rig.
- pcgeek101, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8Dell is a great company even without their support of Linux. At least the Linux users will support my favorite PC manufacturer! But ... I'm not sure what this says about home users. I hope they don't start giving Linux to your average joe at home ... that could cause some serious Dell-hatred.
- seuaniu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Open drivers are a good thing, but I'm gonna bitch about it anyway. Why GPL? That leaves all the *BSD people out in the cold. They really ought to consider a BSD license, so Linus can pull the code and relicense it for Linux, while bsd gets the same benefits.
- myfanwy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2awesome, fantastic.
doubleplus digg
look out MS, you're in trouble - lengau, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@neiby - Let's hope
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I bet your cup is half empty too!
- generalloy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Honestly I'm a little bit disappointed. Linux already supports Dell laptops pretty well (except for certain wireless cards but the Devicescape wireless stack is forging ahead). The big thing needed was pressure on ATI and Nvidia to make either their specfications open or to open source their drivers, and Dell isn't doing this AFAICT from this quote.
It depends on what they mean by "provide the closed source drivers"--will they be default or will people have to download them? It'd be better for Linux if it was the latter to put even a little bit of pressure on ATI and Nvidia.
"Some components, particularly some video cards, have working 2-D open source drivers, open source 3-D drivers actively being clean-room written by the community, and closed-source 3-D drivers available from the video card manufacturer. In these instances, while we continue to encourage the development (by all parties) towards open source drivers, we will provide the closed-source drivers for people who wish to use them." - rmxz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@damentz and adml_shake who both wrote "I really hope Broadcom is their main hardware partner."
I really hope Broadcom *stops* being Dell's main hardware partner. The best way Broadcom - and all hardware manufacturers watching this battle - will learn their lesson is if they continue to (presumably on Microsoft's behalf to get their "designed for Microsoft" stickers) oppose Linux drivers and Dell drops them.
Dell could "work with" Broadcom on GPL stuff for decades without Broadcom fully buying in on the idea (and again, I suspect Microsoft likes it that way) and continuing to support Microsoft better than Linux.
What needs to happen is that hardware manufacturers need to realize that you and I and corporate IT buyers are their customers, not Microsoft - and they should start designing for their customers needs, and not (as all too many products are labeled) "designed for Microsoft (WIndows|Vista)".
Maybe Broadcom will learn this fully - but I think it'll take losing a few major OEMs before they risk offending Microsoft. - kelvie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1AMD is (slowly but surely) improving their support for their graphics (ATI) drivers; with Dell on board too, it looks like it may just be a bright future for us Linux users after all.
- demonstar55, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2OMG! even better news! seems Dell actually gets it!!
Now I just need to get a job -_- - jejones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Unless they insist on hardware whose makers provide sufficient information for feature and speed parity for the open source drivers with the corresponding Windows drivers, it's an empty gesture.
- Fordi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"My understanding is that its illegal to provide binary drivers on Linux"
No, it's impossible to provide pure binary drivers for linux that you won't have to rebuild for the next 0.0.1 release. You have to build the drivers to match the kernel. nVidia gets around this by providing closed object files (ie: a 'tween stage of the buildprocess), and linking them together using your (or canonical's, or redhat's) very own kernel headers. This move has nothing to do with the law, it's just that it's the easiest way to go about doing it. - Spr0k3t, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hate Dell computers. This however, is quite fantastic for the Linux community. Personally speaking, I believe all drivers should utilize GPL unless the hardware manufacturer creates a set of well maintained binary drivers for multiple platforms. Honestly there is no excuse to not use GPL for drivers.
Strange thread... 30+ comments and not one negative. - Fordi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Can you say, 'market pressure'?
Consider that Dell is a large company, and they like to have their manufacturing systems designed efficiently. As a result, this means that *all* of their desktops and laptops will eventually be built with only devices that you can get working with OSS drivers. Which means one of the biggest PC producers will be selecting for GPL driver availability. - srg13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think that if Dell starts supporting Linux, then we'll see a lot more game titles released with Linux binaries.
- DriversPlaza, on 01/07/2009, -0/+0Thanks Buddy.. i got this news i like such articles
http://www.techlookz.com/driver-downloads/ - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The way it seems to be worded makes it sound like DELL are going to push for hardware manufactures to have free drivers, or hire people to code drivers and release em as open source.
All they are really saying is that they are going to use the kernel drivers over proprietary ones. This seems kind of obvious, there isn't really any choice for most stuff around, and the few stuff that does have closed drivers that work on linux (3d hardware and nForce is about the only thing I can think of) generally have problem working with anything other than specific kernel versions/Distros. They also say they would try to use components that have free drivers over closed ones. Once again fairly obvious since the products without drivers don't work (or maybe work really badly with something like NDIS wrapper for WiFi)
My understanding is that its illegal to provide binary drivers on Linux (nVidia get around it by using a wrapper layer afaik).
About the only thing of notice was using free 3D drivers, since there really isn't an alternative yet, although notice they say they will provide them if wanted.
Hopefully DELL is large enough to encourage some more free driver development from WiFi and other hardware manufacturers etc... who want to get in on DELL's Linux sales, but these driver manufacturers haven't wanted to get in on Linux sales yet so unless DELL start also using the same hardware from there Linux section for there main stuff I don't see to much increased activity. Maybe they will start asking manufactuers to open up, and they might actually listen to DELL. - ghalin, on 11/12/2007, -1/+1I really hope Broadcom *stops* being Dell's main hardware partner. The best way Broadcom - and all hardware manufacturers watching this battle - will learn their lesson is if they continue to (presumably on Microsoft's behalf to get their "designed for Microsoft" stickers) oppose Linux drivers and Dell drops them. http://www.free-article-info.com/maytag-parts.html
- kwimia, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0So... I don't like such articles.
- huyashamasha, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Beautiful! A bit arrogant, I think.
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