digg

Join DiggAbout

Donkeys and Elephants and Delegates,oh my!
Check out the most popular Elections 2008 content on Digg.

Here come the Dell Linux desktops, laptops

desktoplinux.com — Dell revealed today that it will be releasing select desktop and notebook systems with pre-installed Linux as an option in the coming weeks. These will be real, live Linux systems that you'll be able to call up and order, just like any other Dell product, according to the article. No word on what distributions will be offered.... yet.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • workingwriter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11I'm concerned about the modem business Vaughn-Nichols talks about here, but WiFi should be the solution, no? This is a threshold being crossed, though. I'm excited!
    • ubunterd, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20I love the fact that Microsoft is losing a stranglehold on their desktop/laptop pre-installation monopoly, but don't be surprised if the computers aren't considerably cheaper..

      Google, AOL, Netzero, etc wont be subsidizing Dell for that valuable space on your desktop and browser toolbar areas.
    • noahs, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3which disto?
    • chris9902, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23Since Dell is so close to Microsoft i'm guessing it'll be Suse.
    • carl0ski, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Google does produce Picasa and Google Earth for Linux

      and Google toolbar which they currently pay numerous companies to bundle with windows does support Firefox on Linux

      Adobe pays companies to buyndle Acrobat Reader

      Guess what
      Acrobat Reader 7 is available for linux


      I can assure you if companies are willing to sell Linux Desktops
      then Google, Adobe even AOL are willing to pay for their product to be used over a free competitor.
      I'm sure Adobe would pay to give you acroread as opposed to using KPDF.
    • InferiorWang, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yeah! I've been waiting for this announcement. I have a buddy that works for dell tech support and he says that while he doesn't know yet how the tech support for linux will go, it does appear that dell might decide to support up to 3 or 4 different distributions.

      So score a tally mark for open source.
  • schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -15/+5
    ,----[ Quote ]
    | Dell has heard you and we will expand our Linux support beyond our
    | existing servers and Precision workstation line. Our first step in
    | this effort is offering Linux pre-installed on select desktop and
    | notebook systems. We will provide an update in the coming weeks
    | that includes detailed information on which systems we will
    | offer, our testing and certification efforts, and the Linux
    | distribution(s) that will be available. The countdown begins today.
    `----

    http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/ideastorm/ideasinaction?c=us&l=en&s=gen
  • weijie90, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"For cases such as WinModems, for which there are neither open source nor proprietary drivers available, Dell will be encouraging users to substitute a hardware-based modem. "However, we can't substitute hardware-based modems in our notebooks without redesigning and significantly increasing the price of the system. If it's important to you to have a hardware-based modem, you would add one into your PC Card or ExpressCard slot.""

    Why not just have a LAN port, like the current Insprion 6400 (and others) have? Why use WinModems in the first place?
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9You don't have to chose one or the other. I'm sure all their laptops come with LAN ports at this point.
    • standalonematt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Some people still want modems on laptops. When traveling it gives you one more way to get online. While its true that more and more hotels, restaurants, etc have wi-fi or ethernet connections - it always isn't so. My AT&T DSL comes with a dial-up connection that I have used a few times. Now a USB modem might be a better option for those people.
    • InferiorWang, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2or a modem on a PC card like people used to use, or like people use for wireless cards.

      I actually still have a 56k PCMCIA card floating around my misc cables box.
    • hipnerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3They've taken some good steps here, but they didn't build these systems from the ground up for Linux compatibility. I think this is reasonable, and ultimately, not very important for most users. I think that if the business is successful, they will look at including hardware modems in the next generation, or better yet, build some Linux drivers to run a software modem.
  • SicKiller, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1Hell Yeah!

    [begin microsoft bashing]
  • vraa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+24"No word on what distributions will be offered.... yet."
    Forget the distribution, just make sure the hardware is Linux compatible. No having to use ndiswrappers or funk hacks and what not. Make things as simple as you can for us, so we can simply buy your hardware.
    • digitalarcanum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4open-source broadcom drivers for wireless networking that actually work would be lovely. I would think that among the distros that dell would support. Suse would be one, RHEL another (as they already support this on their workstation and server end), and perhaps Fedora Core as yet another option. Maybe ubuntu to appease the ubuntu fans.. but I dunno. at this point it's just wild speculation.
  • anthonyl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23:) is it finally time for some designed for linux stickers on the new dells?
  • mahler, on 10/12/2007, -2/+29This could either be the big break for Linux in 2007, or the most elaborate April fools' joke ever :-)
    • weijie90, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4That would be hugely inapporpriate. Anyway, I'm looking forward to 1st April. I wonder what Digg will come up with.
    • vraa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Accccctually the biggest make or break will not just be a OEM company offering linux (assuming it's at a low low price) but also if normal users can understand what Ubuntu (specifically Ubuntu because it's linux for humans) is compared to Microsoft.

      I still get questions regarding Mac OS X where people ask "and all my files will work? what about my applications?"
      Many many people know nothing but Microsoft Windows -- that's what they grew up on. It'll be a while (and even longer if the geeks don't accelerate the process) so people (especially kids) learn that there are alternatives out there... *viable* alternatives.
    • mercurysquad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"so people (especially kids) learn that there are alternatives out there..."

      Well, the 'especially kids' part is a problem. Most high school kids want to cam on msn, for example. They power on their Ubuntu machine and log on to Gaim, and find there is no voice or cam. Then they install aMSN only to find the cam not working half of the time.. yahoo photo sharing doesn't work, no doodle imvironment, etc etc.

      Plus of course ..no gaming. They pop in the latest game CD to find it doesn't run (Wine doesn't count). It won't take long for them to declare "this sux", and since in many households, kids do drive purchase decision for certain products, it might be difficult for Linux based desktops to take off.
    • generalloy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"
      Well, the 'especially kids' part is a problem. Most high school kids want to cam on msn, for example. They power on their Ubuntu machine and log on to Gaim, and find there is no voice or cam. Then they install aMSN only to find the cam not working half of the time.. yahoo photo sharing doesn't work, no doodle imvironment, etc etc.
      "

      True, Gaim is idiotic for not including cam support in 2007. They're apparently working on it, but a gaim-vv (voice/video) fork actually WORKED a while ago and they chose not to integrate it.

      So it's AMSN or Kopete for MSN peeps who want to cam.
  • astions, on 10/12/2007, -14/+3Something smells here. I think it's awesome that OEM's are beginning to offer Linux, I swear by Linux, but why would they partner with Novell? MS pretty much just bought out Novell...

    Where there is smoke there is fire, somehow, someway, MS might be benefiting from this...
    • diggAddict, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19
      Finally when a vendor provides Linux - members of the linux community still bitch and moan? WHAT THE?

      Geez guys - wake up, this is a first step - dont shoot it down and be so damned negative - or you never get anywhere and just continue on bitching about Linux for the next 50 years.

      Come on, support Dell and make it work - BE POSITIVE!
    • jtp51, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Don't bury this comment. If you have any business sense this is a true statement.
    • TheShad0w, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3We aren't bitching, we are cautious. I don't really care for SuSe, never have. It seems very coincidental that DELL is all of a sudden interested in the Linux market when we have been asking for it for the last few years. Where it looks bad is that Microsoft attempted to punish DELL when they first tried to sell machines with just Linux compatible hardware. Then MS gets in bed with Novell and now DELL is offering up desktops with Linux. If it is SuSe then that raises concern that the only reason they are doing it is cause MS can provide them with a distro they can control. If you don't see the problems with that then you must be blind.
    • Quadduc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hope that if they offer the Suse distribution, they will at least offer other alternatives too. I'm having a huge trust problem with Novell after their software patent deal, because it shows that Novell doesn't really care about the philosophy behind Free Software. Software patents can essentially make free software non-free.
  • astions, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3Not to mention that DELL/HP/INTEL all have been slammed into corners in the past. Looking back, history will tell you they don't want to make MS mad... so does this mean the market is changing, and Microsoft is losing its grip, or that Microsoft is oozing into a Linux distributor of some sort...

    • baalzebub, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5OEMs better grow some balls and tell microsoft to stick it where the sun don't shine, if i owned a business i sure as hell wont let another business tell me what i can include or not include in & on my products...
  • wedderburn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6i was gonna grab a dell inspiron 6400 with vista ( do the whole decline the license and get my money back for the windows license) now i think i'll hold on and get one with linux preloaded( even if i don't like the distro).
    • weijie90, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2High five, I'm using the 6400 too. Its is very value-for-money, but the ac adapter is very loose if unsecured.
    • mntpng, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm in kinda similar boat as you. I find it unethical action for me to buy a product from Microsoft and therefore Dell's laptops were out of the question. My options for getting a decent laptop without paying Microsoft tax was to either get a Macbook or Macbook Pro from Apple at a premium price or from a few small vendors that sell linux preinstalled laptops. When Dell does roll out their line of Linux laptops, I'll definitely have to evaluate their offering seriously.
  • misterwolf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Since there were several DELL related commits from SUSE employees to HAL I'd bet on SLED.
  • lionslair, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I wonder how much this will drop the price of there system not having to buy a copy of windows.
    • chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35Windows XP OEM Preinstall ~ $59 USD.
      Windows Vista OEM Preinstal ~$60-150

      Sell-your-customers-privacy-for-a-nickel spyware -$5
      Coolweb -$5
      BonziBuddy -$10
      Yahoo Toolbar -$5
      Google Toolbar -$10
      Alexa -$3
      Adobe PDF and associated ***** -$15
      RealPlayer and associated ***** -$13
      MusicMatch Jukebox -$7
      Norton system destabilizer, 90 day trail -$20
      Terrible Photo software + spyware -$13

      Windows comes pre-paid for and Linux is free, so I'm guessing the price for Windows and the Linux systems will probably be about the same.
    • jlebrech, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3@chrono13

      I think all the crapware, evens dramatically lowers the price of the operating system on Dell kit.

      But I think theres a market for Ad based themes, and even a firefox plugin with maybe a wallpaper ad changer or something.

      I wouldn't mind if my gnome/kde theme changed to an advertisers colorscheme and wallpaper every once in a while.

      1 hour of the day i'tll be a Nike theme, then firefox updates it to a Ford theme, Cocacola Theme... I think that would be a great idea.
      I wouldn't even turn it off.
    • Fordi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12http://www.System76.com FTW!
    • chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"I wouldn't mind if my gnome/kde theme changed to an advertisers colorscheme and wallpaper every once in a while. "

      I would.

      But I think you are confusing advertising with fiostware. Take, for example "Terrible photo software". It will have a hard time competing on the Linux desktop, even if it is included as foistware with no other photo software pre-installed.
      With a central add/remove repository, users don't have to search for alternatives or worry about demo time, price, malware, and the other pitfalls of testing alternative software in Windows. They will have the alternatives already, free, trusted, categorized, arranged by popularity and a click away.
    • baalzebub, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@ crono13 i build my own PCs, but if i had to buy an OEM machine i rather pay an extra 50 dollars for a desktop with a clean Linux pre-install without any of the spamware that comes with your average Windows OEM install, time is money and if i have to spend time fdisking a machine and re-installing my preferred OS/distro then that is time that could have been better spent doing something more productive...
  • jesperhh, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think it will be a somewhat cheaper, depends if they're also scrapping the spyware/junkware they distribute with normal windows machines (that would prolly result in a smaller price cut), or if they convince spyware creators to port it to linux..
    Wouldn't that be nice, dell funding the creation of malware for linux..
  • Churnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7If they support it, that means they'll have drivers for all the hardware, which is really what we want anyway. Not that most hardware isn't already recognized by most distros. It'll be interesting to see if they ship the systems pre-installed with the nvidia drivers and adobe acrobat reader. I'm sure they will add Crossover Office to the mix so they can throw in some MS options.
  • Johnny9794, on 10/12/2007, -13/+3Linux is a very good OS but on the other hand Dell sux period...

    Just build your own system and install your choice Distro...
    • paulmdx, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Great idea. So where do I go to build a laptop?
    • Johnny9794, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4You can build anything if you put your mind to it... and for building your own lappy >>> http://laptoplogic.com/resources/detail.php?id=22
    • CAPSLOCKISCOOL, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3"Great idea. So where do I go to build a laptop?"

      http://www.google.com/search?q=barebone+notebook&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
    • Hyuuu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i agree, dell really isn't so great.. their customer service is just as bad.. i expect a lot of problems for awhile..
      none the less.. i hope other computer manufacturers follows dell's example and allows the option for linux..

      and it is possible to build a laptop O.o why you all burying em' down?
    • Johnny9794, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0If you have bought a dell you are truly a ***** moron and for those that do not know how to build a lappy omfg you are one stupid ***** :D... I really feel sorry and pity the ones that went out and spent money on a dell which you will get screwed over in so many ways because people like that just have money, go out and spend it like it is nothing and do not read reviews prior of what they purchase. Yea your really intelligent in that section? Aren't you?
  • diggapleaze, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4I for one welcome our new AOL desktop-crapplet overlords.
  • Fordi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5"* Majority of survey respondents said that existing community-based support forums would meet their technical support needs for a tested and validated Linux operating system on a Dell system.
    * Survey respondents indicated that improved hardware support for Linux is as important as the distribution(s) offered."

    Which they could have figured out from one of the oldest axioms on Linux: "It's a bitch to set up, but once you have, it's wonderfully easy and rock-solid stable". In short: Get the hardware running and well integrated, and hand us the system. Most of us will then hit the forums to do anything out-of-the-ordinary.
  • freebit50, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I have a question about open source. Lets say I am a MicroISV and I make a few hundred dollars side money making small software programs. Lets say that I want to sell it for use on Linux after Linux takes over the world. If I cannot link to GPL software and if Linux is all GPL, then how do I make any money selling my software?

    Lets ask another question hypothetically. Lets say that Linux takes over the world. What if I want a great program like photshop, but I don't want to use the gimp. How is a company like Adobe going to sell their software as a Linux version if it can not link to anything on a Linux box?

    Can anyone point me to an online resource that answers these questions in depth?
    • chrono13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6http://www.google.com

      Adobe releases software for Linux (Flash, PDF reader, etc). Video game makers have made many main-stream titles installable on Linux. Google Earth and tons of other proprietary, non-GPL, non-copyleft softwares run on Linux as well. The GPL, LGPL, BSD and other copyleft licenses do not prohibit this.
    • Quadduc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You can sell free software too.
      You could charge a fee for distribution (but you can't stop anyone from redistributing copies for no charge). You could offer a subscription service or paid support, warranty...

      By the way, BSD is not copyleft. It's a free software license, but it's not a copyleft one, like GPL.
  • c0ldfusi0n, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3What, you mean it wasn't already? As far as i recall, it's Ubuntu on my Inspiron 1501...


    Oh, that's right, it came with Vista and they refused to sell it without it, even after numerous calls.
    If that happens, I'm so calling them for a "Designed for Linux" sticker.
  • ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2well they'd better release some drivers etc for my precision m90 if they expect me to look twice
  • diggsIt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4A Linux-Dell machine makes sense for a new linux user, but it will most likely be cheaper to buy the Windows machine and wipe the drive - which defeats the purpose. I'd buy a Dell if they would offer the Windows machine, sans Windows, and deduct the cost of the OS.
    • bmartin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2That makes sense to me. Of course, you run the risk of having incompatible hardware. Most people who want Linux are capable of installing a distribution. If it's cheaper, buy a Windows computer and wipe the drive; it's unreasonable to expect people to "pay more for Linux to avoid the Microsoft tax."

      My laptop came with XP. When I put Ubuntu on there, I had a non-working wireless chipset and web cam. Considering the Chinese web cam was a gift, it was a battle to get it to work. The wireless never worked and I ended up buying a USB stick, which also required a lot of effort to get working.
  • underthelinux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Does anyone know what this means for warranties? I think your warrranty on dell equipment is voided if you were to wipe your MS box and put linux on it, right? How does that tie in, here? That's one of the biggest reasons i'd want to buy a dell - if something failed, i could just send it right back to them. (I'm quite prone to hardware failure, for some ridiculous reason).
  • Tezdoll, on 10/12/2007, -17/+0And i still don't care!
    • idonthack, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7Then STFU, GTFO and don't ever come back.
  • jellygraph, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2fingers crossed
  • crapbox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6This is great because you don't have to research what hardware works with linux. They do all the work, just turn up with your money.
  • flag564, on 10/12/2007, -14/+5They will never sell.

    With so few people actually wanting to use Linux, the most Dell will ever sell will be about a few thousand at best.

    There was never any real outcry for Dell to do this, it was a deliberate con job by some Linux users to flood Dell with requests making it seem like some huge groundswell of users wanted Linux laptops.

    How many of those so-called users will even buy one of these? Few at best.


    • CrazyZ, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3You beat me to it. See my post below.
    • NewChar, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2And when Dell closes this Linux option down 6 months from now we'll have the tens of thousands who flooded Dell's IdeaStorm site to thank.
    • mercurysquad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"it was a deliberate con job by some Linux users"

      ..who are obviously getting paid for it, unlike Microsoft, which has gotten Dell to pre-bundle Windows for purely the benefit of humanity.
  • JrGhoull, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5finally all the uber hardcore linux users who have been saying for years that "this year is the year of linux" might actually have a chance at being right for once

    i might be getting one of these things just for xgl/beryl
  • CrazyZ, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5And when 5 people buy a linux based pc from Dell and Dell realizes that there is absolutely no money to be made in this arena, and drop the offering, it will be their fault huh?

    I can name 20 people off the top of my head who want Dell to sell Linux based computers and "champion" the OSS cause, but the same 20 people also state they would never buy Dell.

    I fail to see how this Dell offering is going to succeed in any way, shape, or form, but you all are buying it hook, line, and sinker.
  • Linguino, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I would like to see how Dell will deal with the cost and support issues at hand. Not to mention that this could also backfire, and be the next SCO...

    http://www.devside.net/articles/linux-dell-pipe-dream

    "Is Microsoft playing a chess-game here? Could this be a move that is designed to backfire against Linux, and the community, as a whole... Charge more money per "blank" system, provide terrible support, have nothing but problems, and shift the blame to Linux."
  • Zovix, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2When talking about the price of these Linux install systems, the last time a company offered pre-installed Linux the systems I believe they ended up costing more then there Windows counterparts. I don't remember who offered these systems though. I just remember a lot of people "wtf'ing?" over the price. Anyone remember this?
  • Jcink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very Cool. B)
  • fishbait, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1and they will sell about ten of them
  • PersianCowboy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Thats great news! They should install Suse 10.2
  • Krechet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is very good news. Not because I'd love to have what Dell thinks is a good linux distro, but because this means that the hardware has to be 100% supported by linux (or some proprietary modules that are bad but still make the system work). Now there will be two safe bets for buying a laptop - lenovo and dell. And since dell is cheaper this will hopefully mean that we'll have some good products on the market to choose from.
  • gailwin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1replying to the top comment made by chrono13,
    Dell sells their machines without any operating system installed.
    Purchasing a computer from Dell without an operating system is actually much cheaper than purchasing one with Windoze already pre installed on it.

    http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/nseries?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=mn

    Dell also has their computers with Red Hat Enterprise Linux pre-installed too:
    http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/precn_n?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
  • inotocracy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Brad Burns seems to be working his magic :P
  • TOOTALOU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I personally hope that Bill Gates and Microsoft fall threw the roof! It time for somebody else to be on top!! Good luck to Dell and Linux, may they have many happy and profitable years together!! :)
  • siucdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0WOW, ITS GOING TO BE UBUNTU!!!!!!!
  • oldnikon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Hm... I've never thought it is for real.
  • dmitriyvoz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0i was gonna grab a dell inspiron 6400 with vista ( do the whole decline the license and get my money back for the windows license) now i think i'll hold on and get one with linux preloaded( even if i don't like the distro). The same theme on Russian sites: http://pivo.in.ua http://www.alcogol.kiev.ua
  • turdigg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0If they support it http://www.voyage-voyage.info , that means they'll have drivers for all the hardware http://www.vip-tour.biz , which is really what we want anyway http://www.viptraveler.info . Not that most hardware isn't already recognized by most distros http://www.ukrtravel.org . It'll be interesting to see if they ship the systems http://www.automig.info pre-installed with the nvidia drivers and adobe acrobat reader http://www.megatourism.info . I'm sure they will add Crossover Office to the mix so they can throw in some MS options http://www.autorial.info .
  • elitork, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0fingers crossed
    http://themes.allitemsweb.cn/index.php
  • mhmdkhamis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"For cases such as WinModems, for which there are neither open source nor proprietary drivers available, Dell will be encouraging users to substitute a hardware-based modem. "However, we can't substitute
    http://www.paramegsoft.com/forum/
    hardware-based modems in our notebooks without redesigning and significantly increasing the price of the http://www.paramegsoft.com/ system. If it's important to you to have a hardware-based modem, you would add
    http://fr.paramegsoft.com/forum/
    one into your PC Card or ExpressCard slot.""
  • mhmdkhamis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0http://www.paramegsoft.com/forum/forum53/
    http://fr.paramegsoft.com/
    but still windows the best
  • mhmdkhamis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0http://game.paramegsoft.com
    http://dir.paramegsoft.com
    great thanks
  • waterdown, on 11/25/2007, -0/+0thx for the tips..http://www.ssblogging.com
  • vladimirmilici, on 12/07/2007, -0/+0Dell laptops are very popular in US.
    Personally i prefer Hp/compaq
    I found some fresh Dell news here: http://www.niftynotebooks.com/dell
  • mdr3m, on 02/21/2008, -0/+0http://www.directory-world-languages.com/
    great thanks
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.