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Which Linux will Dell offer?
desktoplinux.com — It's not *whether* or even *when* (most likely, it'll be within the next month) -- it's *which* Linux or Linuxes will Dell offer on its desktops and laptop lines? Here's one prominent Dell/Linux-watcher's best guess at the answer to that question...
deviceguru- 627 diggs
- digg it
- schestowitz, on 10/12/2007, -44/+23I spotted the following over a week ago:
Red Hat Linux Not Likely To Be Offered On Dell Desktop PCs, Pacific Crest Says
,----[ Quote ]
| Dell does sell some workstations with Red Hat Linux already installed;
| but CEO Michael Dell indicated recently that the company has been
| reluctant to back any particular variety of Linux for the desktop.
| In an interview with the Web site DesktopLinux.com in March, he
| indicated that the Ubuntu version has lately been the most popular
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| choices of its users seeking to use Linux.
`----
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2007/04/11/red-hat-linux-not-likely-to-be-offered-on-dell-desktop-pcs-pacific-crest-says/
Later on, it turned out he uses that at home as well. FWIW, H-P is apparently evaluating GNU/Linux as well these days, based on sources that are apparently close to the company.- ZippidyDoo, on 10/12/2007, -18/+48What the hell is wrong with people not using simple Quotation marks. They do have a purpose.
- jus1haz2, on 10/12/2007, -11/+31I think it will be ubunutu or suse
- Ademan, on 10/12/2007, -7/+43yes lets all bitch about his wierd quotation style and totally ignore the information he's offering.
- specialK16, on 10/12/2007, -12/+0Michael Dell uses Automatix2!
- cypher35, on 10/12/2007, -17/+13Which "Linux"??
There is only *one* Linux... I think what you mean to say is which Linux "distribution" will Dell offer. - sexycommando, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14For those digging down jus1haz2, any particular reason you disagree with him? I'm no linux guru, but my first thought was also "Ubuntu or SLED". Ubuntu because it is so damn popular and Michael Dell runs it on one of his machines, and SLED because of the enterprise-level support and because they are protected from potential MS patent lawsuits. If you guys disagree I'd love to know why.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -16/+1Why is this getting on the front page every day? It's Red Hat you ***** morons, Red Hat not Ubuntu.
Buy a Precision 390n with Red Hat® Linux® Now!
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/reftopic.aspx/pub/products/precn_kat?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&~section=390
This has been up for weeks! Shut the hell up already! - h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -14/+1Why is this getting on the front page every day? It's Red Hat you ***** morons, Red Hat not Ubuntu.
Buy a Precision 390n with Red Hat® Linux® Now!
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/reftopic.aspx/pub/products/precn_kat?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&~section=390
This has been up for weeks! Shut the hell up already! - melat0nin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@cypher
As correct as you are, moving over to a more user-friendly parlance can only help Linux be more successful with ordinary consumers. - vangheem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For all the people who keep saying it is Red Hat, I really doubt that Red Hat is what Distro they will be offering in the future. If it is, then I am not entirely excited.
Red Hat is more for servers and business type stuff..... I think....
- ropers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+49Dell Dude: Oh, we got both kinds. We got Ubuntu *and* Kubuntu.
- HerrEisenheim, on 10/12/2007, -20/+2Everyone seems to want Ubuntu to be pre-loaded, but I can't seem to figure out why. If they do choose Ubuntu, then they aren't going to support it. They are just going to leave you with community support. That means that it will likely ship with broken drivers and functionality.
What's the point? You might as well just buy a computrer with Windows Vista (since it's going to be the same price anyway), and just install Ubuntu yourself. At least then you make away with a Vista liscense.
If they use RedHat or SUSE, it's possible that they could work out support contracts and even work with RedHat on Novell on drivers for their systems. - trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14@herreisenheim
Ubuntu offers Commercial support too.
http://www.ubuntu.com/support/paid - Noctem, on 10/12/2007, -16/+6Holy *****! I had never seen those support services.
Let's see here.
I can buy Vista Ultimate for $360 (Price from amazon.com - Free shipping, no tax). For as long as I own Vista, and as long as Microsoft supports it (and don't try to tell me Canonical will be supporting the Hoary Hedgehog release forever), I have 24x7 phone support. Not that I'll probably ever need it, since I rarely run into problems on Windows that I can't solve myself (And I don't need to read forums to find solutions, either) but it's there if I need it.
I can download Ubuntu for free, and they want _$900_ for a _YEAR_ of optional Desktop support? Sure, I can spend 3 hours searching a forum to fix a probably not-so-simple problem for a migrating user (if one arrives), but chances are, most users that migrate aren't willing to spend that kind of time to fix errors.
These are the things people don't think about when they're giving out all these Ubuntu CD's to friends and family, telling them it's 'the next big thing'. - t3soro, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Noctem, thats for enterprise support, hence the title of the section, "Enterprise-class support across the globe."
Plus, there really is no need for personal support so long as you aren't an idiot, can read forums, and can use Google well. - greatcaffeine, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15@t3soro
Most people have no idea what they're doing, can't search Google, and can't find useful forums to help fix problems. - SirNuke, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15@Noctem
The Ubuntu support you linked to is NOT included with the Microsoft license. This is additional IT support for businesses.
Microsoft's equivalent to this is extremely expensive, their base support checks in at $8,299.00 ( https://buysupport.microsoft.com/ ). Ouch. - filipf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Actually, there is only limited time support on Vista. I think it's like 90 days phone support. After that you have to pay for each call.
- Speed, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1@t3soro, ever ask for Linux help on a message board? I always get the same response (keep in mind I *ALWAYS* search first to make sure it hasn't been asked, and chances are I find the message board by trying to Google the problem):
"lern how 2 fukin use search ***** n00b go bk 2 ur ***** m$ windowz if ur 2 fukin stoopid to figure it out urself"
Kind of ironic that people who obviously have never grasped how to spell, or talk to people are calling me an idiot. - sinembarg0, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9@speed
You must be in the wrong forums, or not asking your question correctly (most likely the former). Anywhere you go, if you ask stupid questions, you will be made fun of, but if you come back and ask an intelligent question, you might be able to redeem yourself.
Ex. (from openWRT IRC):
Me:~Whenever I try to install a package with ipkg, it returns a wget error. I can connect to the internet though the router just fine. What could cause this?
Other:~ can the router access the internet? it doesn't matter if you can get online _through_ the router, only if you can get online _with_ the router.
Me: How would I test that?
Other: Maybe you should go back to stock firmware.
Me: I can ping google just fine.
Other: Can you ping the download site?
...
You get the picture. I asked a stupid question, but kinda redeemed myself with the right response (and ignoring the insult).
- HerrEisenheim, on 10/12/2007, -20/+2Everyone seems to want Ubuntu to be pre-loaded, but I can't seem to figure out why. If they do choose Ubuntu, then they aren't going to support it. They are just going to leave you with community support. That means that it will likely ship with broken drivers and functionality.
- rappermas, on 10/12/2007, -3/+76I say Ubuntu. That way Dell would replace Apple as Digg's favorite brand.
- Murdats, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4yeah. the apple astroturf campaign would have to provide a new hardware provider as the sole representitive of the 'PC', hardware side
- KibibyteBrain, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4No, they wouldn't. The same PC guy could become a linux user just by smoking a joint, getting a scandinavian accent, and finding saran wrap sexy. Still would be 10x cooler to know than the smug mac guy or the normal boring PC guy.
- Lobster, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1By providing a CD with their hardware, for a minimal cost
they could satisfy Redmond AND have the fastest running Linux (runs in ram once loaded from CD)
http://www.tmxxine.com/fb/
and hell if not Dell
some hardware manufacturer will - Wootery, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@lobster
Puppy Linux should only be used on PCs so old they can't run something better (like the slightly less lightweight Xubuntu).
Ubuntu (or even Xubuntu) is an order of magnitude better than Puppy on any modern system; Dell aren't selling systems with 64MB of RAM, so it makes no sense to go for Puppy.
Also, the idea of expecting people to live-boot for their main OS is retarded.
- Zero456, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2Personally, I think consumers should be given a choice as to what Linux distro they want among a select few (Fedora, Ubuntu, Suse, etc.).
- greatcaffeine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Doubt it. It would be too much of a hassle for Dell to have to install a bunch of different distros. Not only that, but it would make it even harder to offer support to customers, which is one of the main reasons people stick with PC builders like Dell anyway.
- statix, on 10/12/2007, -5/+61Ubuntu AOL-15-day-free-trial Edition
- KibibyteBrain, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2No, it would be SOL: Sweden Online.
- Giga, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Oh dear god no! Won't someone think of the children?
- TheNotoriousBIG, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Here's to hoping I can order my new systems from dell outlet preloaded with feisty. It was a pain to get the wireless drivers working on my Latitude D620 until the 2.6.20 kernel fixed a couple of bugs.
- TheLoneWolf071, on 10/12/2007, -7/+22Ubuntu is a very solid choice. I've used most distro's and in my personal opinion, ubuntu has what it takes to make it mainstream. Sad to say, it is the most window'd version of linux out their :)
Digg me down, IDC- hedgefighter, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Their's something wrong with what you said...
- cdmarcus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14How is Ubuntu the most "window'd"? I'm just curious... I use it and I find the interface completely different, but definitely much better, than Windows.
- M0nk3yM4n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9What do you mean Windows'd? What does it matter that it looks like Windows? No kid, businessman, student, teacher, aspiring photographer, family, 99% of computer users want to use a command line all the f'ing time. A good GUI is necessary for an operating system that can be used by all demographics and not just geeky "frodos" out there.
- EbilPhish, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Kubuntu would be more window'd than Ubuntu since KDE is more like windows layout and Gnome more like OSX, but I wouldn't consider either to be window'd.
http://www.linux-xp.com/ would be more window'd
Ive also seen a desktop theming look exactly like xp with icons/backgrounds/borders/widgets.
It would be interesting to modify a version of Ubuntu with that and splashscreens then distribute it over bittorrent.
- JavertHolmes, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4I'll be more amused when the computer arrives at someone's house pre-loaded with crippled versions of Tux Racer and a 15 day Cedega trial, a copy of Firefox pointing to some bad in-house patching site as opposed to using something like Synaptic, and no install CDs to speak of.
- pyite, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Please let it be Ubuntu.
However, the choice of distro is irrelevant - as long as there is full hardware support with no binary drivers (ok i won't freak out if they require NVidia or ATI). The confidence of knowing that mainstream drivers will support everything easily is worth paying a bit extra for.
This means wireless in particular - the broadcom piece of ***** in my D800 laptop sucks hard. ndiswrapper is simply not acceptable (and doesn't even work on this one).- ISurfTooMuch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The distro is irrelevant. What matters is sales. If these boxes gain traction, it will not only boost Linux's profile, but it will also help the driver situation. Having Linux gain wider acceptance will only push hardware makers to offer greater Linux support for their products. This will not only happen with standalone products, such as printers, but you'll also see component makers getting in on the action. Let's face it, Dell sells lots of computers. Would you want to be the company that makes a component or chipset that can't work under Linux? Do that, and you've just shut yourself out of getting a partnership with Dell.
- trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5There are ( and have been for a while ) open source drivers for all broadcom cards, if you are using Feisty just:
sudo apt-get install bcm43xx-fwcutter
or get it through the GUI with synaptic either way it will ask you if you want it to automatically download and extract the firmware for your card, choose yes.
That's it. The bcm43xx driver will be automatically loaded when you boot but if you don't want to reboot simply
sudo modprobe bcm43xx
- DarkDragon, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1I can't wait. I'm planning to buy one soon after its launched irregardless of what distro is on there.
- 1310nm, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1SuSE, it was already decided.
- Starks, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Evidence?
Besides, Mikey Dell personally uses Ubuntu on his M90. - meopameopa, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1@Starks
He has 5 ***** computers, 4 with vista, only ONE with ubuntu. - Giga, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@meopameopa
And none running SuSe. Where did he say that Michael Dell only had one computer? He specified which machine in particular runs Ubuntu. - meopameopa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@giga
you fanboys are trying to make it sound like ubuntu is the only thing he runs, as usual you are distorting the truth.
- Starks, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Evidence?
- M0nk3yM4n, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2I hope it's Ubuntu personally. However no one is going to buy an XPS laptop or desktop or any very expensive and powerful computer especially for gaming and put Ubuntu on it. You just can't play games to the max on Ubuntu or any other distro. SO, I would speculate that you will see Ubuntu the most on business, educational, and basically just productivity machines to crank out documents, web pages, programming what not. Although I know Cedega and Wine are coming along, gaming on Windows just can't be beat and is the reason why I still find myself on XP so much, even with a dual-boot of Feisty.
- dimension128, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@m0nk3ym4n,
I'm really having a hard time understanding this lately. Please explain to me what exactly gives you this idea that your gaming experience only reaches its alleged 'full potential' when running on Windows. I use Ubuntu, and I play Counterstrike Source, UT2k4, Doom3, starcraft, and second life. Although I could sit here and name drop many others, the point is that I'm not really aware of any major game that is worth playing that wont work on my Ubuntu based system.
Only 2 of those 5 games require wine, the others all have native Linux binaries.
Wine is not that hard to use.
I don't see ANY worthwhile difference in performance, graphics, sound, or control in any of these games with linux vs windows.
And where I do see a small difference, it is usually just a small frame rate increase, but its different for each game. UT runs faster on Linux, but css is faster on windows. And to be even more specific, load times are faster under Linux on all of the games, the ONLY area where windows beats Linux, is fps in css, and were talking about a ~2 fps difference. That is hardly something to complain about when your fps is good enough already.
Another thing I have found pretty interesting, but haven't been able to explain is, under Linux, my ping always seems to be better than when I play the same game on the same server under Windows.
Anyway, I understand that some time ago the whole "windows is for gamers" stereotype was actually true, but I have been using Linux for 2.5 years now, and I can say with complete confidence that it is no longer true whatsoever. So please explain, what exactly makes you think Linux still wont give you an equal or greater gaming experience than that of windows? - 35263526, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1dimension128, note that all the games you listed are getting pretty old by this point. Don't get me wrong, Linux + WINE/Cedega will play games, but Windows wins out because every new game will work from the beginning. You don't get that with Linux, which is why I also use XP far more often than Gentoo on this machine; Linux gives me a far nicer experience, but I really can't be bothered rebooting to play some C&C3 or Medieval 2.
- Kr4t05, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1www.transgaming.com
A mere $5/mo far out-weighs $299 every 4 or 5 years. Don't you think?
I use Cedega 6, myself (didn't pay for it, though. :P). It plays both GTA: SA and Guild Wars wonderfully, and Half-Life 2 works in Wine. Doom, Quake, Wolfenstien, UT, and a slew of other games. Plus the host of OSS games free for download: Nexuiz, Warsow, Tremulous, BZflag, gl-117, StepMania, Frets on Fire, the list goes on...
In fact: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open_source_games
Have fun. :) - TrueVox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Um... I'm VERY pro-linux (running feisty on my E1405 to write this), but $5 * 12 months * 5 years = $300; 300 > 299.
Still, very pro-linux, just wanted to point that out.
Wine = $0, if anyone really wants a cheap, but still pretty good experience.
- dimension128, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@m0nk3ym4n,
- wafflez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Does it really matter which version? I'm sure if someone wants to run Linux, they will use their own, customized distro and just format the one pre-loaded. The real thing that people could hope for to save a few hours of downloading and installing would be having a page to choose which distro would come installed.
- M0nk3yM4n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Actually this isn't just about saving time with deleting the copy of XP that came with the computer and installing the distro you just burned. It's about expanding the community. People will order the cheap OS and expand the numbers that are dependent on it. This will create higher demand for customer service and options for users. Necessity is the mother of invention, and Ubuntu, Suse, or whatnot will soar to new heights.
Just look at Firefox, the more popular it got (Even just 1% of the market share increase made a difference) and the cooler it got exponentially. - oobuntu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1it matters whether you suddenly get an upsurge of users using a distro that defaults to gnome or KDE.
For ex-windows users, i think that KDE is a lot easier to pick up and switch between (even if it does look a bit like Win 2000 out of the box)
- M0nk3yM4n, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6Actually this isn't just about saving time with deleting the copy of XP that came with the computer and installing the distro you just burned. It's about expanding the community. People will order the cheap OS and expand the numbers that are dependent on it. This will create higher demand for customer service and options for users. Necessity is the mother of invention, and Ubuntu, Suse, or whatnot will soar to new heights.
- d722002, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I personally think Dell should offer a custom-made version of Linux, something based off of Fedora Core or Ubuntu, so that they can guarantee the compatibility and can offer in-house support, instead of relying on Red Hat to do it.
- g3r4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That'd be nice if they can get someone to actually sit down and work with them. Its possible, Sony worked with YellowDog after all, but thats a relatively unknown distrib with the time to devote to a platform just to get new users.
- stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Do you really want 'in-house' dell linux support? *shudders*
I think they would be wise to sell Ubuntu, and use Ubuntu commercial support (which is already in place). - wmelnick, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For those, like me, who are premier/enterprise customers, I get to use Dell's Linux support for my CentOS servers all the time. They are knowledgable and well-spoken. Just be sure never to buy Dell equipment through the "Home and Home Office" link. The service you get on your equipment depends on which group you bought it from. Only Home users go to India. I have a special 800 number that I call and I get a service person within 5 minutes who speaks English as his first language and is able to do real troubleshooting, not the follow-the-script kind.
- g3r4, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I hope they give you the choice of your preferred Ubuntu flavor. (Gnome, KDE, or Xfce) And I hope they give you preloaded packages, just to make linux look that much better to average users that haven't heard of or haven't used linux before. (Programmer comes with various programming tools, WebDev comes with web design and authoring tools, Business comes with productivity tools, Basic would be the clean install for new users just wanting a basic pc, or those who want to customize their own system) Of course, there would be no price difference in any setup, but it would make it look like Dell cared about the customer.
- Ademan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Interesting idea, but i have to say that probably would make people who didn't know what to choose opt for the "comfortable" option, that is, XP.
- g3r4, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You could always have some explanatory text saying "If you're not sure, don't worry. Anything included in any package can be added to any other later on at no charge." With a link to the software included in the packages, so users have a quick reference to the software contained in each and a place to download them.
- shaitanx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3Ubuntu I'm sure
- LANjackal, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Ubuntu, clearly. It's what Dell himself uses
- londubh, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Dude, you're gettin' an Ubuntu!
- solarwind24, on 10/12/2007, -7/+4What?!?! They won't offer Mac OS?!!!?!?
- loftzon, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Ubuntu
- specialK16, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I don't know what distro they'll be giving, but I hope they customize it; own apps, themes, etc. That way, it will be mean more than just getting the distro inside the box.
- Badspeller, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0I suspect Linspire (Or wait till the next version based on ubuntu) for legal codecs and other such things, or Suse for the novell/ms deal. In order to stay on MS good side. Which sorta brings up a question if Dell is going to go full out and provide things like legal dvd support and other apps that normally cost money, they might just to have a reason why the linux version costs the same as the windows version
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2They can install CnR and get a deal with Linspire for everything sold via CnR over that machine.
- Karmalary, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It's really a moot point for me, since I'm building my own machines. I'd like to see major companys start selling powerful, low-cost machines with blank hard disks. Maybe throw in an Ubuntu CD and a discount coupon for Windows.
- trogdoor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Dell already does this with their n-series ( minus the coupon )
- truegodofwar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2Just sell me the computer and ensure that all the hard ware is linux compatible. Send along some linux cds with it and I will choose which one to install.
- punkbutler88, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2as much as i would like to see any linux distro on a dell, I kinda like Sabayon.....thats just me tho. I really dont care what distro they use as long as it works, and my dad or stepmom can easily use it to do their ebay. So.... doesnt matter i guess
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There is no way Dell are going to use a source based distro. I can imagine one of their customers complaining about 'a virus' the first time they see compiler output and then getting fed up with needing to compile nearly every package.
- jimmarch1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Ubuntu would drive the costs down a bit.
OpenSuse, Fedora and Freespire are out of the running - any of the free versions of commercial distros are to one degree or another subtly crippled at worst, at best they're going to be semi-beta-test (permanently) for their commercial equivalents.
Suse is a possibility except that I don't know that Novell has the support resources. If they DO it would be a good choice but if not, that pretty much leaves Ubuntu.
I will also predict they'll do just ONE distro and probably just one desktop to start, likely Gnome but KDE/Kubuntu is possible. They'll have to take every possible step to reduce their support burden, or this is all going up in a flaming pyre of crap for 'em.
---
If you think about it, Ubuntu is unique: it's a distro with a core of paid development staff at Canonical yet it's not the "bastard stepchild" of another distro also supported by the same corporation (RHEL/Fedora, Suse/OpenSuse, etc.). There MIGHT be another example of Ubuntu's model but not anything with a significant install base. Foresight is the only other one that comes to mind, built as a testbed for a company's package management system...it's nowhere near as far along as Feisty.
Ubuntu is free, yet it's a well-funded company's primary focus. That has to be a factor? - COINTELPRO, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think Dell has realized the need to be doing what their customers want rather than Intel & Microsoft. It appears Intel was throwing alot of cash at Dell and distorted the reality of the marketplace. However, a major portion of the market wanted AMD and that is why HP has gained marketshare. AMD systems are cheaper and is the reason I bought one.
However, I think their deals with bloatware companies keeps them from selling linux. These software companies must be paying major money to the comp manufacturer. I hate bloatware and wish people were given an option
If Dell and HP supported another OS like linux on their mainstream computers, it would create a viable alternative to Microsoft.- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2AMD systems aren't cheaper. A few years back they were cheaper and better, now the reverse is true.
- meopameopa, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Microsoft will really put the screws to Dell if they offer anything other than SLED. Actually, they'll put the screws to them no matter what.
- gquaglia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Maybe the MS of old, but as of late the big bad wolf of Redmond has lost some of its fangs.
- meopameopa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What have you been smoking, anyone that has even a little understanding about the way Microsoft works knows that Microsoft will slam Dell hard if they put ubuntu on their machines. They haven't lost any of their "fangs". The other time Dell tried to offer Linux, Microsoft was right there to pounce on them.
- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2MS has been making a noise about Dell selling Linux servers and workstations for an age. Fact is they can't do anything about it. I'd love to see Ballmer trying to explain why one of the worlds largest OEMs will no longer sell Windows to his share holders. Besides Dell has enough money to do serious damage to MS. If MS tried anything they'd push alternatives like berserk. Fact is Dell has ignored these people in the past and nothing has happened to them.
- COINTELPRO, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1HP and Dell should take linux and create a closed system like Apple . Linux could be used to sell a closed system of HP or Dell products such as printers, wifi cards, and webcams which you can't do with Microsoft. A customer won't get linux driver support unless they bought a Dell or HP product.
- jimmarch1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Sabayon, Zenwalk and a bunch of other good non-commercial distros are out of the running. Dell will want some kind of company behind the project able to help with support issues.
Sabayon is out because it's a Gentoo-fork "download and compile" package model, and the word "compile" will scare the hell out of newbies.
Zenwalk...man, I tried 4.4.1 and was seriously impressed. The Slackware core is rock-solid. Needs a little more tuning/tweaking but DAMN does it ever have potential. They just need a few final bits for newbie-friendliness - the ability to package-search across multiple repositories, some better installer front ends for WiFi related stuff, nothing at all major. I want to try 5.0 when it ships... - unsolicited, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Ubuntu rocks!
- crossmr, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1*really*?
- cmiz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Here's a thought... Dell has gotten a lot of thumbs up for the fact that you can go online and configure your hardware to fit your specific needs. Why not offer a whole bunch of different distros, a whole bunch of different desktop environments, a whole ton of software packages. It wouldn't exactly be rocket science to install a base system on every machine, then connect it to the network and have it run an apt-get script created by the customer's selected options. Then you can have it create a reinstall disc from that specific script and keep it on the hard drive. Burn it yourself when it arrives at your doorstep and you're all set. It's just a though...
- cquinnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because each different distro would have to be deployed and tested with each different desktop to make sure that intial issues with booting, setup and first use of the system do not crop up for the user.
Then the various software packages would have to be checked for basic functionality on top of that.
Dell would either be paying extra up front for the deployment team needed to test the various combinations of disto, desktop and app packages (and creating the standard install images that they use to pre-load systems after they have been built to order), or they would be paying extra on the back end for the online and phone support they would need for the additional configuraton and interoperability issues that would crop up later. Passing such support on to the Linux community would not sit well with their business partners, customers, or much of that community.
Customizing the hardware is easy by comparison. Despite the reputation they put forth, Dell only builds computers based on a limited number of (pre-tested) hardware pieces. They already know all the issues with combining specific components while the system is being built, and if there is a known incompatibility between two pieces, then the option to combine them is simply not made available.
It would take a full time staff to create the same decision tables based on researching the possibility of multiple distros. - meopameopa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What about distros that don't run apt-get? Or do you mean "a whole bunch of ubuntu-based distros"?
- cmiz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@cquinnd: It would take some thought up front, but assuming they limit your options to stable packages, then the software really shouldn't bring up any problems. I've never had any stable packages cause problems on a linux distro for me. The big problem will be getting all of the hardware functioning correctly, but as long as they can get the base system for Ubuntu, OpenSuSE or CentOS running on the hardware, any other software they install from repositories /shouldn't/ cause problems. Once the base system is solid, KDE/GNOME/xfce/whatever should run just fine.
@meopameopa: Sorry, I used apt as an example, but almost all distros have some type of software management system be it apt, yum etc.
- cquinnd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Because each different distro would have to be deployed and tested with each different desktop to make sure that intial issues with booting, setup and first use of the system do not crop up for the user.
- zmigliozzi, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Also, *****.
- h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Why is this getting on the front page every day? It's Red Hat you ***** morons, Red Hat not Ubuntu.
Buy a Precision 390n with Red Hat® Linux® Now!
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/reftopic.aspx/pub/products/precn_kat?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&~section=390
This has been up for weeks! Shut the hell up already!- noamsml, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Heh. The RHEL configuration still lets you have the option of buying MS Office 2003.
- noamsml, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3My guess: probably not Ubuntu. They'd want a more "business-friendly" supplier such as Red Hat, Novell, et cetera. My guess is that they will go with with Red Hat, SLED, or Linspire 5-0.
- gquaglia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ubuntu would be the best choice for the desktop PC. The sheer amount of online help and support makes the decision easy. Suse is ok, support is not as good and Red Hat is horrible.
- greatsage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I have actually slept with Michael Dell and a number of his family members and I can tell you that ...AAARGHHH! not the duct tape! Not the duct tape! MMMMMmmmPPppphhh! Urgh! Ok - You win...
- stockjones, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well Red Hat is what they were selling on their servers. Yes folks you could buy Dell servers with linux and it was Red hat. I do think for the desktop ubuntu or kbuntu are the better choice but it will be Red hat.
- FUNKMASTERNICE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Who cares? The main reason Dell is lacking customers is not because of the OS. Its because of ***** hardware components and cheap electronics on their motherboards.
When you experience Dell everyday, in a way you won't its hard to come back to Dell. I report 2 Dell machines dead everyday in average, because of bad conductors on the motherboard. Some PC's even had their motherboards changed up to 3 times.
The linux community will install a Linux distro on a Dell machine anyway, even if its not on when you buy it. - Dayyve, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They are going to offer Delnux TM and charge only 50 bucks a pop premium so it looks like a deal.
- Moogle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2What I would do, instead of getting Linux pre-installed; would be to get a copy of Vista anyways because it's worth something and then just download my favorite distribution of Linux.
But, probably unbeknownst to me, something is probably flawed in my idea, so flame me. - h0dg3s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Why do people keep modding me down for showing proof? Are you too dumb to accept the truth? Look here dumb-dumbs
Buy a Precision 390n with Red Hat® Linux® Now!
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/reftopic.aspx/pub/products/precn_kat?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz&~section=390
NOT Ubuntu- GMorgan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Because everyone knows that Dell have done that for years, it's only related to business and is totally separate to any plans for a consumer desktop. You know this yourself though and are just trolling.
- chess007, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1One ubuntu to rule them all, One ubuntu to find them,: One ubuntu to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. :)
Ubuntu is dells best option. There are so many step by step practically idiot proof guides avaliable. - spltimg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I just wanted to throw my vote for Ubuntu. I think they would be a fool to not 1) offer multiple distros and 2) offer Ubuntu... After all Dell is in the business of making money. That means you have to give people what they want and if Distro Watch is any indication. People want Ubuntu and lots of it ;)
Cheers! - 0KonTroL0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I highly doubt they will offer ubuntu. It is WAY to unstable for commercial use.
DIGG ME DOWN. :p- Kr4t05, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Are you just trying to prove your sheer ignorance?
- nikanth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1SuSE, the best
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