Unofficial: Dell Picks Ubuntu
10:17 am May 1st, 2007 by Sal Cangeloso
According to a few sources, mainly Desktop Linux, it looks like Dell is going to be releasing computers with Ubuntu Linux. This has yet to be confirmed by the company, but people seem pretty sure that it’s going to happen and, let’s face it, Ubuntu is the obvious choice. This is coming shortly after Michael Dell told reporters that we was using Ubuntu on his personal computer.
As far as the hardware is concerned the article says to expect to see Ubuntu on Dell’s E series (value computers), XPS (advanced home users and gamers), and E series Inspiron notebooks.
I’ve been playing with Ubuntu 7.04 for some time now and have used the distribution for much longer than that, so this is all pretty exciting news. It’s not enough to get me to buy a Dell system (building your own still the way to go) but I am more likely to consider a Dell notebook if they offer Ubuntu and can vouch for complete compatibility.
This is going to have the biggest impact on home users who are not extremely tech savvy but are somehow convinced to give Linux a chance. There will be an adjustment period but once they learn the basics I have no doubt that they will have a great time with Ubuntu because it is easy to use, the software is free and plentiful, and it is very stable.
Some interesting points to consider-
- Will the lowered number of tech support calls (not at first, but eventually) from consumers outweigh the increased number of tech staff and the retraining Dell will need to deal with a new OS?
- Will Dell sales drop because of decreased computer turnover (because Linux is less demanding on a computer and does not have Windows’ security problem?
- Will this cause some problems with Windows or at least between Dell and MS?
- Will this cause other manufacturers to do the same thing? Will they use Ubuntu as well?
- Will Dell (effectively) charge for Ubuntu by not significantly decreasing the cost of a new system?
I could go on and on. But this is really an interesting subject as well as one with far-reaching consequences.
Another factor that would make it my preference, in addition to being easy to use, software is free and plentiful, and very stable would be efficient handling of memory and “footprint” on the hard drive.