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Thread: Dell to offer Ubuntu

  1. #1
    Smoke Me A Kipper! Slick's Avatar
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    Dell to offer Ubuntu

    It's official, Dell will be offering the ubuntu linux OS on a few of their computers in the near future:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6610901.stm
    http://www.ubuntu.com/news/dell-to-offer-ubuntu
    http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archi.../01/13147.aspx

    I'm really happy about this as I'm going to be buying a new laptop in a few months time and I was only going to be running ubuntu on it. This means that I wont have to pay for a new copy of vista which I don't want, and go through the trouble of removing it.

    Also this should improve hardware support for Linux and bring it more into the public domain, which has to be a good thing.

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    Sexual Force johnny02004976's Avatar
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    this should be great i wonder how much of a difference in price there will be between a vista machine
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    Personally I prefer windows for my desktops, but definitely a move in the right direction. I've always said(and I'm sure others have too), getting Linux shipped with new PC's by big companies like Dell and others is the biggest hurdle for linux as far as popularity and the ability to really challenge windows goes.

    Now Dell have started many more will follow.

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    Quote Originally Posted by johnny02004976 View Post
    this should be great i wonder how much of a difference in price there will be between a vista machine
    Not much I would expect when you factor in all the cash they get from MS for using windows, Real for installing realplayer ect.
    Still good to see Linux on Dell, Should defo help with the hardware support and may eventualy give MS a kick up the arse and get them knocking out good "Finished" Operating systems.
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    Smoke Me A Kipper! Slick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Platinum View Post
    Not much I would expect when you factor in all the cash they get from MS for using windows, Real for installing realplayer ect.
    Well they could still pre-install realplayer, the linux version is a hell of a lot better than the windows one as well. I'm sure they get discounts from MS for bulk buying windows licenses, but I doubt MS feel the need to pay Dell to provide windows. When you're buying a 300 pound PC like this one, I reckon a large proportion of the overall cost is still the vista license:

    http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=106849

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    I have just installed ubuntu on my dell inspiron 6400.

    It took a bit of messing about due to ati drivers and I still havent got it to suspend/hibernate on shutting the lid yet.

    THis good be a really big step forward for linux. After all Dell will need to make sure the hardware drivers are fully working for their machines which might mean better support for all

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    Agent of the System ikonia's Avatar
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    dell have no control over the drivers as none of the hardware is dell kit. Companies like ATI, Intel, Broadcom etc are the people who make these drivers.

    The only possible effect is that dell would select hardware on a compatability basis but this is unliklye as what dell will class as "support" for this operating system will be far short of what a genuine support service should provide (and thats not a slur on dell)
    It is Inevitable.....


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    A shadowy flight. MSIC's Avatar
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    My biggest worry is that there will be no price difference - it'll simply be 'pick your OS' and Dell will pocket the difference.
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    Senior Member this_is_gav's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSIC View Post
    My biggest worry is that there will be no price difference - it'll simply be 'pick your OS' and Dell will pocket the difference.
    Given how much they appear to buy Windows licenses for I don't think there could be much difference anyway.

    Quote Originally Posted by ikonia View Post
    dell have no control over the drivers as none of the hardware is dell kit. Companies like ATI, Intel, Broadcom etc are the people who make these drivers.

    The only possible effect is that dell would select hardware on a compatability basis but this is unliklye as what dell will class as "support" for this operating system will be far short of what a genuine support service should provide (and thats not a slur on dell)
    Given the power of Dell, I think they could well influence the stance of manufacturers approaches though. It depends entirely on whether there will be incentives only on the systems on which Ubuntu will be an option, or if those incentives will carry all over the range... ATi (or AMD if you prefer) for instance, would certainly not want to lose Dell.

    It's probably only Intel and perhaps nV who could turn around and laugh at Dell.

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    Intel has done a lot for Linux and practically always helps by contributing code for real hardware devices (the wireless fiasco aside). Having Dell onboard will hopefully open the eyes of hardware companies ignorant of Linux.
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    Smoke Me A Kipper! Slick's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MSIC View Post
    My biggest worry is that there will be no price difference - it'll simply be 'pick your OS' and Dell will pocket the difference.
    Quote Originally Posted by ikonia View Post
    unliklye as what dell will class as "support" for this operating system will be far short of what a genuine support service should provide (and thats not a slur on dell)
    Dell have now confirmed that there will be a cost saving when choosing ubuntu, and you will be able to purchase support from Canonical, the company which develops Ubuntu. However I wouldn't be doing this, as you can always get fast and reliable support from the community through IRC or the forums.

    Dell plans to start offering Ubuntu as an option on selected consumer PCs in the coming weeks, said Jeremy Bolen, a Dell spokesman. Ubuntu is free, and machines pre-installed with it will be less expensive than PCs of the same configuration that come with Windows, Bolen said. He declined to say by how much. PC buyers also will be able to buy support from Canonical Ltd., which distributes Ubuntu.
    http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/busine...ellfolo03.html


    Quote Originally Posted by ikonia View Post
    dell have no control over the drivers as none of the hardware is dell kit. Companies like ATI, Intel, Broadcom etc are the people who make these drivers.
    The fact that dell are likely to choose hardware with the best compatability provides a great incentive to companies like ATI to improve their linux driver support, as this will enable them to sell thousands of units through Dell, which will directly result in profit for them. Previously many companies may have thought that it's not worth the effort developing drivers for a few individual linux users, but if they're selling in bulk to a massive company like Dell, who want good linux support, they're much more likely to offer it.

    The way Dell works is through offering options, so in the future even if the user chooses windows, the hardware options will have to have good driver support for linux as they had the option to choose ubuntu with an identical hardware setup. So increasingly hardware manufacturers who supply to dell will have to provide support for linux even if most of the end users will still be choosing windows. This demand for linux support will increase as Dell is likely to add the ubuntu option to more of its product lines in the future after the initial few, and other PC manufacturers may follow suit and start to offer linux.
    Last edited by Slick; 06-05-2007 at 10:39 PM.

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