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Dell Selling Linux-Based Computers

by Terrence O'Brien on May 1, 2007 at 03:06 PM

Dell + Ubuntu = Love
Dell announced in February that they will soon offer computers preloaded with Linux. Dell officially announced today that it has chosen the popular Ubuntu distribution (which this post is being written under) for its first foray into consumer-oriented Linux PCs.

Linux is an operating system like Windows or OSX, but it's free and tends to have a lot of open-source, free software available for it. Linux distributions are distinguished by the software included with them – for example, Ubuntu comes packaged with Open Office (an alternative to Microsoft Office), Firefox (a web browser) and the Gnome desktop environment (the graphical user interface that you interact with like Aero in Vista or Aqua in OS X).

Linux advocates argue that it is more stable than Windows and is also relatively virus and spyware-free. While it has historically required a good amount of computer knowledge to install, Dell's foray into offering it pre-installed could be the beginning of a soft shift to this alternative OS.

There are currently no details of pricing, what models will be available or how support will be handled, but Dell claims that the computers will be available by month's end via a dedicated Linux page on Dell.com. The PCs will be loaded with Ubuntu 7.04, Feisty Fawn, which was released just a few weeks ago.

Dell is the first major manufacturer to partner with Ubuntu to pre-load its operating system (OS) on computers. Dell is also the first large manufacturer in the US to offer a consumer-oriented Linux PC.

From Computer World

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Tags: dell, linux, ubuntu

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