Comments on: Five Questions for Dell's Ubuntu Linux Team

By: Geekyboy

Geekyboy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:55:45 +0000

I purchased a Dell Ubuntu Inspiron 1500 when they first came out. I have been pretty happy with it so far. My wife now uses it, and I purchased an Inspiron 1720 which I had to manually install Ubuntu on after purchase.

My question are:
Why is dell not offering the newest version of Ubuntu?
Why is there no driver support in my account since I purchased Ubuntu?
Why not have a broader product line? (They don’t even offer the Precision system that Michael Dell uses Ubuntu on.)
I realize that Ubuntu is not a cash cow, but surely they could put a little more advertisement into it to build?

By: marco P

marco P — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:45:16 +0000

>is true that many people are not buying a new pc ‘cose they don’t like vista and they wait?(I’ve many witnesses of that)
>So, why nomore Ubuntu on your pc?
>Does Microsoft marketing strategy influences you to abandon Ubuntu installations?

By: shermann

shermann — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:31:29 +0000

There are some questions still open:

1. Why is Dell server hardware not certified for Ubuntu Server Edition? http://webapps.ubuntu.com/certification/

2. Why is Dell Server Hardware dying 2 to 3 times more then comparable server hardware from other vendors like hp, ibm or sun? Disregard the used OS?
3. Why should someone serious buy Dell Server Hardware at all?

Regards,

\sh

By: Joe Lawrence

Joe Lawrence — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:19:30 +0000

I’d like to know why they aren’t using it on their Studio models- I mean, I’d know better to use Ubuntu, or any Linux distro, on an XPS gaming machine, but how about media? Including PowerDVD Linux and Fluendo wouldn’t be so hard, right?

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:00:30 +0000

Update: Meeting with Dell’s client Linux team is in one hour. Plenty of blogs to follow soon. Thank you all for helping me to organize questions for the interview.
-jp

By: Leo

Leo — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:28:20 +0000

@jp: I agree. Dell is helping Linux grow, every single hardware vendor would rather see MS die and have free to customize OS’s like Linux, with no fixed, arbitrary licensing fees. They are (most of them) trying to get GNU/Linux/OpenSource to grow: IBM, Dell, Intel, AMD/ATI, Nokia, should I go on?. Not because they are philosophically aligned with Free Software (big public corporations can’t afford this sort of thing, unfortunately). It is for practical, economic reasons. No one wants to depend on a monopolistic bully.

By: Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:46:50 +0000

Thanks again to everyone for all of the questions so far. A few key updates:

1. My visit to Dell is Friday, June 26. Plenty of blog coverage to follow. And yes, I will raise many of the questions you all offered above.

2. Balanced Coverage: I look forward to hearing Dell’s views on Ubuntu market opportunities. I’m not out to bash their strategy so far. It hasn’t been perfect, but I think readers also need to realize that Dell’s commitment to Ubuntu in 2007 was one of the reasons that Ubuntu has gained broader market momentum in the past 24 months. And in fact, Dell’s decision to pre-load Ubuntu was the tipping point that inspired Nine Lives Media Inc. to eventually launch WorksWithU.

Is Dell perfect? No. Does Dell make mistakes? Yes. Watch for us to produce balanced coverage based on our June 26 Dell visit.

Thanks again to everyone for the question you’ve suggested. I appreciate your views, feedback and suggestions.
-jp

Editorial Director
WorksWithU

By: aikiwolfie

aikiwolfie — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:37:16 +0000

I’m rarely happy with Dell these days. But a positive interview is always better to read. So I’m with Leo on that one.

By: Ray Meyer

Ray Meyer — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:20:19 +0000

Are there plans to expand the pre-install of Ubuntu on a more diverse set of equipment? (more cpu/memory/drive/video, etc. options). If so, is this near-term ( < 6 months) or more distant?

By: Leo

Leo — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:21:48 +0000

@joe: I hope the tone of the interview remains positive overall. Dell is trying to be a good citizen. It would probably be nice to allow a question where they can mention everything they are doing (mainly upstream contributions, I think they also contribute to the kernel here and there)

http://linux.dell.com/projects.shtml

By: Leo

Leo — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:18:09 +0000

@gdi: this could be too costly. They have stated in the open that their goal is make all their hardware Linux compatible. And they are paying with their wallet (developing things such as dkms, etc)

Maybe a better questions is: why is it that the Dell Mini 10, for instance, is offered with Ubuntu _only_ if you click on the Small Business link (as opposed to Home User) in their webpage? This hides Ubuntu from most Dell customers. Dell already went through the cost of adding support for Ubuntu on that hardware. Personally, considering Microsoft’s long history of monopolistic practices (and anti-linux campaigns and lobbying), this makes me think that Microsoft must be behind this decision, unless there is a better explanation.

Another question: why is it that some times the same computer costs the same with Ubuntu or Windows? If this indicates the cost of customizing Ubuntu it makes me happy, particularly if this means some sort of compensation to Canonical for customization work. I think the more information is made public the better, because otherwise Linux users can fell that they are subsidizing the Windows licenses on the machines that ship with Windows (or, equivalently, that Dell is buying a Windows license for the hardware and making the Linux customer pay the MS Tax without noticing).

By: Yuri

Yuri — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:22:35 +0000

I agree with gdi (18).
I can’t choose ubuntu in every netbook and I’d like know why!
I want choose hardware and then software. Eventually, ask them “no OS installed” option.