Dell only has two small portable computers with Ubuntu on the USA home site. Who said Dell is sticking with Ubuntu? Still better than MS-Hp’s product line, I suppose.

I respectfully disagree. Dell certainly makes mistakes from time to time. But I do think they are committed to selling what users want — even non-Microsoft system.

Yes, Dell’s Ubuntu page emphasizes an opt-out to Windows but I believe that’s because Dell wants to make absolutely sure customers know what they are buying.

I agree with you: Dell has poorly handled the Ubuntu desktop model disappearance. And I’m disappointed to notice that Dell’s consumer newspaper advertising inserts in the U.S. no longer mention Ubuntu on netbooks.

But I sense that Dell is working behind the scenes to determine if/when to preload Ubuntu 9.04 on selected systems. I hope my glass-half-full opinion of Dell’s Ubuntu effort is correct…

Dell is doing it’s best to be MS-Dell!

Smartbooks are based on ARM processors, which are not x86 compatible. As such, they will *not* run Windows XP.

Indeed, Microsoft is again pushing to redefine a netbook as a not-so-small x86 notebook, so it will have enough memory and CPU capacity to run Windows 7 (which has lighter requirements than Vista, of course, but quite significantly heavier requirements than XP). They have ceded the original netbook space to Linux, in the apparent belief that this market is not worth pursuing. We’ll see.

Offering Windows CE for smartbooks is Microsoft’s only announced strategy, and it is a weak strategy at best. The interesting competition in smartbooks is likely to be between Ubuntu and Android / Chrome – Linux distributions all.

We live in interesting times indeed.

@anechoic: yes, but vendors are growing increasingly tired of MS’ tyranny: IBM pushing Linux on servers for the last 10 years, Dell trying hard, phone makers like Nokia with Linux initiatives, and the list goes, I think they’ll burn MS alive as soon as they can … (and yes, I realize it will take time)

I am however not convinced by Dells reassurances about Linux. I very much get the impression Dell are only involved with selling Linux based systems to consumers because the have to be. Their competitors are doing it to one degree or another so Dell must also offer something. They can’t afford to be left out.

The way Dell operates is also a clear source of frustration for it’s customers. Dells web presence is from my perspective entirely US orientated. When it comes to the web Dell seems to forget it’s a global player. The web is a “global community” with no borders. Dell needs to learn that lesson fast.

If something is available in the USA, I expect it to be available here in the UK.

I hope they do, as it will mean I will be able to upgrade as well. And Dell is the only player with enough muscle to make it happen.