Comments on: Memo to Dell: Sort Out Your Ubuntu Strategy http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/ Channel News, Reseller News and Channel Partner Programs Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:59:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lee http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120427 Lee Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:48:17 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120427 Have just checked Dell's UK website, they only offer ONE device with Ubuntu and thats the inspiron mini 10v; worst thing it still ships with 8.04.... Have just checked Dell’s UK website, they only offer ONE device with Ubuntu and thats the inspiron mini 10v; worst thing it still ships with 8.04….

]]> By: Rex http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120426 Rex Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:26:30 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120426 Nothing new here. Move along. Dell has been doing this same behavior for years: announcing and offering machines that nobody wants with Linux pre-installed, then withdrawing them a few months later under pressure from Microsoft. I have been watching this happen over and over since at least 2000, maybe earlier. What's worse, you cannot find these machines on Dell's website, or couldn't last time I looked which has been years. I gave up on Dell a long time ago. When I need a new computer, I build it myself or get one from a "whitebox" dealer. Just ignore Dell's feeble Linux forays. Nothing new here. Move along.

Dell has been doing this same behavior for years: announcing and offering machines that nobody wants with Linux pre-installed, then withdrawing them a few months later under pressure from Microsoft. I have been watching this happen over and over since at least 2000, maybe earlier.

What’s worse, you cannot find these machines on Dell’s website, or couldn’t last time I looked which has been years. I gave up on Dell a long time ago. When I need a new computer, I build it myself or get one from a “whitebox” dealer.

Just ignore Dell’s feeble Linux forays.

]]> By: Bill http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120425 Bill Thu, 18 Feb 2010 08:23:17 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120425 @jef Since Dell has over 76,000 employees, tossing a handful (maybe some .01% of the company) of them to work with Ubuntu *is* just a trivial commitment. Do their Ubuntu laptops still ship with Windows logos on them? @jef

Since Dell has over 76,000 employees, tossing a handful (maybe some .01% of the company) of them to work with Ubuntu *is* just a trivial commitment. Do their Ubuntu laptops still ship with Windows logos on them?

]]> By: Jef Spaleta http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120424 Jef Spaleta Sat, 13 Feb 2010 20:21:53 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120424 Pat: Dell has employees who are active members in the Ubuntu Core Development team. What other OEM or for that matter ISV has employee manpower behind developing and sustaining Ubuntu? You may question Dell's business decisions on how they choose to position and market Ubuntu products on retail shelves (just like I will complain bitterly to my local supermarket for not stocking RC Cola and banana flavored moonpies.) But you go a step too far to say that Dell's linux strategy is pure PR. They are staffing development manpower in Ubuntu's development team. That is a non-trivial commitment and maybe unique among Canonical's OEMs and ISV partners. -jef Pat:

Dell has employees who are active members in the Ubuntu Core Development team. What other OEM or for that matter ISV has employee manpower behind developing and sustaining Ubuntu?

You may question Dell’s business decisions on how they choose to position and market Ubuntu products on retail shelves (just like I will complain bitterly to my local supermarket for not stocking RC Cola and banana flavored moonpies.) But you go a step too far to say that Dell’s linux strategy is pure PR. They are staffing development manpower in Ubuntu’s development team. That is a non-trivial commitment and maybe unique among Canonical’s OEMs and ISV partners.

-jef

]]> By: Pat http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120423 Pat Sat, 13 Feb 2010 18:59:14 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120423 Good balanced column, Joe, though perhaps a little too forgiving. Judging by what's on Dell's websites now, the posts above (plus countless others) and my own experience, I can only conclude Dell's Ubuntu "support" is PR with little substance behind it. I had the same experience in Canada as Dave in the UK. Dell's .ca website shows Ubuntu as an option, but when you click through the only option is Windows: http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=ca&l=en&cs=&k=Ubuntu&cat=all&x=0&y=0 Is Dell's main U.S. website much better? Reminds me of how the auto industry promoted the electric car. (Watch the great documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" to see ewhat I mean.) However, I think Dell does indeed have a Linux strategy. It wants us to believe the slogan "Dell listens to the Linux community." Pure PR. No, I don't think you should do more Dell interviews. I'm more interested in what organizations do than what they say -- and you guys do an excellent job of reporting what is actually happening. Dell's approach to consumer Linux reminds me of how newspapers in the early days of the Internet created crummy websites and hoped no one would use them -- that the Web would just turn out to be a bad dream. The Linux genie is out of the bottle. Intel gave us Moblin. Google is working on a netbook. And then there's the polished Ubuntu OS, backed by an entrepreneur with a proven track record, long-term vision and the money to implement it? Good balanced column, Joe, though perhaps a little too forgiving. Judging by what’s on Dell’s websites now, the posts above (plus countless others) and my own experience, I can only conclude Dell’s Ubuntu “support” is PR with little substance behind it.

I had the same experience in Canada as Dave in the UK. Dell’s .ca website shows Ubuntu as an option, but when you click through the only option is Windows:
http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=ca&l=en&cs=&k=Ubuntu&cat=all&x=0&y=0

Is Dell’s main U.S. website much better? Reminds me of how the auto industry promoted the electric car. (Watch the great documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” to see ewhat I mean.)

However, I think Dell does indeed have a Linux strategy. It wants us to believe the slogan “Dell listens to the Linux community.” Pure PR.

No, I don’t think you should do more Dell interviews. I’m more interested in what organizations do than what they say — and you guys do an excellent job of reporting what is actually happening.

Dell’s approach to consumer Linux reminds me of how newspapers in the early days of the Internet created crummy websites and hoped no one would use them — that the Web would just turn out to be a bad dream.

The Linux genie is out of the bottle. Intel gave us Moblin. Google is working on a netbook. And then there’s the polished Ubuntu OS, backed by an entrepreneur with a proven track record, long-term vision and the money to implement it?

]]> By: aikiwolfie http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120422 aikiwolfie Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:17:25 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120422 I agree with Joe. Long term value should be the focus of the discussion. On average PC manufacturers now consider 3 years to be the life span of your PC. Clearly an Ubuntu system will out last 3 years. Which poses a problem for Ubuntu being accepted by OEMs. It doesn't fit with their business model. If an Ubuntu based system is going to be useful longer than a Windows system, then Ubuntu pre-loaded will cost more to offset the longer refresh cycle. I agree with Joe. Long term value should be the focus of the discussion. On average PC manufacturers now consider 3 years to be the life span of your PC. Clearly an Ubuntu system will out last 3 years. Which poses a problem for Ubuntu being accepted by OEMs. It doesn’t fit with their business model.

If an Ubuntu based system is going to be useful longer than a Windows system, then Ubuntu pre-loaded will cost more to offset the longer refresh cycle.

]]> By: RJakiel http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120421 RJakiel Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:07:17 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120421 When Dell started offering Ubuntu it was wonderful! Laptops with discrete nVidia graphics, XPS desktops, etc... Now they offer a netbook and a netbook. Yay? Really? Product transition or not how hard is it to take "Unit A" throw in a 9.10 CD and do a default install to see if it works? If not does it need a broadcom wireless driver and/or nVidia binary blob to work "out of the box"? If so install them, image the HD and bingo! Ubuntu on a Dell Whizbang2010 that works out of the box. Instead they offer 2 netbooks... ugh. When Dell started offering Ubuntu it was wonderful! Laptops with discrete nVidia graphics, XPS desktops, etc… Now they offer a netbook and a netbook. Yay? Really? Product transition or not how hard is it to take “Unit A” throw in a 9.10 CD and do a default install to see if it works? If not does it need a broadcom wireless driver and/or nVidia binary blob to work “out of the box”? If so install them, image the HD and bingo! Ubuntu on a Dell Whizbang2010 that works out of the box. Instead they offer 2 netbooks… ugh.

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120420 Joe Panettieri Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:14:05 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120420 Regarding the prices of Dell/Windows vs. Dell/Ubuntu: A lot of readers point out their frustration with Dell/Ubuntu sometimes costing more than the same Dell/Windows configuration. I am going to sound crazy but I don't worry much about that cost issue. I think the Linux conversation should focus on long-term value rather than one-time purchase price. I've had a Dell/Ubuntu system since July 2007. I haven't paid a single additional dollar to keep the system running since that time. Total cost of ownership has got to be a lot lower than a similarly configured Dell/XP system from around the same time. I'm not suggesting that vendors should charge more for Ubuntu vs. Windows on a similarly configured system. But I am urging readers to focus on the long-term value conversation. Also, I can safely say I've had solid Ubuntu experiences with Dell, System76 and ZaReason. If readers know of PC makers that are doing a good job with Ubuntu, please point them out and we'll be sure to put the PC makers on our radar. Thanks for reading. -jp Editorial Director WorksWithU Regarding the prices of Dell/Windows vs. Dell/Ubuntu: A lot of readers point out their frustration with Dell/Ubuntu sometimes costing more than the same Dell/Windows configuration.

I am going to sound crazy but I don’t worry much about that cost issue. I think the Linux conversation should focus on long-term value rather than one-time purchase price.

I’ve had a Dell/Ubuntu system since July 2007. I haven’t paid a single additional dollar to keep the system running since that time. Total cost of ownership has got to be a lot lower than a similarly configured Dell/XP system from around the same time.

I’m not suggesting that vendors should charge more for Ubuntu vs. Windows on a similarly configured system. But I am urging readers to focus on the long-term value conversation.

Also, I can safely say I’ve had solid Ubuntu experiences with Dell, System76 and ZaReason. If readers know of PC makers that are doing a good job with Ubuntu, please point them out and we’ll be sure to put the PC makers on our radar.

Thanks for reading.
-jp

Editorial Director
WorksWithU

]]> By: Mannemerak http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120419 Mannemerak Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:06:39 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120419 I think a good start would be for all the vendors to supply machines without OS. Could be worse, you could be a Windows user. I have a friend that bought Win7 to upgrade his struggling Vista laptop. The laptop died out of warranty and now he cant find a machine without OS on it (as he already own a copy of Win7). So MS is making him pay for Windows twice! his not happy. I think a good start would be for all the vendors to supply machines without OS.
Could be worse, you could be a Windows user. I have a friend that bought Win7 to upgrade his struggling Vista laptop. The laptop died out of warranty and now he cant find a machine without OS on it (as he already own a copy of Win7). So MS is making him pay for Windows twice! his not happy.

]]> By: aikiwolfie http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120418 aikiwolfie Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:35:39 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120418 I think one of the problems Dell faces with selling Ubuntu pre-loaded is there's no need to replace the PC every other year. I don't know about other folks. But my Ubuntu system doesn't suffer from the deteriorating performance it used to suffer while running Windows. The only time I reinstall my OS now is when I upgrade to the next version. It's just a thought. But the stable and consistent high level of performance of Ubuntu might actually be holding it back. There's no driving force to make people opt for new hardware and there's little scope for anti-virus software and the myriad of utilities needed to keep Windows running. Ubuntu either already has equivalents freely available for download, installed or just doesn't need them. I think one of the problems Dell faces with selling Ubuntu pre-loaded is there’s no need to replace the PC every other year. I don’t know about other folks. But my Ubuntu system doesn’t suffer from the deteriorating performance it used to suffer while running Windows. The only time I reinstall my OS now is when I upgrade to the next version.

It’s just a thought. But the stable and consistent high level of performance of Ubuntu might actually be holding it back. There’s no driving force to make people opt for new hardware and there’s little scope for anti-virus software and the myriad of utilities needed to keep Windows running. Ubuntu either already has equivalents freely available for download, installed or just doesn’t need them.

]]> By: Stan http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120417 Stan Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:28:30 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120417 Every time I have tried to buy a Linux or DOS machine from Dell it has cost a good bit more than buying a Windows system and reformatting it. The same price I could live with but more money for a Linux system, come on now. Until Dell offers Linux for the same price as Windows I'm not buying another system from them. Every time I have tried to buy a Linux or DOS machine from Dell it has cost a good bit more than buying a Windows system and reformatting it. The same price I could live with but more money for a Linux system, come on now.

Until Dell offers Linux for the same price as Windows I’m not buying another system from them.

]]> By: Seth http://www.thevarguy.com/2010/02/08/memo-to-dell-sort-out-your-ubuntu-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-120416 Seth Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:18:52 +0000 http://www.workswithu.com/?p=1820#comment-120416 I just bit the bullet and bought the Vostro hardware package I wanted, dumped Windows, and run Karmic instead. Minor issue with the wireless driver out the gate, used http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1368699 to fix it. The 1520 really has made a great Linux machine. It runs smooth enough to develop with C++/Java on the road. I run LAMP server as well as the full Netbeans suite and Eclipse with the webOS emulator with no trouble. I just bit the bullet and bought the Vostro hardware package I wanted, dumped Windows, and run Karmic instead. Minor issue with the wireless driver out the gate, used http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1368699 to fix it. The 1520 really has made a great Linux machine. It runs smooth enough to develop with C++/Java on the road. I run LAMP server as well as the full Netbeans suite and Eclipse with the webOS emulator with no trouble.

]]>