Dell, you can go to [LWN.net]

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 0:00 UTC (Wed) by grouch (subscriber, #27289)
Parent article: Dude, you're getting Ubuntu (Linux.com)

Most likely, Dell will do what they've done in the past -- hide the computers on their website, advertise nothing but MS, have those despiccable little "Dell recommends Microsoft Windows" icons all over the place, force you to remove MS Windows from a checkbox at least half a dozen times on the way to 'check-out', and still insist on putting it in there one more time on the final form before executing the order.

I wouldn't trust Dell to tell the truth about the sun rising. Give 'em six months of playing hide the non-MS computer and then they will make a public announcement, complete with Ballmer and MS logo for a backdrop, that they tried but couldn't sell any computers with "alternative" operating systems.

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Dell are serious, they have to make this work or find another way to stay in business

Posted May 2, 2007 0:48 UTC (Wed) by gdt (subscriber, #6284) [Link]

All of the major vendors offering Linux on desktops and laptops is inevitable. Margins are so narrow that once desktop Linux is 10% of sales, no company will want to forgo that 10%. This is what we saw with servers.

So if you are a major vendor the question is when to jump. Do you go first and risk retaliation from that Major Software Vendor, or do you go last and risk having no brand recognition with desktop Linux purchasers?

Dell are in strife. They want to get back to the basic idea that made their company great -- sell the customer exactly what they want, with huge amounts of customisation, but we do this in such a way that makes their assembly line efficient. If they can't do that then Dell will be competing against the whitebox manufacturers and, as we've seen, Dell loses that competition.

So here is a group of customers wanting a customisation -- desktop Linux. So if Dell's sale model is going to succeed, it has to take on and serve that demand in an efficient way. We're seeing that with other customer-driven customisation demands as well, such as Dell continuing to offer Windows Xp.

All of this leads to Dell being the first major manufacturer to make the jump. I wish them the best.

Dell are serious, they have to make this work or find another way to stay in business

Posted May 2, 2007 5:48 UTC (Wed) by Cato (subscriber, #7643) [Link]

Very good points. There's also an interesting transition from desktops to notebooks going on for the PC industry and Dell:

* The share of notebooks sold increases every year

* Notebooks are less suitable for Dell's build-to-order model in which the customer selects exactly which components should be included

* Build-to-order is essential to the way Dell has always sold direct - without that, you need to build based on market predictions and ship these to the channel (retail shops)

* Having more software-based options for notebook customisation helps Dell provide "software build-to-order" for and still sell direct, as you mentioned

* Pre-installed Linux, if it's done right and it sells reasonably well, gives Dell a differentiator, at least until others start selling this - and it might reduce its overall support costs due to the lower prevalence of malware on Linux.

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 1:00 UTC (Wed) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link]

Dell's in business to make money. If a lot of people buy the Ubuntu machines, and they don't have support issues, they'll expand it. If only a few people buy the Ubuntu machines, and they are expensive to support, Dell will drop it.

And Ubuntu/Canonical is free to send deep links into Dell's site, if Dell doesn't make it easy to find.

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 12:37 UTC (Wed) by grouch (subscriber, #27289) [Link]

[...] If a lot of people buy the Ubuntu machines, and they don't have support issues, they'll expand it.
[...]
And Ubuntu/Canonical is free to send deep links into Dell's site, if Dell doesn't make it easy to find.

When Dell previously made public noises about "offering Linux", they followed that by making it so that a person had to know about the existence of such machines, be willing to search the Dell website for those machines, and be willing to repeatedly over-ride the default choice of MS Windows on the Dell website forms to be able to actually order such a machine. Dell effectively hid "Linux" from propective buyers and discouraged purchasing any computer without MS Windows.

The use of "deep links" from outside Dell's site are only effective if the potential customer is already aware of the outside site and already interested in purchasing. Those links will not engage potential customers who simply know that Dell is a place from which to buy a computer. Those links will not take advantage of Dell's name recognition, only the outside site's name recognition. In the specific case you mention, Ubuntu's name recognition will be leveraged. The name Ubuntu is not generally associated with PC sales.

I would like to be forced to 'eat crow' regarding my criticisms of Dell. However, my disdain and distrust will remain until I see Ubuntu, GNU/Linux or Linux as prominently displayed and as easily obtained from Dell as MS Windows (any version). Until then, there are other places to buy computers with pre-installed GNU/Linux.

Dell and Linux

Posted May 2, 2007 15:24 UTC (Wed) by gdt (subscriber, #6284) [Link]

It would be useful to be more specific. Dell currently sells a lot of Linux computers, as you would expect since Linux servers are 12% of the entire server/mini/mainframe market by revenue.

Also, Dell have for years tested their OptiPlex range against Linux and supported corporate customers putting RHEL on the factory installed disk image for those computers. That is, supported the use of Linux as a "terminal replacement" by banks and for other customer service points.

It sounds like you are talking about the Dell "N series" desktops. They were released accompanied by a FreeDOS disk with the expectation that enthusiasts would purchase the machines and install Linux themselves. This failed. Dell's brand had become mud with enthusiasts. Sales for non-enthusiasts were killed by the need to install the operating system and Microsoft's FUD campaign against "Naked PCs". The marketing was poor because Dell were still in a position to be heavied by Microsoft. There were never sales generated by the launch publicity to justify more marketing -- if you have a look on the website today you can see that Dell are still trying to run out the initial N series inventory.

Despite the risk and disappointment with the N series, Dell are trying desktop/laptop Linux again. I think that shows a commitment by Dell towards desktop Linux. Although I regret their failure with the "N series", unlike you I don't distain them for it. Rather I hope they've found the right approach and have better timing with this attempt.

Using Ubuntu was a good idea, since it counteracts the deadweight of the Dell brand amoung enthusiasts. Much better than offering Centos or Fedora in some attempt to leverage Dell's experience with supporting RHEL on servers.

Dell can go to hell

Posted May 2, 2007 23:43 UTC (Wed) by grouch (subscriber, #27289) [Link]

Dell currently sells a lot of Linux computers, as you would expect since Linux servers are 12% of the entire server/mini/mainframe market by revenue.

Who said anything about "servers"?

Dell was not a passive victim of the monopoly; they actively participated in both building the power of that monopoly and in making themselves dependent upon it. No doubt they were drooling over all that hardware that would need to be upgraded for MS Vista. Too bad that customers figured out MS Vista is poison. Too bad Dell is still parasitically dependent upon renting the monopoly's wares.

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 13:57 UTC (Wed) by cjl7 (guest, #26116) [Link]

I'd say Canonical is about making money as well... (ubuntu support cost's more then Red Hat / Novell...)

The real question is when Ubuntu will be taken over by the suits and economics will be more important then quality software...

Lets hope I'm just cynical...

Anyhow, all effort to further distribute Gnu/Linux (and OpenSource) should be supported, it will make our sphere bigger... (and better?)

//jonas larson

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 19:25 UTC (Wed) by t5.4 (guest, #42424) [Link]

I'm more interested is how Canonical will be able to support the potential addition of many new users. Do they have enough human capital to handle this surge is my question.

Dell, you can go to

Posted May 2, 2007 22:30 UTC (Wed) by drag (subscriber, #31333) [Link]

Ditto for me.

Canonical has something like 78 employees?