Dell to provide Ubuntu on select systems
This is an interesting move by Dell and speaks to the strides that open source is making in the OS space. This morning on the Direct2Dell blog, the company announced a partnership with Canonical to offer the Ubuntu distro of Linux on select machines. I downloaded Feisty Fawn, but haven’t gotten around to the install just yet. My last experience with Ubuntu was fairly positive although I remember some screen resolution issues with my widescreen monitor when installing on the desktop.
Two things come to mind here: along with the recent decision to keep offering Windows XP on certain models, Dell’s decision to offer Ubuntu as a choice shows that they’re listening to their customers; perhaps more than other computer sellers are right now. Additionally, I’m interested in seeing what the price difference will be in an Ubuntu-based machine since Dell won’t be paying an OEM license fee to Microsoft. Now that we know Dell is seriously listening to their customers, that Dell Tablet PC buzz has a little more credence in my book.
