Dell PCs with Ubuntu Are A Little Less Expensive

Chandon Seldon writes "Contrary to many earlier reports, it turns out that Dell's prices for its Ubuntu PCs are cheaper than similar Windows Vista PCs for all three Models. Ars Technica reports: 'So it turns out that not including Windows saves the consumer $50 from the regular list price. This amount is not too far off from what a large OEM like Dell would pay for a volume discount for Windows Vista Home Basic (the regular OEM price is about $95). Many value PC sellers try to make up for the cost of a Windows license by bundling demo and trial versions of software such as AOL (affectionately known as "crapware"), for which they receive money from software companies looking to increase their distribution levels. Dell is no exception to this practice, although on their web site it allows customers to select the option of not including various applications.' For direct comparisons, Nat Tuck of Umass-Lowell has put together a simple page showing prices for Ubuntu and Windows-based PCs."

This is well and good but..

What will be the most important marker of Dells little Linux venture is product placement. If these linux systems end up on a back page people may not hunt for them.

Re:This is well and good but..

They are on a back page. If you go to Dell's web site and navigate to buy an E1505 laptop, Ubuntu is not an OS option anywhere along the way. I had to type Ubuntu in the search box to find the page where I could see/configure one.

Re:This is well and good but..

I was about to post a rant about how it was obscured as well, but right now, Dell has a promotion for Ubuntu PCs on their front page. OK, so it's one of four images shown seemingly at random, but having a promotion shown to 25% of people who visit dell.com isn't bad.

Ubuntu == Red-Headed Step Child

I tried to find it this morning too.

1. There was a page on Dell's site saying displaying photoshopped pc's with a brown ubuntu splash screen, but the link took you to freedos systems. (?)

2. Search the phrase Dell linux and one of the links will take you to PC's with Red Hat.

3. Going through Dell's front door www.dell.com gets you absolutely zero indication they have Linux, much less ubuntu as an option.

I found the link to buy a ubuntu/dell pc in an article. This suggests some combination of typical corporate inertia and maybe, just maybe a Microsoft distribution agreement that discourages alternatives.

Re:Ubuntu == Red-Headed Step Child

Here's what I've found:

1. There's an "Ubuntu Has Arrived" image that cycles through with the other advertisements on Dell's front page. This takes you to a page where you have the choice to shop for Ubuntu PC's and FreeDOS PC's.

2. The Ubuntu/FreeDOS PC's are not available through the obvious route (ie, by navigating through "Notebooks for Home and Office" -> "Inspiron" -> "Inspiron E1505", for example). There's an entirely separate navigation tree for Ubuntu orders.

3. Fortunately the navigation tree for ordering non-Windows PC's has an easy-to-remember URL:

http://www.dell.com/open [dell.com]

Which is good for spreading the word the old-fashioned way.

Re:Huh?

http://www.dell.com/linux [dell.com]

Re:This is well and good but..

Right, and then every pleb will pick Ubuntu cos its cheaper. 10 mins after pleb gets their new machine and plugs it in they are on the phone to Dell support moaning that they can't install MS Office, their games or whatever software they have.

Well, people, time to cough up the dough

After all the comments that Dell should sell Linux machines, and that they shouldn't charge more for them than the Linux one, it is time to put your money where your mouth is and start buying these beauties. I, for one, know that if they ever offer it here on good ol' Europe I'll be buying one as my replacement laptop. Not only buy them, but recommend them for people that are buying their first computers and never had contact with Windows. If they are going to give any serious use for the computer (that meaning, no mass marketed games), they will not miss anything on Windows. Peace.

Re:Well, people, time to cough up the dough

Why -- can't you spell "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop", or something?

Re:Well, people, time to cough up the dough

Why -- can't you spell "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop", or something?

Cha, cha, cha. I would have modded this funny. Perhaps this is why Dell has buried these Linux machines on their site. If you know enough use the command line under Linux, you're probably somewhat committed. You'll ask them for it (or just search), and now they will be able to easily provide. To the person who can spell "sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop", Linux has been 'ready for prime time' for a long time now. But perhaps not for the general public who might just pick Ubuntu from a drop down configuration menu because it was the cheaper option, then freak when they got it because it isn't Windows.

Re:Well, people, time to cough up the dough

If you know enough about Linux to be an anti-Gnome snob, I'm sure you know how to
A) Install KDE, or XFCE or IceWM or Enlightenment or whatever or DE/WM you want or
B) Install whichever entire distro you want.

Personally, I like Gnome, after switching to KDE and back a few times... but I know not everyone does, so to each his own. But Gnome is a great place for people who are new to Linux to start. And if you don't like it, this is Free software, on pretty standard PC hardware, which means you can replace it without losing any real value (with Windows if you want to).

Two of the major good things about this product is that a) a major PC company is making Linux available pre-installed for everyone, and b) all the hardware in those machines is guaranteed to work under Linux. Not always with open source drivers, but it will be able to be Linux-compatible. Therefore, anyone who doesn't like the default configuration can install whatever Linux flavor they want, or any other x86 OS, or they can change the default Desktop Environment.

Can we please have people stop complaining because Dell isn't offering a default setup in exactly the l33t configuration you would have set it up on your own?

Re:Well, people, time to cough up the dough

I'm not buying a laptop until quad-core units roll out.

Yeah because I would feel like my penis size was really inadequate if I only had a dual core...

Comparisons?

Comparing identical models is interesting, and it's good to know the size of the 'Windows Tax' is around $50 (as many suspected), but this figure isn't an objective truth, for several reasons:

• Ubuntu can run well on cheaper hardware than Vista (mainly RAM and video, if you want Aero). So comparing the same hardware means one OS will run better than the other. (Note: on the other hand Ubuntu needs more expensive hardware in some areas, like Wifi, due to lack of good drivers for cheap Broadcom devices. But this is negligible, and also drivers are now coming out.)
• Comparing to Vista Home Basic may not be entirely fair, if most users in fact purchase Home Premium ($30 more via Dell, I believe). Indeed some have said that Home Basic is hopelessly crippled. But this is of course debatable.

What you pay for ...

What you pay for is garanteed hardware compatibility.

Re:No modem, no driver problem

As far as I can see, there's no way to configure a modem into the non-laptop models.

A what?

50$ is just the start

Once you start adding the price of office and other commercial software with a solid foss alternative the gap widens even more. Of course, that's if you don't count the cost of your time spent managing your computer and its software. Depending on how familiar you are with one OS or the other, that could be a lot. Most importantly, linux should not be promoted as " just" a low cost alternative to windows. Keep in mind that it's also higher quality ;) (i can hear the hackles rising from here)

Im seeing a lot made of the price difference

People are already commenting on how everyone should be able to choose between Vista/XP or Ubuntu so they can see the $50 savings on the configuration part of the process. That is not a good thing for Dell/Ubuntu because it will only cause problems. This deal was made to sell Ubuntu Dells to people who wanted that, not to give people a money saving option.

Know this...A ton of people buy dells everyday and out of those, many are buying their first computer or are generally considered novice users. Now Dell is also a sort of bargain type place, so people may be more frugal, not all, but certainly a good amount. Stay with me here...

So now you have people customizing their computer, choosing Ubuntu to save $50, $80 whatever it is, getting the computer at home and then having the realization they just got what they paid for. They will not be happy. Dell will have to field that support call from people who are CLUELESS to what Linux or an OS is. Many of those support calls will end with, "you probably want to buy Windows" and as a result, that computer user just had a nightmare experience and will never consider a Linux distro again. This is not a 'what if' scenario, this will happen and happen often if people are given the choice right off like people here want to see.

The point is this, if they list Ubuntu at $50 cheaper than windows to everyone with soliciting the Ubuntu option, it will be the end of this deal and it will not take long. The only way it would work is if Dell could manage to turn a profit from selling a machine loaded with Ubuntu, fielding all the support calls and then selling Windows at a higher cost to unsatisfied customers for a net gain that is worth that effort. So please, stop asking for equality in the OS choice screen during customization. If you get greedy like that, the whole program is probably going to go under. Be happy they are selling the boxes to you, not to your neighbor who does not know how to spell Linux.

Re:Anyway

As I see the situation: those are are technically minded and wanted to taste something different have experimented with Linuzzz at this time and are able to download and install the thing /almost) without help, so they are not the target of this new item.

Those who are not so technically minded and buy the thing candidly thinking that they will come home and install World of Warcraft or Photoshop and use iTunes will be having a hard time with this...

So really, why don't pay, say 10 USD more to get Windows and THEN if you like to be cool, get the Linuzz pain and install it?

I must say that I'm really skeptic about this whole thing.... but who knows... After all we all know that THIS is the year of Linuzzz on the desktop.

I can now buy a 64 bit computer with 4 gigs of RAM that is guaranteed to work with Linux for $1000. This will allow me to have one machine that can comfortably run 1 desktop-friendly virtual machine and several developer-friendly virtual machines using Xen or VmWare. Last week I would have to wonder if my $1000 "bargain" would have caused me lots of grief because of Linux incompatibilities. Dell just eased my mind and made a grand off of me.

Re:Can you geeks make up your minds?

Thats the thing about a community, they seldom speak wit hone unified voice.

Re:Who... fscking... cares

Will this machine be more likely to be usable until she is no longer physically capable of using a computer? That is more likely to be true with Linux than Windows while keeping the OS up-to-date.

Heh, kind of puts "free upgrades for life" into a whole new perspective, doesn't it?

Tagline could be "Ubuntu: you'll die before it does."

Re:Not really a troll

'the obvious advancement of Open Source shouldn't be talked about. It makes me feel like there is a "STFU" campaign.'

I couldn't agree more. When I first started Slashdotting just about any pro Linux and pro Open Source comment would get modded up if it was coherent.

Over time this has changed. A sure way to get up-modded now is to point out how zealots upmod pro Linux comments and Microsoft bash comments. Actually pointing out a strength of Linux or Open Source over proprietary software, pointing out flaws in typical proprietary software sympathizer arguments, or even Microsoft bashing that is ontopic is solidly grounded in fact will get you modded down now.

I watch the moderation. Usually when the discussion is hot, an Insightful pro open source stance will get modded as such but a day or two after a story first hits the front page troll mods will come in. Actually, within the past couple months people see to have fallen in love with overrated moderations when there is no legitimate reason to downmod something. This way it is more likely to survive meta-moderation.

Either a bunch of Microsoft and proprietary software fanboys have started to camp on Slashdot (an awefully strange place for an MS fanboy to hang out) or the industry has recognized that Slashdot is a critical front in the development of Tech trends and prevailing attitudes and there are now paid PR shills monitoring Slashdot.

It's good that the Ubuntu systems are cheaper...

... But you can get even better deals on Dells by hunting around at Edealinfo or Fatwallet. I just ordered a Dell laptop yesterday that ended up being significantly cheaper than the e1505n, and yet it comes with Vista Home Premium (it was some kind of educational/affiliate/whatever discount that I found on Fatwallet).

Also, it bugs me that none of the Ubuntu systems have AMD processors! Most of us who run Linux want 64-bit these days, since 64-bit "just works" under Linux, and gives a pretty good performance boost. And among Intel Desktop processors, only the Core 2 Duo support 64-bit, while *ALL* the AMD processors now support 64-bit, from the lowly Sempron on up.

Anyone know if Dell will offer an AMD system with Ubuntu?

Re:It's good that the Ubuntu systems are cheaper..

Also, it bugs me that none of the Ubuntu systems have AMD processors! Most of us who run Linux want 64-bit these days, since 64-bit "just works" under Linux, and gives a pretty good performance boost.

I think the issue is Intel offers open source drivers for their integrated video cards. Less legal complications and less software complications that way. Also, the Windows variants of these machines seem to offer ATI graphics cards, which are the most likely to have problems under Linux.

Re:It's good that the Ubuntu systems are cheaper..

... But you can get even better deals on Dells by hunting around at Edealinfo or Fatwallet. I just ordered a Dell laptop yesterday that ended up being significantly cheaper than the e1505n, and yet it comes with Vista Home Premium (it was some kind of educational/affiliate/whatever discount that I found on Fatwallet).

Also, it bugs me that none of the Ubuntu systems have AMD processors! Most of us who run Linux want 64-bit these days, since 64-bit "just works" under Linux, and gives a pretty good performance boost. And among Intel Desktop processors, only the Core 2 Duo support 64-bit, while *ALL* the AMD processors now support 64-bit, from the lowly Sempron on up.

Anyone know if Dell will offer an AMD system with Ubuntu?

I spoke with a Dell rep yesterday and he told me that all of the Ubuntu Dell options are 64 bit. I don't think you can fault Dell here. They do have to make an investment to make Linux a viable option and I don't see why they should have to offer more than a few base systems right now. If people are buying Ubuntu Dells, we'll see what happens.

Re:No 3D in laptops.

I personally have a 3 and a half year old Dell D400 laptop with the Intell 855GM integrated graphics card. It runs Beryl just fine. I've switched to Compiz for the latest rendition of Ubuntu and that works fine too.

I'm sure the card can't handly anywhere near whatmost nVidia cards can, but the Intel card definitely handles the basic eyecandy without problems.