Dell To Linux Users — Not So Fast 356
PetManimal writes to tell us that after all the hubbub over Dell's note about manufacturing Linux-friendly Dells and choosing distros, the company is now telling users not to expect factory-installed Linux laptops and desktops anytime soon. According to the article, Dell says that lining up certification, support, and training will 'take a lot of work.' "The company said today that the note was just about certifying the hardware for being ready to work with Novell SUSE Linux, not an announcement that the computers would be loaded and sold with the operating system in the near future..."
Why does dell have to support it? (Score:1, Interesting)
Linux users coming on too fast for Dell... (Score:5, Interesting)
Before we do this, you love me don't you???? Couldn't resist. I'm so getting flamed for this one...
Dell needs to continue listening to its customers, and give me Linux on my Dell (dude). The first step for this should be a Linux hardware forum where they discuss possible chipsets and identify possible incompatibilities before they occur. An open forum by such a large manufacturer may also put some pressure on chip and card manufacturers to open source their drivers.
The Widget of Sticky
Maybe they are just waitng... (Score:5, Interesting)
Yes, its good they are considering Linux on their machines. But how many people will actually buy it? How big is the market for Dell to bother with selling it? Most people using Linux in the workplace already have their preferred Linux hardware vendor. Most people that are Dell shops are MS exclusively. That leaves the companies that have mixed vendors and home and personal use.
Verifying hardware and drivers and support staff will take time and money. They can't switch overnight, not Dell. They are too big to do it quickly. If they don't do it right the first time, they will alienate everybody that may have been interested in the past as well as losing the money they spent on failing. If they take their time and do it right, they can start eating in to HP and other hardware vendors that ship with Linux certified.
Re:The penguin is struck down again! (Score:5, Interesting)
Why SUSE? (Score:3, Interesting)
The documentation and community around Ubuntu is so strong that they'd surely get far less phone-calls if they chose this distribution, while 're-selling' Ubuntu's commercial support option if the customer desired it. In other words, ship with Ubuntu soon/now and just outsource the support to either the community or the paid pros? I'm sure if Dell was to start shipping with Ubuntu pre-installed Mark would consider edging something like 'Feisty' into LTS status.
I would be surprised if the only reason they wouldn't do something like this is to meet MS half way, as their SUSE vendor. It's obvious the most noise regarding Linux on Dell points toward Ubuntu.
Disclaimer: I'm not a daily Ubuntu user, I've just seen users that try it stick to it for a sustained period, whether coming from SUSE, Windows, Fedora or OS X.
Re:Dell will not betray Microsoft. (Score:5, Interesting)
1) No high-end AMD systems (their instruction set is better supported on Linux)
2) High-end systems do not provide an option for high-end nVidia cards (their drivers work better on linux)
3) All high-end systems require purchase of MS Windows
These problems are unacceptable and force me to look for alternative manufacturers. If you know of someone that will actually build a good linux system (desktop system, thank you very much) then let me know, otherwise I'm going to end up doing it myself again - and honestly, that's getting irritating.
Microsoft threatening Dell (Score:2, Interesting)
http://news.com.com/Did+Microsoft+want+to+whack+D
Re:Dell's linux support problems (Score:4, Interesting)
Big companies do jack on their own these days, its (almost) all hired out consultants, and for good reason. Consultants are competitive, when you put an order out for bid a consultant will shave every dollar they can off the price to make sure they get the contract. This is why the open source model is so fantastic, the money in providing Open Source Services instead of Open Source Products is incredible, and it even allows for innovation (though if it's gonna be distributed, it has to come with the source). Constant, competitive, powerful innovation drives Open Source to be the BEST OF BREED, and that's who companies should hire.
The Widget of Sticky
A.K.A, The Adhesive Thingamajigger
That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:5, Interesting)
Sadly there is trouble with Dell hardware/software even in their 'big business' server sales. ... our group bought from Dell, and got machines with closed source, YOU CAN'T RELOAD THE OS WITHOUT OUR PROPRIETARY BINARIES software.
Ugh, $60,000 worth of disposable equipment.
Wouldn't it be nice if they had just picked some scsi cards that have free software drivers? How nice it would be if Dell used it's market might to ask for specifications or free drivers instead of how non free companies usually do it - asking the maker to keep things secret.
Re:That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:5, Interesting)
Not to sound like a broken record around here, but why would Dell go out of their way to find components that work on an OS that is in direct competition with the one that ships with (currently) 100% of their hardware?
Something about not biting hands that feed you?
</asbestos chainmail>
Re:That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:5, Interesting)
Not to sound like a broken record around here, but why would Dell go out of their way to find components that work on an OS that is in direct competition with the one that ships with (currently) 100% of their hardware?
For three simple reasons:
You sell what your users want or you go out of business. What they sell now, contrary to their claim, does not really work with any of their hardware. Indeed, M$ is the source of all bogus compatibility problems, the people who gave you Winmodems and destroyed Alpha (remember 64 bit computing ten years ago?), who trashed Netscape and gave you rampant botnets, who crapped out OpenGL and gave you DirectX version 1 through 10 in far fewer years. I could go on and on, but you get the point. Hardware and software makers like simple and stable interfaces, M$ has done everything in their power to thwart real standardization. Their users know this and want something else.
Something about not biting hands that feed you?
Yes, it's strange but it's really customers that feed Dell, not M$. The only reason Dell does not give their customers what they want is because they are afraid of M$ biting them in the ass, which is already sore from their mistaken loyalty to Intel. As Vista tanks and other vendors start doing well, you will see how backward your thinking was. The fact they are even mentioning gnu/linux means Dell knows where their friends really are.
Ask me again and I'll tell you the same until I see different.
How about the low-hanging fruit ? (Score:4, Interesting)
Surely it doesn't take a lot of time to manage to deliver a laptop or computer just with a plain-old *empty* hard-disc ? I don't see what testing or certifying or whatever should be needed to do that. It's also what most nerds would want anyway, because you can bet whatever linux-variant Dell opts for ain't going to be precisely the one you want anyway.
A "naked" variant for all their computers would be a good first step, and should be easy.
The biggest question is: (Score:3, Interesting)
Most likely the price will be the same, because a PC without Windows promotes piracy!!!11 Right.
Re:That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:3, Interesting)
Any IT Dept. with a brain steers clear of Dell. That's why I said "Dell is selling what THEIR users want." HP's customer base is wholly different than Dell's! Why are you arguing with me when we are saying the exact same thing?!?!??
Dell isn't dumb, but their customers are those who (at the moment) want Intel, Server 2003, and a support contract so they can guarantee to the CIO that "It'll just work".
Of course Vista is going to tank (Dell knows it), why do you think they are even paying lip service to the idea of selling Linux?
Re:That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:That's why Dell Linux would be nice. (Score:3, Interesting)
Of course it deserves to tank, but we'll have to see how it shakes out. I've been wondering if there isn't an effort going on at Microsoft to rewrite the OS without the (intentional) problems. It couldn't be done as a Service Pack, because it would mean they'd have to admit failure. I'm guessing a completely different nameplate.
Typing this on a Dell (Score:1, Interesting)
Just sell it without an OS (Score:1, Interesting)
Let the community "support" it. The fact that you cannot buy a laptop without
paying the Microsoft tax is pretty telling. If I have to pay a laptop OS tax, I
might as well pay it to Apple where I at least get a useful and reliable OS
in return.
For people who can't figure out how to install an OS, sell them the craptastic
Vista but for the rest of us, just sell a machine with a blank HD, some diags on
a CD (so we can prove that the machine is busted if and when it is) and be done
with it. They'll sell boat loads of them.
Re:Gran this pebble from my Hand Grasshopper, Pare (Score:3, Interesting)