dell and Linux
Dell selling desktop / laptop systems to U.S. consumers may be like Nixon going to China.
Dell has been a strong supporter of the Wintel architecture and most thoght it very unlikely that it would be the first major pc seller to offer Linux systems to U.S buyers, but it seems that this is what is going to take place soon.
There has been some speculation about if Dell could make money on this - especially because of support costs. If Dell goes with a major Linux supplier such as Novel, Redhat, Linspire, or Ubuntu, then it can use the support infrastructure that each of these firms has in place now. Dell would have to factor in the cost of such support into their final price, but even so, Dell should be able to put together an atractive package for the consumer since each of these distributions comes with a strong set of applications.
I believe there are several million Linux users in the U.S. [about 3% of the market] and Linux is now a main stream operating system. I am a typical Linux user and I would seriously consider a Dell lapton with Linux installed if the hardware was Linux certified and pre-installed. I would not have to fight configuration and driver issues and I would also get support. This would be worth the $40 - $50 Microsoft tax. Since I don't use Windows, The M.S. tax is just a wast of money to me, but it would be worth Linux support and certification.
If Dell can work out a way to make money on selling Linux systems, then it will not be long before the other major players (e.g. H.P., Acers, Gateway, etc.) also start offering similar systems. This could put a real dent into Microsoft'smarket dominance.
Dell has been a strong supporter of the Wintel architecture and most thoght it very unlikely that it would be the first major pc seller to offer Linux systems to U.S buyers, but it seems that this is what is going to take place soon.
There has been some speculation about if Dell could make money on this - especially because of support costs. If Dell goes with a major Linux supplier such as Novel, Redhat, Linspire, or Ubuntu, then it can use the support infrastructure that each of these firms has in place now. Dell would have to factor in the cost of such support into their final price, but even so, Dell should be able to put together an atractive package for the consumer since each of these distributions comes with a strong set of applications.
I believe there are several million Linux users in the U.S. [about 3% of the market] and Linux is now a main stream operating system. I am a typical Linux user and I would seriously consider a Dell lapton with Linux installed if the hardware was Linux certified and pre-installed. I would not have to fight configuration and driver issues and I would also get support. This would be worth the $40 - $50 Microsoft tax. Since I don't use Windows, The M.S. tax is just a wast of money to me, but it would be worth Linux support and certification.
If Dell can work out a way to make money on selling Linux systems, then it will not be long before the other major players (e.g. H.P., Acers, Gateway, etc.) also start offering similar systems. This could put a real dent into Microsoft'smarket dominance.
posted by konstantine at 12:58 PM
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