Dell sells laptops with Ubuntu preinstalled

[hazel]

Today I was browsing through a Dell flier which fell out of a magazine and I saw two low-cost laptops advertised that run Ubuntu . We all know about Asus but this is the first time I have seen a Dell computer sold with Linux installed on it.

Somebody once told me that the reason all new computers come with Windows is that Microsoft only give the OEMs cheap copies of Windows if they promise not to sell any machines with other OS's on them. Evidently that isn't true any more.

Does anyone know of other well-known OEMs who are doing this?

[oz]

Yes, I think it was almost two years ago that they started selling laptops with Ubuntu on them. Not sure how their licensing agreement with Microsoft works with Linux now in the picture.

[Jonathan183]

Last time I was on the market for a laptop (about 18 months ago) I looked for Windows/Linux/no-OS options. All the Linux machines at the time were more expensive than the Windows (although not the same specification). A real step forward would be to give at least two prices:-
1. PC with Linux OS
2. PC with Windows OS
We could then see the real cost paid for Windows.

Even better still - ship the PC with a live CD for tech support and no OS installed ... lets see how many people go out and buy Vista

Ed: Vista with option for XP still clear on the Dell website ... on just about all products ... but Linux is hard to find

[Surak]

they have been doing this for quite sometime, but it turns out the ubuntu ones arnt as high spec as the windblows ones

[videogenie]

Yes, I have bought one - an A840 dual-core with Ubuntu pre-loaded. I bought it to work on a project where the server is going to run Zimbra mail server, or something similar, and the laptop is to get up to speed with Ubuntu.

It works extremely well and one thing that I really love is that you can re-install the OS by pressing a few menu options on boot-up. It has a special partition containing the factory-installed OS. So when I want to wipe the machine and start over again, it takes about twenty-five minutes and I'm back with a fresh system again.

Dell have been shipping Ubuntu for some time.

[elija]

Dell ain't the only ones selling PCs with Linux flavours pre-installed. Apparently Linux has hit more than 2% of the desktop market and that makes it worth getting in to.

[aside]Firefox had about 2% of the browser market 4 to 5 years ago - I wonder if Linux will follow a similar growth pattern[/aside]

Videogenie: A clean Ubuntu install only takes about 25 to 35 minutes anyway and is designed to be really easy - I guess that just shows most of the time is spent actually copying stuff to the disk

[hazel]

Dell ain't the only ones selling PCs with Linux flavours pre-installed. Apparently Linux has hit more than 2% of the desktop market and that makes it worth getting in to.

That's what I was wondering. I've also noticed that practically all the computer magazines now have a Linux questions page whereas before only one or two had them. Maybe the wind's beginning to blow from a new direction...

[valan]

I bought my Dell Inspiron 1420n about a year ago. It came with Ubuntu, which didn't last long. It wasn't any more expensive than a comparable Windows laptop was from Dell, and in fact was a little less.

[carlosponti]

i have a 1525n which of course came with ubuntu its still on there. works great and you get the hardware the windows version has. works for me and I didnt feel trapped on windows.