Dell To Sell PCs With Linux

According to reports, Dell has finally agreed on selling select PCs and laptops with pre-installed open source Linux OS. In a statement released on the company's website, Dell said that it has heard its consumers and the first step in this effort is offering Linux preinstalled on select desktop and notebook systems. Further, they plan to expand the Linux support beyond the existing servers and Precision workstation line.
This move, reportedly, is a result of customer feedback and demand. Earlier this year, the company had conducted a survey wherein 1,00,000 people took part and more than 70 percent of survey respondents said they would prefer using a Dell system with a Linux OS for both home and office use. Moreover, a majority of survey respondents said that existing community-based support forums would meet their technical support needs for a tested and validated Linux OS on a Dell PC and indicated that improved hardware support for Linux machines is as important as the distribution offered. Dell said that customers are more concerned about driver compatibility and Linux kernel support than they are about which distribution Dell would choose for its PCs and notebooks. As of now, the company has not released the details as to which PCs and laptops will come with pre-installed Linux and also which version of Linux will be used. Further details including testing and certification efforts and the Linux distribution or distributions, are expected to be available in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, this move by Linux is welcomed by members of the Linux community. Nick Veitch, senior editor of Linux Format magazine, describes this as a significant move. Reportedly, Veitch is of the view that this move sends message in two ways. One is that a major company is confident enough to be able to offer Linux preinstalled on a desktop that sends a signal that Linux is usable to the average user, and secondly, it shows that there is a growing demand for an alternative to Windows. Presently, Dell only offers PCs and laptops with pre-installed Microsoft Windows, but sells servers running Linux.