Dell UK dances with Linux
Open source touches down
Dell has taken its first major step into the open source world beyond the good ol' US of A. The PC assembler is to begin shipping the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux operating system on two of its Inspiron brand PCs.
The company said that because there are no software licence costs associated with Ubuntu, it is able to offer the Inspiron 6400n laptop and 530n desktop machines at a “competitive” price. It also said the move was based on customer feedback from its IdeaStorm website, which is a designated customer feedback site.
The machines will be available in the UK, France and Germany from tomorrow. The 6400n will retail for £329 and the 530n will cost £399.
Dell’s announcement comes just days after Lenovo announced that it would be shipping its ThinkPad laptop series with the option of the SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 OS.
COMMENTS
Comparative pricing
I also spec'd up similar windows and linux verisons - same cpu, same ram, same optical drive, year's support on both - and they were within 2 quid of each other.
What is more, a higher spec laptop in the USA was about 30% cheaper until they dropped the 6400 altogether.
only for novices? HUMBUG!
I put Ubuntu on my mum and dad's PC because I was tired of cleaning off viruses.
they seem able to use it for what they want,
solitaire games, email, web,
and they haven't a clue on windows or linux.
Pay more for Linux?
Curiously, if you spec up the Ubuntu equipped Inspiron 6400 to the same spec as that offered for XP or Vista, the price for the Ubuntu laptop is higher (405.37 vs 398.99).
The basic spec Ubuntu laptop is cheaper (at 329), but adding a comparable processor (dual core), memory (from 512 to 1024), and optical drive (DVD/CDRW to DVD+/-RW) makes the Linux lappy more expensive.
With pricing like this, smart Linux users will buy the Windows lappy, and install Linux themselves, whilst Dell will drop the Linux option due to lack of demand...
Prices
Wow! They really hammer you on the upgrade prices!
They want £141 quid extra for a 2Gb options (something that costs about £65 to buy independently) and they want £100 quid more for a 100Gb HD when you can buy a 160Gb 7200 disk for about £85....
And you'd still have the original stuff too! Nuts.
The Dell Vista version is cheaper
Been on the Dell web site and I just did a basic spec Inspiron 530 (DC1.6Ghz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD) and it came to £322.61 with Ubuntu; the same Vista Basic Home spec (with a free 250GB HDD upgrade) came to £300.24. Both prices included VAT & Shipping. I therefore fail to see the advantage of taking the Ubuntu option, as the whole idea of having a free OS is that the system price is cheaper... clearly not the case if Dell & MS are price supporting the Vista system. I use both Vista (Business Premium) and Ubuntu (7.04) and prefer Vista (with or without Aero), so personally a no-brainer.
