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Dell will sell PCs pre-installed with Linux: The pros and cons of using a Linux-based system



If Dell sells a computer with a Linux Operating System installed, you can purchase a support warranty with your computer. You can expect Dell to cover the support of your computer to the level of your warranty.




Dell will sell PCs pre-installed with Linux




Lenovo ThinkPads are quite popular among Linux users, even with mixed feelings about them for its compatibility with Linux in the past. And, now that most of the Lenovo laptops will be Linux certified, it could be one of the best choices to go with to get a Laptop. And, you can order one for yourself through their official site.


They also come pre-installed with Trisquel, endorsed by Free Software Foundation, which means that you can be sure that their computers adhere to the guidelines and principles of Free and Open Source Software.


Dell offers numerous workstations that come pre-installed with Ubuntu. For users wanting to run Ubuntu, pre-installed hardware offers a lot of long term benefits. On top of receiving the Ubuntu desktop experience out of the box, users receive specially fine-tuned features that complement their chosen hardware. For a PC to receive this level of quality assurance it needs to be certified. Canonical works closely with Dell and other vendors, to certify devices so that every user receives the best possible Ubuntu experience.


When a user buys a certified PC that is pre-installed with Ubuntu, they get peace of mind in knowing Canonical has performed thousands of rigorous tests to ensure all subsystems (WiFi, Bluetooth, etc) just work. This is the case for a range of Dell workstations and proves incredibly popular among developers. A lot of the high-end workstations Dell offers are designed specifically with developers in mind. In those cases, the benefits of pre-installed Ubuntu expand. Ubuntu is the number one operating system for AI development, most popular AI tools and frameworks are built on Ubuntu themselves. But more on that in another blog.


Another reason to buy a pre-installed Ubuntu machine is simply to support Ubuntu. Purchasing a laptop that is pre-installed with Ubuntu, sends a message to partners, like Dell, that Ubuntu matters to them. If Dell or other vendors get this message, Ubuntu will be able to grow to be pre-installed on more devices. More Ubuntu pre-installed devices means supporting the Ubuntu community, open-source and general flexibility and security for PC users.


Although Dell offers the devices with Windows 8.1 by default customers can opt to replace it with Ubuntu 14.04 LTS Desktop. Dell say the Ubuntu option will be available to select worldwide from September.


The 13.3-inch version will be available with a choice of 4th generation Intel Core processor, up to 8GB RAM and a bevy of premium features. Buyers can opt for a backlit keyboard, an edge-to-edge Corning Gorilla Glass display at 19201080, plus make use of an included passive stylus and 20GB of free Dropbox storage.


Pricing for the 11-inch Inspiron 11 3000 will start from $449 when it goes on sale in June. Ubuntu will available as an option worldwide from September. The price for the high-end Inspiron 13 7000 is not yet known but, based on similar offerings from the company, expect to part with somewhere north of $800.


In 1990, Dell Computer tried selling its products indirectly through warehouse clubs and computer superstores, but met with little success, and the company re-focused on its more successful direct-to-consumer sales model. In 1992, Fortune included Dell Computer Corporation in its list of the world's 500 largest companies, making Michael Dell the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company at that time.


Originally, Dell did not emphasize the consumer market, due to the higher costs and low profit margins in selling to individuals and households; this changed when the company's Internet site took off in 1996 and 1997.[19] While the industry's average selling price to individuals was going down, Dell's was going up, as second- and third-time computer buyers who wanted powerful computers with multiple features and did not need much technical support were choosing Dell. Dell found an opportunity among PC-savvy individuals who liked the convenience of buying direct, customizing their PC to their means, and having it delivered in days. In early 1997, Dell created an internal sales and marketing group dedicated to serving the home market and introduced a product line designed especially for individual users.[26]


The slowing sales growth has been attributed to the maturing PC market, which constituted 66% of Dell's sales, and analysts suggested that Dell needed to make inroads into non-PC business segments such as storage, services, and servers. Dell's price advantage was tied to its ultra-lean manufacturing for desktop PCs,[36] but this became less important as savings became harder to find inside the company's supply chain, and as competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer made their PC manufacturing operations more efficient to match Dell, weakening Dell's traditional price differentiation.[37] Throughout the entire PC industry, declines in prices along with commensurate increases in performance meant that Dell had fewer opportunities to upsell to their customers (a lucrative strategy of encouraging buyers to upgrade the processor or memory). As a result, the company was selling a greater proportion of inexpensive PCs than before, which eroded profit margins.[27] The laptop segment had become the fastest-growing of the PC market, but Dell produced low-cost notebooks in China like other PC manufacturers which eliminated Dell's manufacturing cost advantages, plus Dell's reliance on Internet sales meant that it missed out on growing notebook sales in big box stores.[3][34] CNET has suggested that Dell was getting trapped in the increasing commoditization of high volume low margin computers, which prevented it from offering more exciting devices that consumers demanded.[36]


In March 2013, the Blackstone Group and Carl Icahn expressed interest in purchasing Dell.[90] In April 2013, Blackstone withdrew their offer, citing deteriorating business.[91][92] Other private equity firms such as KKR & Co. and TPG Capital declined to submit alternative bids for Dell, citing the uncertain market for personal computers and competitive pressures, so the "wide-open bidding war" never materialized.[8] Analysts said that the biggest challenge facing Silver Lake would be to find an "exit strategy" to profit from its investment, which would be when the company would hold an IPO to go public again, and one warned "But even if you can get a $25bn enterprise value for Dell, it will take years to get out."[93]


On February 26, 2007, Dell announced that it had commenced a program to sell and distribute a range of computers with pre-installed Linux distributions as an alternative to Microsoft Windows. Dell indicated that Novell's SUSE Linux would appear first.[134] However, the next day, Dell announced that its previous announcement related to certifying the hardware as ready to work with Novell SUSE Linux and that it (Dell) had no plans to sell systems pre-installed with Linux in the near future.[135] On March 28, 2007, Dell announced that it would begin shipping some desktops and laptops with Linux pre-installed, although it did not specify which distribution of Linux or which hardware would lead.[136] On April 18, a report appeared suggesting that Michael Dell used Ubuntu on one of his home systems.[137] On May 1, 2007, Dell announced it would ship the Ubuntu Linux distribution.[138] On May 24, 2007, Dell started selling models with Ubuntu Linux 7.04 pre-installed: a laptop, a budget computer, and a high-end PC.[139]


On June 27, 2007, Dell announced on its Direct2Dell blog that it planned to offer more pre-loaded systems (the new Dell Inspiron desktops and laptops). After the IdeaStorm site supported extending the bundles beyond the US market, Dell later announced more international marketing.[140] On August 7, 2007, Dell officially announced that it would offer one notebook and one desktop in the UK, France and Germany with Ubuntu "pre-installed". At LinuxWorld 2007 Dell announced plans to provide Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop on selected models in China, "factory-installed".[141] On November 30, 2007, Dell reported shipping 40,000 Ubuntu PCs.[142] On January 24, 2008, Dell in Germany, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom launched a second laptop, an XPS M1330 with Ubuntu 7.10, for 849 euro or GBP 599 upwards.[143] On February 18, 2008, Dell announced that the Inspiron 1525 would have Ubuntu as an optional operating system.[144] On February 22, 2008, Dell announced plans to sell Ubuntu in Canada and in Latin America[145] From September 16, 2008, Dell has shipped both Dell Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Windows XP Home versions of the Inspiron Mini 9 and the Inspiron Mini 12. As of November 2009[update] Dell shipped the Inspiron Mini laptops with Ubuntu version 8.04.[146]


In November 2015, it emerged that several Dell computers had shipped with an identical pre-installed root certificate known as "eDellRoot".[212] This raised such security risks as attackers impersonating HTTPS-protected websites such as Google and Bank of America and malware being signed with the certificate to bypass Microsoft software filtering.[212] Dell apologized and offered a removal tool.[213]


Dell India has started Online Ecommerce website[223] with its Dell Partner www.compuindia.com GNG Electronics Pvt Ltd[224] termed as Dell Express Ship Affiliate(DESA).The main objective was to reduce the delivery time. Customers who visit Dell India official site are given the option to buy online which then will be redirected to Dell affiliate website compuindia.com.[195]


In 2001, Dell and EMC entered into a partnership whereby both companies jointly design products, and Dell provided support for certain EMC products including midrange storage systems, such as fibre channel and iSCSI storage area networks. The relationship also promotes and sells OEM versions of backup, recovery, replication and archiving software.[233] On December 9, 2008, Dell and EMC announced the multi-year extension, through 2013, of the strategic partnership with EMC. In addition, Dell expanded its product lineup by adding the EMC Celerra NX4 storage system to the portfolio of Dell/EMC family of networked storage systems and partnered on a new line of data deduplication products as part of its TierDisk family of data storage devices.[234] 2ff7e9595c


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