Dell unveils exclusive Microsoft-branded Ubuntu OS Dell is currently flogging a cheap-as-chips netbook that apparently comes loaded with that well-known Microsoft operating system, Ubuntu 8.04. Anyone dropping in on the computer maker's UK product website will be able to buy an Intel-based Inspiron Mini 10 laptop for £199 a pop. And, according to the blurb on the site, one …
And Dell do go out of their way to make Linux an attractive option, and don't at all try to scare potential buyers away. Hell - I've been working in IT for 15 years and am about as tech-savvy as they come, and it almost scared me off.
Choose WINDOWS if:
You are already using WINDOWS programmes (e.g. Microsoft Office, ITunes etc) and want to continue using them
You are familiar with WINDOWS and do not want to learn new programmes for email, word processing etc
You are new to using computers
Choose UBUNTU if:
You do not plan to use Microsoft WINDOWS
You want to learn new programmes for email, word processing etc
You are interested in open source programming
Yeouwch - that'd be practically nobody then.
Oh and while I'm on a FUD rant, this statement...
"UBUNTU is not a Microsoft Windows operating system - and is not compatible with Microsoft Office programmes - so it's important you make the right choice"
...is designed to leave the uninitiated (and also a fair proportion of the initiated) with the impression that you can't create Word, Excel or PP docs on Linux. Technically correct, you can't run MS Office under it, but you can run OO, Symphony or similar which do the same job for nowt.
FUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUDFUD etc. Repeat until bored.
@Lord Elpuss.. Agreed, it's some FUD. But it's not FUD for the sake of harming Ubuntu sales, it's FUD in the interest of avoiding people just buying whatever's cheapest, then calling and bitching out Dell because they can't run Quickbooks (this is the main example I see here... it's Windows only, and unlike gamers, Quickbooks users don't seem computer savvy enough in general to realize Ubuntu's not Windows until I tell them, or to realize that means Quickbooks won't run without a WIndows install until I tell them THAT too. It'll be great when and if Wine runs Quickbooks.)
I do think they should put a statement in that OpenOffice can handle most Office files, but this warning is warranted too -- some people DO try to stick the Office CD in first thing (even when all they use it for is stuff they could almost do in Notepad) so the warning's warranted I think. It costs Dell considerably for someone to buy a system then return or exchange it.
Don't underestimate people's cluelessness though, when we used to sell computers blank, I could tell the REAL stoops (who would not take my advice to not buy a blank machine, or lie and claim they were a computer expert...) because they'd try to put the Office CD into a completely blank machine and come and bitch when it wouldn't install..
Me: "Yes, Office is not Windows, you have to install an OS first"
Them: *blank stare*.
(We don't sell blank machines any more, except in bulk quantity to resellers, now when someone doesn't really know what they're doing, at least they have some software to use... plus the install's fully automated and acts as a limited burn-in test.)
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Anyway, seems the template needs to have "Microsoft" taken out of the OS field's name. Pretty ironic though 8-). Probably if you find they right page they'll claim to have FreeDOS as a "Microsoft Operating System" too.
It has nothing to do with "FUDFUDFUD" and a lot to do with the hassle involved in processing returns when people who don't know what they're doing wind up with something completely unexpected.
Dell, strangely enough, is in the business of making money and as such is highly inclined to follow the first rule of acquisition.
8.04 is Ubuntu's most recent LTS (Long-Term Service) release, iow the one that Canonical actually pledge to keep supporting and maintaining for a good number of years. As such it's the sensible choice for an OEM to offer. Any more recent software the user really needs can be backported.
I've been thinking for a while that MS could do worse than buy Canonical and release a Microsoft branded Linux. I'd give it a try. The company has some real programming talent and resources to throw at a Linux distribution, and Ubuntu is already great.
It wouldn't have to replace Windows entirely, just complement it (great for small machines, servers, netbooks etc. - all sectors MS are likely to struggle in with their shitty old codebase).
You never know, maybe one day.
I'm guessing that Dell's qualifications come from being burned by consumers buying Linux PCs and then freaking out because they aren't running Windows.
@Lord Elpuss, Open Office is not MS Office, and the UI and functionality are sufficiently different to make the disclaimer worthwhile. You can do the "same job," but you can't run the *same software* which is a non-trivial distinction. I just love how the Linux crowd cry "FUD" as a knee-jerk reaction to anyone who doesn't have their lips firmly wrapped around Linus' pole. Don't forget to cup the balls, guys.
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