Dell has received more than 100,000 responses in its recent survey, and more than 70 percent of the respondents said they would want a Dell PC with Linux for both home and office use. The Dell announcement of plans to pre-install and support Linux could encourage more widespread use of Linux PCs by small businesses as well as consumers. I am sure this will not amuse Dell's software partner in Redmond. We are now living in a new world, Dell is struggling for new customers, Macs are all over the place and despite Microsoft's claims that Windows Vista is selling faster than XP did, Vista is not doing as well as it should have.
Dell says the people have spoken, and they want Linux on Dell hardware. So this week Dell will soon begin offering Linux on select desktop and laptop PCs. Although Dell already offers the Linux open-source operating system (OS) for servers and its Precision workstation line, Linux is not offered as an option for the majority of its PCs. Is this just another sign that Microsoft has lost some favor with one of its biggest customers, that consumers are more eager to try alternatives to Windows, or both?
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