May 1st, 2007
Ubuntu on Dells almost official
Desktoplinux.com is reporting on a number of potential models that may be coming preloaded with Ubuntu 7.04 by the end of May. While several of us at ZDNet have pointed to Michael Dell's well-publicized use of Ubuntu on his own laptop, this is the first we're hearing of hardware configurations.
It appears that, for now, most of these machines, assuming this comes to fruition, will be lower-end consumer models, allowing Dell to further shave prices and increase margins given the absence of Windows licensing costs:
"According to our sources, Ubuntu will be released on a Dell e-series "Essential" Dimension desktop, an XPS desktop, and an e-series Inspiron laptop.
The e-series systems are budget-priced PCs that start at $408 without a monitor. The base systems come with 512MB of RAM and a 160GB SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard drive. It appears that Dell will only be offering Ubuntu on one of the two systems in this family. The E521 is powered by an AMD Sempron 3400+ chip and uses a NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU (graphics processor unit) for graphics. The alternative, the E520, uses an Intel 2.8GHz Celeron D processor."
The real question, though, is for Ed Tech, will we begin to see this (and the associated price cuts) filter into their public sector and educational offerings? How about Edubuntu preloaded on a server? Or even Ubuntu Server Edition? No licensing, OEM support, and hardware optimized for Ubuntu? Sounds like a deal to me.
Follow Chris Dawson on Twitter! Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts and a member of the Internet Press Guild. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations, but always keep in mind that the opinions expressed here are his own and not those of his daytime employer, even if he talks incessantly about his day job.
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