Dell flirtation with Ubuntu at an end?

Stan Beer
Wednesday, 07 November 2007 19:13

Opinion and Analysis

Hot off the press from UK site The Inquirer and the Ubuntu Forums is the news that Dell has ended its flirtation with pre-installed Ubuntu Linux in the UK. Does this mean that the US is next?

All the signs are that Dell's big song and dance earlier this year about being responsive to the desires of its users by bringing out Linux boxes has been a big flop. According to the report, Dell's UK office has confirmed that pre-installed Linux is no longer an option.

There has been controversy over the pricing, with Linux units continually being priced higher than their Windows equivalents, a lack of offerings for the business sector and a refusal of Dell to expand the availability of its Ubuntu boxes to wider markets where they would be more likely to gain acceptance.

All our efforts at iTWire to get access to a review machine have to date been rebuffed by the Australian office of Dell. Notably, Dell's machines on offer in the US are still pre-installed Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) rather than the latest version 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) which is getting favourable reviews.

Unfortunately, predictions that Dell was never really serious about getting into the Linux market appear to be true, despite all the bluster about Michael Dell being a big Ubuntu fan and user.

Dell has been trying to turn its fortunes around after a disastrous year which saw it drop market share to its main rival HP. The company, led by Michael Dell, has been trying to stage a comeback using a strategy of trying to get closer to its customers through the Web.

However, judging by some of the user vitriole spewing forth from Dell's IdeaStorm forum, there is a lot of angst among users. If Dell goes ahead and drops Ubuntu in the US as well, it may as well close down IdeaStorm as well because it obviously doesn't believe the views are representative of its wider customer base.