[nylug-talk] Finally, some closure on all the Dell anti-FOSS conspiracy threads...

[Jay Sulzberger]

On Tue, 1 May 2007, jh <jhlists at hirschman.net> wrote:

> Jay Sulzberger wrote:
>>
>
>>
>> I do not believe that Dell will charge less for a GNU/Linux box,
>> than for the same hardware loaded with a Microsoft OS.
>>
>> Dell does this because Microsoft pays Dell to suppress GNU/Linux.
>>
>
> I'm not so sure this time. I mean, why would Michael Dell say that the
> OS on his computer is Ubuntu? I'm guessing that MS didn't appreciate that.

Michael Dell at a big GNU/Linux show in, I think 1999, was a
keynote speaker.  His entire speech was an expansion of his
opening line "I love Linux!".  Dell then, supposedly, tried to
sell boxes loaded, at the factory, with GNU/Linux.  As a matter
of fact, back then, just as today, if you put "Linux" into the
search box on http://www.dell.com, you got back no pages offering
a GNU/Linux box.  None, not a one.  Then after a few months Dell
declared it was not going to continue "trying to sell Linux"
because, after all, so very few people had ordered a GNU/Liux
box.

>
> First, Dell is looking at declining sales. I think that they're willing
> to try anything to stem that tide. I think that selling AMD based
> systems was the first sign of this - it used to be conventional wisdom
> that Dell was the marketing arm of Intel, after all.
>
> Second, and this is more anecdotal: my best friend's father called me
> today, asking about this "Ubuntu thing". He's actually giving it a whirl
> today; he's just so sick of Windows in general.
>
> I think that, perhaps, Dell is getting in front of things for a change.
> They could use Ubuntu to essentially start offering their own platform,
> just like Apple does. Now, that'd be pretty damned interesting - what
> happens when Dell needs a commercial app for "their" platform, because
> now they can start really selling software?
>
> Just a thought.
>
> jh

Microsoft pays Dell to only sell Microsoft boxes.  I doubt that,
today, Michael Dell will give up that money so he can sell some
Ubuntu boxes.  In short sight, why should he?

oo--JS.