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

[Jay Sulzberger]

On Tue, 1 May 2007, Ron Guerin <ron at vnetworx.net> wrote:

> Jay Sulzberger wrote:
>
>> Microsoft pays Dell to only sell Microsoft boxes.
>
> This is not true.  Dell sells non-Microsoft boxes.  Be careful what
> assertions you make, because people are paying close attention.  If Dell
> is being paid to only sell boxes with a Microsoft OS, then Dell is
> violating that agreement already, because I personally saw FreeDOS boxes
> over there a month or so ago when this last came up.

Ah, perhaps, in some sense.  Sometimes Dell will, after you make
extraordinary efforts, take your money and ship you such a box.
Dell does sell many boxes, boxes meant for individual use, with a
Microsoft OS installed.  We cannot say that Dell sells any
GNU/Linux boxes meant for individual use.  Not in the same sense
of the word "sell".  Perhaps in a broader sense of the word, yes.
Perhaps some will say I now exaggerate, but: in the same sense, I
sell milk and cookies.  If you get through to me, and make me a
good enough offer, and I want to do it today, you can come over
and I will serve you some milk and cookies.

Note that just finding some Dell page that says Dell offers such
a box is not enough.  Many of the boxes on those pages Dell will
never ship you.  I know, because I have tried.

Further, today, Dell's official position is that no box meant for
individual use is ever shipped with GNU/Linux.  Ron, I invite you
to call and ask.  I'd also ask about boxes meant for individual
use without a Microsoft OS.

I think we are mostly in agreement here.

>
>> I doubt that, today, Michael Dell will give up that money so he
>> can sell some Ubuntu boxes.  In short sight, why should he?
>
> I doubt that Michael Dell or the company that bears his name has changed
> in any meaningful way.  As I was once told, a wolf may change his coat,
> but not his nature.  (also see the story about the scorpion and the
> frog)  If Microsoft makes him a sufficient offer, your other predictions
> about the Amazing Disappearing Dell Linux Offers will come true as they
> have before.
>
> I only hope people aren't blinded by this bit of Dell theater, because
> the vendors who've been toughing it out with us all these years deserve
> our business, not Dell.  If people start buying Dell Linux boxes, those
> same people will be the ones lamenting that there's nowhere else to turn
> once the Linux-friendly vendors have been run out of business and Dell
> turns its back on us yet again.
>
> - Ron

Yes.  This is just the newspapers publishing the press releases
of Dell.

oo--JS.