Dell Fails to Deliver

On Open Enterprise blog.

Mr Dell Does the *In*decent Thing

I was wrong:

UK users will have to pay a premium for Dell's Linux PCs, despite Dell's claim to the contrary.

Customers who live in the UK will have to pay over one-third more than customers in the US for exactly the same machine, according to detailed analysis by ZDNet.co.uk.

The Linux PCs — the Inspiron 530n desktop and the Inspiron 6400n notebook — were launched on Wednesday. The 530n is available in both the UK and the US, but the price differs considerably.

Comparing identical specifications, US customers pay $619 (£305.10) for the 530n, while UK customers are forced to pay £416.61 — a premium of £111, or 36 percent. The comparison is based on a machine with a dual-core processor, 19" monitor, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive. The same options for peripherals were chosen.

Why?

Mr. Dell Does the Decent Thing

Hooray:

today, it's official: Dell announced that consumers in the United Kingdom, France and Germany can order an Inspiron E1505N notebook or an Inspiron 530N desktop with Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed.

(Via The Open Sourcerer.)

Dell Delivers - Double Quick

I never thought this would happen so quickly:

You asked, we listened. For advanced users and tech enthusiasts, we’re happy to offer a new open-source operating system, so you can dive in and truly enjoy a PC experience just the way you want it. In addition to the FreeDOS systems we already offer, we are proud to announce PCs with Ubuntu.

Systems currently available are rather limited - only the Dimension E520 N, Inspiron E1505 N and XPS 410 N. Still, it's a start. Get buying, people.