Dell Ubuntu

[Pat McCarthy]

Hopefully, the Ubuntu laptops will be cheaper than the Windows laptops, I could use a nice cheap lappy.

[whytheheckme]

Originally Posted by Pat McCarthy

Hopefully, the Ubuntu laptops will be cheaper than the Windows laptops, I could use a nice cheap lappy.

EVERYTHING will be cheaper, without that nice hefty M$ price tag on top. Dell's lower models' (desktops) price tags are half (or more!) Windows! Watch out! Cheap computers are soon to come!

Jacob

[Pat McCarthy]

Originally Posted by www.dell.com/ubuntu
Dell recommends Windows Vista™ Home Premium.

That is now gone! Shows how they really think.

[Joe Ross]

Originally Posted by whytheheckme

EVERYTHING will be cheaper, without that nice hefty M$ price tag on top. Dell's lower models' (desktops) price tags are half (or more!) Windows! Watch out! Cheap computers are soon to come!

Jacob

Dell's cheapest (that I could find) PC is $359 with Vista Home Basic. The OEM cost of Vista Home Basic (from newegg) is $95, so only about 1/4 of the cost. However, Dell sells in much higher volume and would get windows for a much better price then you can buy on newegg. Also, Dell bundles many applications with their PCs. Each company probably pays Dell to bundle their program, otherwise Dell wouldn't do it.

Overall, I bet it costs Dell nothing for Windows.

It's unlikely that Dell could get any money for bundling applications with Linux. They also have to spend a significant amount of time and money in testing and all the other facets of starting to install Linux.

I doubt that when they do start shipping Linux PCs, they will be any cheaper then Windows PCs and quite possibly be more expensive.


(typed on a Dell Laptop running Ubuntu)

[KTorak]

Personally, I don't think anyone who didn't actually know what they were doing, would buy a pc with Linux. It just doesn't seem like you could drag them out of their Windows environment.

[Alexa Stott]

Originally Posted by KTorak

Personally, I don't think anyone who didn't actually know what they were doing, would buy a pc with Linux. It just doesn't seem like you could drag them out of their Windows environment.

While this is true, the fact that it is more accessible might get people to think about trying something out. I know people aren't going to say "Oh, this looks pretty cool, let's try it!" But I know that I have informed some people about Linux (specifically Ubuntu, that being my distro of choice), and perhaps they'll see it and go "Hey, isn't this what that crazy girl is always talking about?"

It makes Ubuntu far more accessible to people who aren't "in the know," as well as giving it some sort of credibility.

Also, if the computers do end up being cheaper (even if it's only by a little bit), some people will simply see the smaller price tag.

Still, I'm really interested to see how well this all goes for Dell, and if other companies will start offering Linux.

[JoeXIII'007]

Originally Posted by KTorak

Personally, I don't think anyone who didn't actually know what they were doing, would buy a pc with Linux. It just doesn't seem like you could drag them out of their Windows environment.

You know... if Dell marketed how the Ubuntu system came with everything (Office, Web, etc. etc.) without the need for extra cash, that you could add some more stuff with a few clicks (main menu -> add/remove command), and have a pretty and customizable GUI (for the 'bling' of the OS), then they might be able to drag them away from Windows while Norton is still scanning for viruses.

That's just theory though.

[Ryan Dognaux]

Originally Posted by Joe Ross

I doubt that when they do start shipping Linux PCs, they will be any cheaper then Windows PCs and quite possibly be more expensive.

I'm going to have to echo what Joe is saying here. There is no way that Dell is paying full price for a copy of Windows. Computers are getting cheap, but not THAT cheap, not to the point where Dell will sell a desktop for under 300, even if they could. It's business, plain and simple. Why charge less for a desktop with Ubuntu if people will pay the same price? It might be slightly cheaper, but I really don't expect to see any 200 dollar computers from Dell in the near future.

And seriously, I can't hate Microsoft. The Xbox360 is just too good