These new Ubuntu equiped PCs go on sale after 4PM CDT on May 24, 2007. You can check them out over at Dell's site http://www.dell.com/open. These systems are a direct result of extensive customer feedback in which a vocal group of consumers told Dell that they wanted Linux as an option on new PCs. About 30,000 members of the IdeaStorm community advocated for this and a survey of over 100,000 participants helped Dell decide to go with Ubuntu.
The only potential problem (short term) is the lack of mature drivers for some new hardware. Dell has said that they will only offer hardware that is supported by mature drivers. This should only be a short term problem because once these PCs begin to sell Dell will be able to apply pressure to the hardware companies to put out Linux drivers.
Now, some in the GNU Linux community do not like closed source drivers no matter how good they are but I don't think the community as a whole feels that way. Like me, most people just want things to work. Most Linux users also do not need to go all the way down and hack source code. It's nice to know it is there but not always needed.
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Inspiron E1505n | Dimension E520n | XPS 410n | ||
15.4-inch TrueLife WXGA display | 17-inch flat panel display | 19-inch flat panel display | ||
Intel Pentium® Dual Core T2080 | Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 | Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 | ||
512MB shared1 memory | 1GB shared1 memory | 1GB shared1 memory | ||
80GB hard drive2 | 250GB hard drive2 | 250GB hard drive2 | ||
CDRW/DVD ROM | CDRW/DVD ROM | DVD+/- RW3 | ||
Intel® Media Accelerator 950 Graphics |
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Intel PRO Wireless 3945 | 10/100 Ethernet | 10/100 Ethernet | ||
Starting at $599 | Starting at $599 | Starting at $849 |
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1 Up to 224MB of system memory may be allocated
to support integrated graphics, depending on system memory size and
other factors.
2 For hard drives, GB means 1 billion bytes and
TB equals 1 trillion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded
material and operating environment and will be less.
3 Discs burned with this drive may not be
compatible with some existing drives and players; using DVD+R media
provides maximum compatibility
4 The total of local and shared system memory
used by this graphics card is up to 256MB. Local on-board memory is
128MB. Up to 128MB of system memory is allocated to support graphics,
depending on system memory size and other factors.