[Giltronic @ May 1st 2007 12:57PM]

this could be make or break of linux.
if people actually are motivated enough to try another os and like ubuntu, linux market share will increase rapidly. however, if people are aprehensive about trying it and or don't like ubuntu it will be many steps in the wrong direction.

i wonder what the pricing will be on linux machines compared to windows?

[3rdsun @ May 1st 2007 1:03PM]

This is good news indeed. Ubuntu is one of the easier Linux distros. Feels like windows so its easy to get used to. Lets hope Microsoft dont hold Dell to ransom.

[cmonkey @ May 1st 2007 1:20PM]

Break linux? No. If it doesn't sell, Dell will just phase it out and it'll be another few years until Linux goes mainstream. However, I would be surprised if this plan didn't succeed. Dell would be the first major consumer computer manufacturer to offer an alternative to Windows. Given the current discontent with Vista, consumers will no doubt be looking for something better, if not merely something else. I'm not suggesting that every average joe is going to go out and buy an Ubuntu box, but eventually word will spread that Ubuntu is at least as easy to use as Windows and is far more versatile.

As far as pricing goes, I doubt it'll be more than $50-100 cheaper than an equivalent Windows box, considering how much money Dell gets from the crapware they preload on Windows boxen.