At first glance it would look like a bad thing that Dell is flirting with selling Linux. Fortunately, statesman.com has a report that not only pops some of the Linux myths but shows that Dell isn't quire as enthused about Linux as the pro-Linux press would have us beleive.
But there are several catches, most notably the wide array of available Linux versions, often called distributions. ... "There are literally hundreds of distributions we could support," Bolen said. "There isn't a de facto standard or two in the market."
But the fractured nature of the Linux world isn't even the worst of it.
Here's the death blow to Linux on preinstalled Dell:
Dell has not made a decision on pre-loaded Linux. Several analysts suggested that the company should stay away from a broad consumer Linux offering.
"Linux was simply not designed for the desktop, neither as a product nor given the economic model around it," said Rob Enderle, head of the Enderle Group in San Jose, Calif. "It will be hard for Dell to make it work."
Because Linux isn't compatible with most existing computers, what it can do is somewhat limited, analysts said. For example, few computer-based games run on Linux. Versions of Linux would work better on an appliance-type desktop — one that performs a smaller set of specific functions, said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc.
"The bulk of commercial folks and consumers want a general purpose machine and one that's compatible" with their existing systems, Kay said. "Once you take out the politics, Windows is a standard, and people want the standard stuff."
Emphasis mine.
The article was written by
Dan Zehr, and I sent him the following e-mail:
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:08:50 -0400
From: "Alexander Cornswalled"
To: dzehr@statesman.com
Subject: Linux article
I just read your article on Dell selling Linux, and I want to thank you. I'd been told by a few zealots that Linux would run on just about any computer, but you provided me with actual proof that it was, in fact, incompatible with most. I've already printed up a copy of your article and am giving it to my Pastor. The Church is strapped for cash, and a few kids are trying to get the Church offices to "switch" under the guise of saving money.
The fact that Linux probably won't even run on the church computers is being swept under the carpet.
Linux is a foreign abomination, written by socialists with the intention of undermining US business interests. There's also evidence that it includes software (Source Code) stolen from commercial vendors like Microsoft and SCO.
I hope Dell doesn't start selling what amounts to pirated software on their computers. I'd hate to have to take my business elsewhere.
Alexander Cornswalled
