Linux on Dells? (April 6, 2007)

I just noticed that on Dell’s Idea Storm site, quite a lot of the proposals are about pre-installing Linux on their machines. I wonder if Dell will go for it?

I have long been interested in the idea of pre-installed Linux machines. Right now, if you want to use Linux, you face two learning curves: using Linux, and installing Linux. Installing is actually the larger of the two learning curves for many people. If you plan to simply use pre-configured stuff from Ubuntu, then time spend on installation details is mostly wasted. I use Debian, on which Ubuntu is based, and it has taken many tweaks to get my Thinkpad into a good state.

So should Dell do it? My thoughts about the good and bad for Dell:

Good: Dell would occupy a mostly uncontested niche: laptops with normal Linux installations.
Bad: Dell would add a constraint on the hardware they include, because it would be embarrassing to ship a Linux laptop where some of the hardware does not have drivers. For hardware that Just Works in Linux, they will have a low burden. For other hardware, they will have to either disable it, or convince the manufacturer to develop a driver, or get the Windows driver to work in Linux, or develop their own driver. This constraint can play out many ways, but the net effect is an extra burden on Dell.
Bad: The Linux side would likely be unpolished. Dell will need some careful spin control to keep their brand name from being dragged down by the flaky parts. Perhaps the line they can take is: the Linux side is for those who want to take off the hood and get their hands into the machine. As an alternative: the Linux side is for those who want to experiment with the raw future of computing.
Good: "Open source" has a positive connotation much like environmental protection or poverty relief. Microsoft got trashed for giving away their web browser for free; Netscape and IBM have gotten kudos for equally predatorially [1] giving away software, but also making that software open source. Dell would rather be the IBM or Netscape in this picture, not the Microsoft.

I hope Dell goes for it, and they will not do badly if they do, but it is not obvious to me whether they will get a net win. Perhaps the main reason for Dell to bet here would be that the cost is low and the possible benefits substantial.

[1] It is a subject for another day, but I do not really think predatorial is a useful word here. The companies are simply competing. However, “predatory companies” is held as a useful concept by many people, much like Freudian analysis and astrology. For marketing purposes, you cannot ignore this.