DELL DEALS

DELL DEALS

Article from Issue 80/2007
Author(s):

Dear Linux Magazine Reader,

The same few companies are always in the news. Every month we hear new revelations about SCO, Red Hat, Microsoft, and Novell. This month, however,

a new dancer stepped into the chorus line. The company of the month was definitely Dell. If you haven’t been following recent events, you may be asking, “What does Dell have to do with Linux?” Actually, Dell has a lot to do with Linux now that they have agreed to sell computers pre-installed with Ubuntu 7.04. This announcement was met with great enthusiasm in open source circles. Hardware configuration is one of the most challenging issues facing Linux, and if a major supplier like Dell agrees to solve all the problems in advance, it can only be good news. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only Dell deal in the headlines. The honeymoon lasted only a few days, and, just as this magazine went to print, Dell announced that it was signing onto Microsoft’s cross marketing deal with Novell. As you probably know by now, the Novell/Microsoft deal has been roundly denounced by the Linux community because it implies that Linux violates Microsoft patents and provides selective indemnification for these alleged violations as a sales perk that is totally contrary to the spirit of the GPL.

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subscriptions
Digital Subscriptions

Related content

  • Novell's SUSE on Dell Thin Clients

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Thin Client is now pre-installed on the newest Dell thin clients.

    more »
  • Dell to sell Linux Computers in Europe

    Computer manufacturer Dell is extending its Linux offer to Germany, France and Great Britain with an Inspiron notebook and an Inspiron PC.

    more »
  • Microsoft: Working Well with Novell

    The current technical and financial collaboration with Novell seems to be pleasing Microsoft. Virtualization, file management and license sales are part of the success stories.

    more »
  • Dell Launches Five New Linux Systems

    Five new systems join Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition that come with Ubuntu pre-installed.

    more »
  • A New Kind of Fish

    My friends at the Biodiversity Research Center (http://specify software.org/In formatics) are experts in modeling the sudden changes that occur when an ecosystem is disrupted by the arrival of a new foreign species. I’m sure they don’t have a plan for modeling the Linux ecosystem, but if they did, they would also have scientific way of telling us the times they-are-a-changin’. As you probably know, the foreign species that appeared recently in the Linux ecosystem is Novell. High-tech magazines are full of commentaries describing the possible impact Novell might have on the Linux industry, but it is starting to look like the area where Novell presents the greatest mismatch for the indigenous Linux companies is in the game of brand promotion.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Mobile Programming Security Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source