In February when Dell launched IdeaStorm as forum for customers to contribute ideas for product offerings, we received overwhelming feedback that customers wanted Linux on desktops and notebooks.
As part of an overall effort to update our Linux program, today we are announcing a partnership with Canonical to offer Ubuntu on select consumer desktop and notebook products.
Update: These systems will be available in the coming weeks to customers in the United States.
This represents another step in the overall enhancement of our Linux program:
Since 1999, Dell PowerEdge servers have been available with Red Hat Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and since 2005 with Novell/SuSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Dell Precision workstations have shipped for years with the option of Red Hat Enterprise Linux
OptiPlex desktops and Latitude notebooks are certified to run Novell SLED 10
Dell updated its policy on driver support of new Linux desktop and notebook products to use open source drivers in kernel.org where possible
We recently launched a Linux community board as another way to help our customers to get help they need to augment things we've been doing like supporting Linux mailing lists.
You can also find the IdeaStrom update in Ideas in Action section.
In this video, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth talks about why he started Ubuntu, Linux adoption rate trends, how previous barriers to Linux adoption for mainstream users are improving, and more.
View Video
Format: flv
Duration: 09:59
OpenOffice running on Ubuntu 7.04.

Dell Inc. (Dell) announced Tuesday that, due to public demand, they will be offering an alternative to Microsoft Windows on a selection of their desktop and laptop computers. Dell will partner with Canonical Ltd. to pre-install the recently released Ubuntu 7.04 distribution of the Linux operating system.

Until recently, Linux distributions have not been adopted by mainstream computer makers due to concerns over ease-of-use. Newer distributions, such as Ubuntu 7.04, have become much more user-friendly, with features such as automatic updates and software installation.

Ubuntu director of business development Chris Kenyon told the ''BBC'' that one of the reasons Ubuntu was selected was its support features and hardware compatibility. "Dell are going to work with us to make sure Ubuntu works fully on its hardware," said Kenyon. A Dell representative suggested that the Ubuntu distribution was chosen due to public demand as expressed on a Dell-run forum website, ''IdeaStorm''. "It was overwhelming, the response we got to the survey," said Jeremy Bolen, a Dell spokesman. 

Tuesday's announcement was not the first for Dell's Linux offerings. They have offered servers and workstations with an optional enterprise version of Red Hat Linux for some time now. The chairman and CEO of Dell, Michael Dell, is reported to have Ubuntu installed on his own laptop. 

Perry Donham, an analyst with Aberdeen Group of Boston, suggested that the Dell-Ubuntu partnership will benefit Ubuntu more than it will Dell. "It's going to be a small part of Dell's market," said Donham. "But it's a great win for Ubuntu and for Linux in general."

Dell indicated that the Ubuntu-based computers would be available in the next few weeks, from Dell USA only for the time being. The pricing structure has not been revealed, or when such computers would be available in countries other than the United States.