WE SHALL try to keep this short and polite. It's supposed to be constructive criticism, not a complaint, and it's needed because Dell is doing something which angers some GNU/Linux enthusiasts. It's seen as a bit of a insult, which should be trivial to correct.
While working on my personal blog site, which happens to have Google Adsense ads running on it, I was surprised to find Google ads for Linux-powered Dell desktops showing up.
It’s one small step for Dell and consumer Linux — and one giant leap for Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux efforts. Specifically, Dell is spending advertising dollars to promote PCs with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled. The move has significant implications for the business world as well. Here’s why.
First, some details about the advertisement. Many many U.S. newspapers on Sunday, October 12, included a multi-page Dell flier. Among the many products advertised was the Dell Inspiron Mini 9, a low-cost sub-notebook designed for email and Web browsing.
If this an Dell / Enfatico spot– we take back all the slams we had to the advertising agency prior… It’s about Linux! Whoo hoo!!
Dell screwed up. No wait...they didn't screw anything up. They fully intended to do what they did. Now tell me they are not under the thumb of Microsoft. Why was this statement necessary? Let the customer decide. So tell me Dell is a friend of Linux or that they are not complete quislings for the Redmond Empire. Oh please...I do so want to hear you tell me this. It will be an Academy Award performance. It will have to be to explain away this.
You can't advertise Linux because Microsoft has threatened you with exorbitant licensing fees and other sanctions if you do. That would be my guess. In fact, If I were to guess further, I would hazard a guess that those top-secret vendor agreements Microsoft demanded you sign actually states that you cannot actively advertise or promote Linux. I could be wrong...but if I am I'm not far off.
The biggest Blue Screen of Death ever
[...]
Why? Because, according to the Morning Herald, both the Beijing Olympics committee and Lenovo, a major backer of the games, had deliberately chosen to run XP operating system on the games' PC because they didn't trust Vista. Turns out they shouldn't have trusted XP either, but they should have known that. Best of all, Lenovo chairman, Yang Yuanqing, said Lenovo had chosen not to use Vista because, "If it's not stable, it could have some problems."
So, next time you go to an online PC sales Web site and you see that line about "We recommend Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium," just remember: They're lying.
--Paul Flessner, Microsoft
Comments
xISO_ZWT
2008-10-31 22:30:49
If would benefit the site to show the ubuntu logo if it's shows the windows logo. Else, be OS logo agnostic, but it would be nice to see Tux appear on the sight
Luc Bollen
2008-11-03 01:55:52
I think it is simply because Dell is so much used to sell Microsoft OS'es that it is part of their boilerplate layouts. See this description of the Ubuntu Dell Inspiron Mini 9 on the French Dell site: http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-inspiron-9?c=fr&l=fr&s=dhs&cs=frdhs1
It says: "Système d'exploitation Microsoft Ubuntu 8.04"