Dell's 'BlackTop' is Based on SLED 10: Does Dell Pay Microsoft for GNU/Linux?

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2008-08-14 11:49:22 UTC
Modified: 2008-08-14 11:49:54 UTC

Dell has begun booting GNU/Linux 'by default' on many of its new laptops. However, it was disappointing to find this information in an article which looks at Dell's exciting new technology:

The OS itself is based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10...

This is not the first time Dell uses SLED.

Let's step back and remind ourselves that Dell joined the Microsoft/Novell deal. Does that mean that Microsoft partially 'owns' that fast-boot operating system? Are buyers paying Microsoft for the 'privilege' to use GNU/Linux no matter what O/S they choose? We already know that Microsoft is paid for those Ubuntu PCs from Dell, but that's for codecs (at the least).

Don't allow Microsoft to control (elevate) the price of its competition.

It's a shame to see the Big OEMs going down this route. Yes, it's the same with Hewlett-Packard and here's an article from a few days ago.

HP has started shipping a $500 mini-notebook pre-installed with SUSE Linux.

Great. Pseudo choice... Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Linux.

There is nothing wrong with other distributions.

That's not how GNU/Linux is supposed to happen and its adoption come about. As the Infinite Hands song goes, there's no room for Microsoft, for SCO, or for anybody else to control, to charge and to manipulate GNU/Linux. They sure will try. It's a form of market distortion. Novell welcomes this distortion. Maybe it's part of a plan. ⬆

Microvell

The Register MS is Profiting From Pyramid Schemes Run by Americans: We cannot help but feel disgusted by what this publisher became
IBM: Hiring, Then Disposing of, Unpaid or Low-Paid European Staff to Spread or Play Up Buzzwords and Hype: Like Google With "Summer of Code", this seems like a low-cost marketing stunt more than anything substantial
Links 15/11/2025: Openwashing of Kubernetes and Austerity Planned for Canada: Links for the day
Links 15/11/2025: "Small Web, Big Voice" and China Cracking Down on Slop: Links for the day
Links 15/11/2025: Science, Conflicts, and International Politics: Links for the day
Annus Horribilis at the European Patent Office (EPO): The article explains how the EPO "Cocainegate" scandal is turning 2025 into an Annus Horribilis for Campinos
Links 15/11/2025: Latest in "Component Abuse Challenge" and Qt Keeps Promoting LLM Slop: Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/11/2025: Egoism, Misunderstood Universe, DeX, and "Why desktop Linux is growing": Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 14, 2025: IRC logs for Friday, November 14, 2025
Richard Stallman Talk Tomorrow in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress 2: It's not clear if a livestream of some kind will exist
Many "Last Days" at IBM on Allegedly the "Last Day" for IBM to RA People This Quarter: "Last day" is "social media code" for "got laid off", more so at IBM because they compel people to act like it's a happy departure with gratitude, photos and so on
Slopwatch: Almost a Majority of Google News is Now Slopfarms (Fake Sites, Fake Articles): Google News is noise
Gemini Links 14/11/2025: Boredom, "Twenty Percent Cooler", and Moving From Windows to Artix: Links for the day
Links 14/11/2025: YouTube's Trap for Publishers, Lack of Accountability a Growing Legal Matter/Concern: Links for the day
Many Times in the Past We Said That Microsoft Lunduke Was Becoming a Spokesperson/Voice for - and Occasionally Weaponising - 4Chan. He's Proving Us Right This Week.: Stay away
Casual Reminder That We Also Publish GNU/Linux Stories and News Coverage in Tux Machines: Without trust in our robustness (including fearlessness, not just success in protecting stories and sources) we'd not have come this far, nor would I devote my life to it
The Europe Conversation: The EPO Has Cocaine at the High-Level Management and Isn't Denying It: Now we plan to ensure the matter is properly documented in European press
Links 14/11/2025: Goddard Space Center Abused by the White House, Jeffrey Epstein Scandal Expands (Cheetos Need Distraction): Links for the day
Corporate Media Helps IBM Relay Vapourware (Misinformation/Fake News): They compensate with words for a lack of compelling products
Hacking on Recipes: Maybe, in due course perhaps, we can also release some of our own cooking recipes or "forks"
Web Searches Far Too Polluted, Gamed by LLM Slop and "Plagiarised Information Synthesis Systems" (PISS): old articles are already getting difficult to find in mainstream search engines, even if they are still online
Privacy-respecting Metasearch Engine SearX/SearXNG Still Jailed by Microsoft: The official site and code still sadly controlled by Microsoft
"AI" is a Lie. It Always Was. What They Call "AI" Is Not.: This MSM does no favours to the economy
Our First Week of Our Twentieth Year: My wife and I have had a very productive week here and in Tux Machines
Links 14/11/2025: Sleep Research, France to Suspend Pension 'Reform' Law, and Linux Foundation's Latest Openwashing: Links for the day
Gemini Links 14/11/2025: KDE vs XFCE and Leaving the Web: Links for the day
Google Admits It Lost Control of Slop (While Google Itself is Selling Slop, Currently Under the Name "Gemini" Instead of "Bard"): Slop is nothing to be celebrated
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 13, 2025: IRC logs for Thursday, November 13, 2025
Mozilla Handed Over Control Over Firefox to Microsoft, Now Firefox is Preloaded With Microsoft Spyware and It's Proprietary: Who would still want to download Firefox?
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Brian Fagioli, and WebProNews: becoming a slopfarm is a site's suicide
"Sponsored Posts" in The Register MS: That's The Register MS in 2025
IBM RAs in India (Apparently): IBM is a bad place to work
Another Richard Stallman Talk in Two Days: His talk will be a remote talk, as he won't be travelling to Argentina
Links 13/11/2025: "Fight for Control Over In-Car Technology" and "Climate Crisis is a Health Crisis": Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/11/2025: Disbelief in the Moon Landings and Doom That Came to Scrolling: Links for the day
A Month After "End of 10" analytics.usa.gov Says More People Use Vista 7 Than Use Vista 11: Does it get any more pathetic than this?
Links 13/11/2025: Ghost (E-mails) of Jeffrey Epstein Chases Cheeto, Uproar Over SLAPP Threats Against British Broadcasters: Links for the day
IBM Layoffs Seem to Have Reached Europe: Is it Europe's turn to fall on its sword?
A Lot of What's Left of the Online "Media" is Paid-for SPAM: How much of online media can people still trust?
Synopsys, Which Controls a Microsoft FUD Operation (Black Duck), to Lay Off Hundreds of Workers: Microsoft had plenty of layoffs this year, well over 30,000 in total, including at least two waves of layoffs last month
The EPO Has Spent Years Attacking European Media, Led by a Cocaine Addict (the EPO's Spokesperson): The EPO silences critics
Prominent German Media Dares Not Mention Cocaine at the European Patent Office, Germany's "Cash Cow" (Seller of Monopolies for the Whole of Europe): It seems like a case of the corrupt hiring the corrupt to bully those who speak about the corruption
Techrights Protects Against Collective Amnesia (Forgetting History the Rich and Powerful Want Us to Forget or be Misled About): Keeping full access to our material with a good search facility is a priority for us
Mainstream Media Compliments Techrights on Its Work: Google isn't "the Web" and this site isn't "the Web" either
Microsoft-Sponsored FSFE is Exploiting the Success of Jean-Baptiste Kempf to Market Itself and Its GAFAM-Funded Messaging (While Pretending to be "FSF" Europe): No doubt Jean-Baptiste Kempf accomplished a lot (not limited to VLC) in not so many years
A Week of Techrights Search: Tomorrow it'll be one week since we turned 19
LLMs Will Never Work, You Need to Type What You Know: Voice recognition is too imprecise to be practical or really save any time if you can type fast
Your Computers Are Work and Entertainment Tools, Not a Fashion Statement: If you're into fashion, find another job or keep cruft out of the workplace
The Federation? Almost 90% of Its Users Have Quit Participating.: If one counts offline (historic) instances, it's even worse than this
Under IBM, Red Hat Isn't a Linux Company, It's Sold to Clients as "AI Company": IBM is sacrificing Red Hat for Wall Street (share price)
IBM Will Carry on or Carry Out Mass Layoffs Until Tomorrow, Based on Unverified Claim (Silent Layoffs Under Secrecy Clauses/Deals): Red Hat (as a "company" with a Web site) will probably never announce layoffs again
It Looks Like Microsoft is Really Abandoning XBox (the Brand "XBox" Means Just an Online "Games Store" or Streaming): Published last night
The Register MS Has Just Taken Money to Promote Microsoft Windows Under the Guise of "HEY HI" (AI): Just 'consume' the ads disguised as "journalism" at The Register MS
Apple is Waning, Shows Data (Web Stats): Is Apple doing as well as Apple-sponsored (paid to run Apple ads) claims?
IBM is a Buzzwords Vendor: Does anyone even pay attention to anything IBM promises these days?
It's Patently False That Apple Has Avoided Layoffs: be sceptical of people who say Apple hasn't got layoffs
IRC.com is Vendor-Locked (Freenode): Web client
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 12, 2025: IRC logs for Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Slopwatch: Spam, Scams, and Plagiarised Information Synthesis Systems (LLMs): The way things are going, LinuxSecurity might become entirely inactive
IBM "Trying to Memory Hole the RA With Positive News.": it's clear they have no real plan, just vapourware
Gemini Links 13/11/2025: Pictures From the Aurora and Cryptography of the Internet: Links for the day

Dell's 'BlackTop' is Based on SLED 10: Does Dell Pay Microsoft for GNU/Linux?

Recent Techrights' Posts