Dell has not abandoned Ubuntu

The computer giant not only hasn't removed the machines from its sales site, it's added a new desktop model.

Know this: Ubuntu is still for sale on Dell's website. In fact, a new desktop is available via  Dell's Ubuntu sales site, loaded with Ubuntu 10.04.

I've watched for the past few days as reports whizzed back and forth that Dell was removing Ubuntu from its websites in the U.S. and U.K. It would still sell it, but only via phone - which is, as some rightly pointed out, somewhat ridiculous, as Ubuntu users tend to be rather computer-centric and are more likely to shop online than via phone.

Some background: Dell got blasted (rightly so) recently when it removed wording from its Ubuntu site that said the Linux build was more secure than Windows.

So when a report surfaced that Dell was removing Ubuntu completely from its site, people were ready to believe the worst, even without word from Dell.

As the Technomancer blog pointed out, Dell makes money off its Ubuntu machines. And the VAR Guy noticed the Dell site was talking about how Ubuntu 10.04 machines being available this summer.

The Ubuntu page is still on Dell's site. New machines are listed. And, even though Dell doesn't specifically say Ubuntu's safer than Windows, it does claim Ubuntu's pretty dang secure:

6) Ubuntu is secure
According to industry reports, Ubuntu is unaffected by the vast majority of viruses and spyware.

The site even explains that the Ubuntu machines come pre-loaded with OpenOffice, which they point out is compatible with both Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat.

So, look - you can go on and on about how wrong Dell was for changing its wording on Ubuntu's security. The company did do that.

But Dell has not given up on Ubuntu.

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