Dell wanted to know what customers wanted to see from the PC and server company, so it set up an open exchange Web site — similar to the popular Digg.com news aggregation Web site. What users of DellIdeaStorm.com apparently want most is the return of pre-installed Linux as an option on Dell PCs and laptops.

A week after the launch of DellIdeaStorm.com, the three entries on the site are calling for more Linux support from Dell. Five of the top 10 entries are clamoring for Linux or open source support in general.

As of last week, the loudest call so far was for Dell to start offering Ubuntu, Fedora, or OpenSUSE on its hardware. Another post called exclusively for Linux laptops to return to Dell's product menu. Other's wanted OpenOffice to come pre-installed. Others said Firefox pre-loaded on Dells would be nice.

Reports say that Dell has changed some of the voting mechanisms on the DellIdeaStorm.com Web site to counter what it says was unfair vote-clicking, which boosted up some of the entries' popularity. It should also be noted that a vote for an entry on the site equals 10 "points." This means the top-rated item, calling for pre-loaded free Linux distros, had around 7,000 votes, although its "score" is in the 70,000 range (as of Feb. 22). Other popular entries on the site included pleas to stop outsourcing Dell tech-support call centers to India. Others just wanted more RAM support in Dell machines.

Dell stopped selling Linux pre-loaded on its Laptops in 2000. Dell currently offers OS-free n-Series desktops, which it says "have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux)," but adds that, "Dell does not support non-Dell installed operating systems."