Dell says it is seriously considering requests from users to pre-load its laptops and desktop computers in the factory with versions of the Linux operating system.

The potential change in the company's stance comes a few weeks after a torrent of comments were posted on Dell's Web 2.0-ish blog site dellideastorm.com. The site emulates the Digg.com model of community-rated articles, where readers of the site can submit ideas, and then others can vote on which ones are the best - and as a result get promoted to the top of the list.

Since dellideastorm.com went live, a very loud chorus of users have called for Dell to put Linux on its PCs and laptops - a practice it stopped several years ago. Tens of thousands of comments on the site have called for Dell to support such platforms as Fedora, Ubuntu, and OpenSUSE - free Linux versions which do not require subscriptions for support. Now Dell appears to be listening. Reports last week said that Dell is "listening to what customers are saying about Linux and taking it into consideration."

With Microsoft Windows Vista hitting the market now, Dell is in a tricky situation. Certainly, it's customer support centers are getting calls from people needing help with the latest Windows operating system. Perhaps Dell is nervous about supporting another desktop operating system at this time. (Although this would be an unlikely issue, as many Linux users fall into the self-help IT support crowd.) The question is, how long does Dell keep dellideastorm.com up, if it is reluctant to act on the most popular idea on the site?