* Dell releases Linux to the masses
Dell last week made two moves aimed at getting Linux into the hands of more desktop end-users in the consumer markets as well as small businesses.
Dell and Mandriva, the European Linux firm formerly known as Mandrake, last week announced that Dell will be preloading Mandriva Linux on a new line of notebook computers aimed at home users.
Dell Latitude 110L laptops will be sold preloaded with Mandriva Linux Limited Edition 2005. The notebooks come with either 1.4 GHz or 1.7 GHz Celeron and Pentium processors from Intel, and include built-in Wi-Fi connectivity. Memory options range from 256M bytes to 1.2G bytes. DVD drives are also standard.
Mandriva and Dell say that the pre-loaded Linux notebooks will allow more general users to experience Linux by eliminating the tasks of testing drivers and hardware with a Linux operating system, which was required in the past when users had to put their own Linux software onto notebooks.
For desktop users, Dell is also launching a new line of pre-loaded Linux PCs aimed at small and midsize business users. The “n-series” OptiPlex desktops can be preconfigured on Dell’s Web site with Red Hat Linux as the pre-loaded operating system. The boxes are based on Intel Xeon processors and can support up to 16G bytes of memory and up to 1T byte of storage.
While some Linux vets may prefer to roll their own Linux laptops and whitebox PCs, the Dell offering is a good sign that a large influential vendor is getting more serious about pushing Linux to the masses.
