[mdlug] linux-friendly store in metro area - DELL update

[Jim Broughton]

And this somehow surprises you? Dell was and always has
been a Microsoft shop/shill whatever. The only reason they
even breath a word about Linux is to get Microsoft to make
some sort of stupid concession in the next contract. Then we
start the cycle all over again until the next contract negotiations
start.
The only reason Dell even gives any lip service to Linux at all
is for the people who buy massive amounts of servers that
want  it. Linux on the desktop/laptop is not even on the
radar for most large computer makers.
Any computer made by a mega corp like Dell or HP is going
to be on the lowest level crappy hardware they can find.
I am constantly amazed by what I find inside Dell boxes.
Cheaply constructed cases with some great
amenities but  otherwise filled with cheap motherboards
and peripheral cards. I have not even thought of buying Dell since
I bought a laptop from them back in late 2003.

Jim



Michael S. Mikowski wrote:
> I will be looking into these guys.
>
> FYI, For first time in 10 years I have been unable to configure a desired Linux 
> system with Dell.
>
> Good luck to anyone who tries to get /any/ Dell laptop with Linux.  At this 
> point, they only offer crap hardware, hidden deep within the bowels of their 
> site.  Go to dell.com and search for Ubuntu.  You'll find the maximum 
> resolution on their Studio 15 Ubuntu offering is like 1440x768.  And it gets 
> worse from there.
>
> Last year I got an Ubuntu Dell Studio 15 with a 1920x1200 15.3" display, 
> battery upgrade (6/8 cell), core2 duo T5750, 2 GB RAM, blue tooth, etc for 
> ~$685 before shipping. 
>
> I did get someone from Small Business who offered me a Linux laptop with a 
> 1920x1200 monitor, without Windows 7 or all the marketing-ware crap.  It cost 
> $10 /more/ than the MS tax version at  ~$930.
>
> With Windows 7, Dell appears to have retreated from offering anything of value 
> for Linux laptops, and has ensured a self-fulfilling prophecy by making Linux 
> offerings only on shitty hardware and impossible to find.
>
>
>