Link: Dell Promises Pre-Installed Linux - Yahoo! News.
In a move that will surely cause consternation in Microsoft World, Dell will begin offering its computers with the Linux operating system pre-installed. The expensive licensing fees to Microsoft will surely make the computer less expensive to produce, but will Dell reduce the price accordingly? No statement in this article, but Dell's history would indicate that the consumer pricing a computer would find some sort of pricing credit on the configuration page. How about an option to keep XP in the lineup? I wonder if Microsoft will pressure computer makers to offer Vista only in new machines?
In the past MS tactic was a little more simple which at one point came under attack by suppliers/manfactures.
Example: say you forecast to ship 3,000 total units, say 80%[2,400]with MS. They would push you to get 3,200 licenses. Leaving no capital to address a possible option.
It has been a long road for Linux. Today's customer is finally getting the point. Not just cost, but better if not less trouble free.
The legal sector is a total different animal, how many Legal Software Manufactures are going to support Linux. There still scratching over Vista.....
Posted by: Bluegil | March 29, 2007 at 06:44 PM