[Offtopic] Re: Dell to offer Ubuntu

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Hi Roland and all,

Yes, it looks as if Dell are indeed taking Linux seriously, being the
first major PC brand to offer open source pre-installed. It appears as
if the Japanese are also taking Linux seriously:

"Japanese schools may convert aging PCs to Linux"
<http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showclips.cfm?clipid=2319>
 
OhmyNews reports that Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 
plans to introduce the open-source operating system Linux for use within 
classrooms across the nation in the near future. 

According to an investigation, currently there are over 400,000 computers 
as schools across Japan running either Windows 98 or Windows ME--
operating systems no longer supported by Microsoft. Because of the 
prohibitive cost of replacing the machines, as well as the cost of 
necessary proprietary software, school teachers and administrators are 
proposing the more affordable alternative of shifting from Windows to 
open-source software... 
 
----- Original Message ----- 

From: Roland Gesthuizen 
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 8:09 AM
Subject: Re: [Offtopic] Dell to offer Ubuntu

Thanks for the link below Stephen, looks as if Dell is taking Ubuntu 7.04 
very seriously. 

We are upgrading our dual boot to this version. From my experience, very 
easy to install and upgrade nearly all the applications installed using 
the Synaptic Package Manager. Students have few problems adjusting 
although oddly enough, the girls seems to find their way about easier 
than the boys. We are about to purchase a set of Dell notebook computers 
COWS (Computers On Wheels) and I am keen to lock this down as the default 
desktop option in Kiosk mode. 

Regards Roland

> On 02/05/07, stephen at melbpc.org.au <stephen at melbpc.org.au > wrote:

Pre-Installed Ubuntu, Sold by Dell

Brian Proffitt, Tuesday, May 1, 2007 
<http://www.linuxplanet.com/linuxplanet/newss/6383/1/>

Today, Canonical confirmed that it would be Ubuntu that would be sold on
Dell's new Linux product line .. 

The question of which version of Ubuntu will be pre-loaded by Dell came
up with 7.04, "Feisty Fawn" as the answer, even though there was some
speculation that Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, with its longer-term support, might be 
the chosen version. Silber was quick to emphasize that 6.06 LTS has a
longer maintenance lifespan, but the commercial support plans offered by
Canonical (and soon, by Dell) are the same for every version, thus
freeing Dell consumers to get the latest and greatest version of Ubuntu.

Certification by Ubuntu for these Dell machines should provide those
consumers with fully-functioning Ubuntu PCs right out of the box ..
--

Cheers all ..
Stephen Loosley
Victoria, Australia