What's New: Dell Will Preinstall Linux

Dell announced Tuesday that it will preinstall the Ubuntu distribution of the Linux operating system on select computers. Speculation had risen in recent weeks after a poll of Dell customers responded very positively to the idea of preinstalling Linux.

Linux, a free alternative to Windows or MacOS, has grown in popularity over the last few years, with Ubuntu in particular receiving rave reviews. While it does not run Windows programs natively, there are many free open source alternatives to common Windows programs, for example OpenOffice competes with Microsoft Office. A customer purchasing a PC with Linux and OpenOffice would therefore be able to avoid several hundred dollars in software licensing fees, in exchange for giving up the ability to run Windows programs.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007 11:53 am CDT

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