Wed. Mar. 28, 2007
Since launching
Dell IdeaStorm a little more than a month ago, one idea has risen to and stayed at the top: better support for Linux. We have heard you and appreciate the direct feedback. On March 13, we responded by launching a
Linux survey asking for your feedback on what you need for a better Linux experience. Thank you to the more than 100,000 people who took the survey. Here are some of the highlights from the survey:
- More than 70% of survey respondents said they would use a Dell system with a Linux operating system for both home and office use.
- Survey respondents indicated they want a selection of notebook and desktop offerings.
- Majority of survey respondents said that existing community-based support forums would meet their technical support needs for a tested and validated Linux operating system on a Dell system.
- Survey respondents indicated that improved hardware support for Linux is as important as the distribution(s) offered.
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Dell has heard you and we will expand our Linux support beyond our existing servers and Precision workstation line. Our first step in this effort is offering Linux pre-installed on select desktop and notebook systems. We will provide an update in the coming weeks that includes detailed information on which systems we will offer, our testing and certification efforts, and the Linux distribution(s) that will be available. The countdown begins today.
Many of you posted comments to our Direct2Dell blog, indicating that you were less concerned about a specific distribution than you are about support at the kernel level and open driver support. We are working on this too, and you can read more about our efforts in today’s Direct2Dell post.