How Ironic!

Dell are edging closer to offering Linux as a supported Desktop Operating System.

Choice in the market place is a good thing and having a fully supported hardware platform has always been a stumbling block.

As yet they haven’t told us which Linux Distribution they will choose. In my post about Dell and Linux on the Desktop in March 2006, i suggested Dell “Bake” their own distribution. They have the resources to do it. Copy the Apple model of tied down Hardware and Operating System.

As an IT pro I will seriously evaluate the platform, if the future of Small Business Applications are web hosted (ala Office Live or Google Apps) what operating system your PC is running on becomes less important. If the platform has good driver support (printers/scanners/Camera/etc) it becomes interesting.

That model reminds of the old WYSE terminals of the late eighties. It’s going to happen all over again, but this time in colour (only people of a certain age will get that joke).

Here is my pundit view of who a Dell Linux would be for.

Novice User=Yes
Tech Savvy User=Yes
Entertainment i.e. Gamers / or Media Center Family Users = No
Really Small Business (1 to 3 users)= Yes
Small Business (4 or More) = No
Large Business= No

So I think a market exists but its niche.

I am looking forward to getting my hands on this and if Dell has a Beta programme I would like to take part.

In parting I think Dell is sending a Clear Message to Redmond. If this is a success and the others PC makers follow it’s going to be hard to ignore.

Dell on Linux could be bigger that OSX on Apple a couple of years from now.

By then more of what you do on your PC will be done in an online application. The writing is on the wall 5 years from now the world is going to be a different place.

I really hope Microsoft has some killer web application to show us at Mix07. The rumour is they do and it’s a web collaboration thingy.

Now call me cynical but the “Dell Linux” story and the “Delay to the 10-K Filing” have nothing to do with each other, they appear in the same news cycle. HELLO

Yeah right, I mean Dell admitting “evidence of misconduct” SPIN, SPIN, SPIN. I’m never getting into that Beta now.

Dell Linux Link: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/ideastorm/ideasinaction?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Dell’s Other News Story: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/itmanagement/0,1000000308,39286567,00.htm

This entry was posted on Friday, March 30th, 2007 at 9:25 am and is filed under Blog Entries, DELL, Tech Predictions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.