Dell has settled on Ubuntu Linux for its promised Linux desktop and notebook computers.

It's the first time that a major computer maker will start developing Linux computers for the consumer market. Yes, Walmart has sold some low cost Linux systems, but those come from no-name brands and never grabbed any significant market share.

01 May 2007

If Dell can't make Linux on the desktop work, nobody can. The company has the resources the create all the device drivers are needed to make a Linux desktop or laptop zoom. Most importantly, the firm will be able to force its suppliers to support Linux and thereby can single-handedly create a desktop Linux marketplace.

Dell furthermore has the power to end some of the silly standard wars within the Linux community (think Gnome vs. KDE), simply by throwing its weight behind one or the other.

And it doesn't have to stop with Dell. HP has been remarkably quiet throughout this entire episode, but you can bet that its engineers today are working on a line of Linux PCs that they will launch the minute Mark Hurd tells them to.