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Why Is Dell Hiding Their Ubuntu Boxes?
Update - 01:00 (EDT) 26 May 2007: Dell's website shows the Open Source PC's listed under "Essential Links" on the left side of the web pages for notebooks and desktops respectively. - dcparris If you visit Dell's home page, you see absolutely nothing pertaining to GNU/Linux, Ubuntu, Open Source - nothing. So you click on the desktop or laptop options for the Home or Home Office, which is what you're probably looking for anyway. But again, no references to GNU/Linux, Ubuntu or any of that. I went to the laptops page, and found 7 Inspiron options - none of which had any remote connection with Dell's Ubuntu offerings. It turns out that you have to know to choose the menu bar at the top of the page (once you've gotten past the home page), to find the Open Source/Ubuntu offerings. This is one of the big issues many in the GNU/Linux community were concerned about. Here goes Dell, promising to offer GNU/Linux pre-installed, and then practically hides their line-up. Try to imagine some computer novice whose friend said to go order an Ubuntu system from Dell's website. The person arrives at Dell's homepage, and never sees the references to Ubuntu, GNU/Linux, Open Source - nada. Some people won't give up easily; they'll spend some time searching the site. They'll try that menu bar at the top of the 2nd page. But there will be some who go back and say, "I didn't see anything about Linux". Some people won't even make the connection between "Open Source PCs" and Ubuntu. They'll just think someone lied to them. Overall, I think Dell's Ubuntu launch has gone fairly well. I think some people are pretty excited about Dell's new line-up, and many comments are fairly positive, if not always glowing. I expected the pricing to be a crap shoot, and the reaction has been a little mixed on that point - based on my brief observation. Still, it appears to me that many people are wishing Dell the best in this adventure. Yet, by failing to put even a simple link to the Ubuntu computers within the general desktop and laptop pages, Dell is making it difficult to find them. This is very similar to the kinds of situations cyber_rigger mentioned when he wondered aloud how Dell might purposely botch their offering. Two of his points refer to making it difficult to order the GNU/Linux offerings. Responding to an inquiry from LXer, Dell spokesperson, John Pope, said that getting the Ubuntu offerings on the front page would be difficult. He also assured LXer that "I have forwarded your concern very far up the line." One would think that a major initiative like this would deserve some time on the company's front page. Still, the very least Dell could do is place a link in the each of the main pages for desktops and laptops. They should place the link in the "Narrow your Selection" box. At the very least, the link should be made available in the "Essential Links" section. By hiding their Ubuntu offerings, Dell has shown the GNU/Linux community that we belong at the back of the bus. Dell is saying we don't deserve the same ease of use considerations as everyone else. Well, I beg to differ. I have put my name on the line, giving Dell some leeway to show our community they are taking us seriously. For the most part, things have gone fairly well. All I'm asking is that Dell make their site as easy for us to use as for everyone else. That's not asking too much. How about it, Dell? |
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Comments (74)
uh?
Quoting:to be fair on the very first page of dell.com the ubuntu flash does appear if you wait for itSo I'm thinking, "it does?"
Not only does it not come up, I'm not noticing any flash at all. Then it clicks: "Firefox".
I open the site up in IE and there it is, although it's Javascript.
Dell's banner only works in IE.
*blank stare*
OK that was a stretch.
/me joins SFN with the blank stare.
Kind of a big one, though.
If you enter 'Linux' in the search box on dell.com, it takes you to a nice Linux page: http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=gen&c=us&l=en&cs=&k=li...
As hard as JPDell is working on the Google ads, no doubt.
Again, as I mentioned before, don't even expect change from 3 months to 2 years from now.
This used to be called "Moving at the speed of Dell." Now it is not.
Quoting:Pope tells me Dell is definitely working on this.
That's good to hear.
Making mistakes isn't bad. Not fixing them - either through inability or lack of interest - is.
Quoting:tracyanne: Disambiguation-wise, at first I thought RH was Red Hat. {chuckle}
That would be nice, if I had to refer to the Red Hat side of the DELL front page
Dell banner rotation
Quoting:"By popular demand, Ubuntu has arrived"
Yes, I saw that too, but I wasn't impressed because it wasn't what I hoped for. It should have been
Quoting:By popular demand, Ubuntu LINUX has arrived
I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that it will mark me clearly as an obsessive-compulsive.
Borrowing a page from RMS...
That would seem to fit right into the RMS mantra -- Linux is just the kernel!
OK, there's the little matter of no mention for GNU, but maybe Dell is readying DIG/Linux, ie, Dell Isn't GNU.
Heh, I could go for DIG/Linux. :)
Besides, in my view, if I'm going to credit them both, it would be Linux with GNU tools, not GNU/Linux.
Some cats are named Her Most Holy Highness Princess of Persia and All Her Surroundings Including The Domain Of The Domicile Roof and Her Cat Dish and Defender of the Faith.
But we call her "Princess" for short.
Oh, wait, I'm confused. DIGG Eeuhh Ain't DIG (DEAD).
Gently pry your fingers from the keyboard. Take a deep breath. Drink a beer.
Go to sleep and don't set the alarm.
Dream of happy things.
All will be better in the morning.
My Thanks to DELL
14 earlier comments in the full thread.
Maybe this will start a trend and corporations will actually listen to their customers like Dell has listened.
Again many thanks.
Unfortunately my current home machine died Monday night. I'm back up operating on a backup machine (actually, at this precise moment I'm on vacation, and I'm posting from my work machine, which uses Windows since the company only supports a Windows based VPN solution), so I'll need to order a new machine when I get home. That means no Dell for me at this time. :(
Fortuantely, lots of folks as me for advice on what machines to buy, so I can now recommend Linux machines from Dell. :)
Quoting:@JohnPatDell, so when can I expect to see Linux computers advertised by DELL Australia?
Or Dell Poland?
Someone I used to work with had bought a Dell pc through Dell.ca and was suprised to learn the pc would ship from Texas. Either that, or the CSR he was talking to about his order was in Texas.
He had assumed since he went through the Dell.ca site that things would be handled here in Canada.
Historically, significant amounts of Dell PC's have shipped from the Texas HQ.
That has been changing over the years. Plants have sprouted in other parts of the world, but Logistics, Manufacturing, Customer Service, and Sales are very different departments. Not to mention Marketing.
Some may called it globalization, but I just see it as business.
In my time at Dell I worked in Texas only, but I worked with Dell employees, offshorers, outsourcers, and partners in Panama, England, Ireland, Germany, Canada, India, China, and Tennessee, Utah, Alabama, Idaho, Oklahoma, Washington state and Massachusetts.
But that is just off the top of my head.
Keep in mind that Dell historically has done most of its business over the phone, thus has a very very sophisticated phone system, larger than many countries phone systems I'd bet.
Quoting:Have IBM, Novell, or HP done this? As far as I know, they have not even tried.
Yes they did, but not for consumer systems. They all pushed quite hard for the stuff that goes into their blade servers. Fortunately for us, blades share a lot of hardware with modern laptops. Why do you think Linux works so well on laptops? Aside from the video, wireless and in very rare cases a NIC, everything that goes into a laptop "just works" with Linux and has done for years. Ofcourse, to fully enjoy Linux you need that video and wireless as well. Those are the last few hurdles. But all in all it took the Linux community less time to get your average laptop hardware supported than it took to get desktop hardware supported a decade ago.
Until we know more, know that your messages have been received loud and clear.
Dell has been probed and so far it seems to be passing the test. The only thing I see spoiling the grade a bit is Dell's new alliance with Microsoft (which formally validates Microsoft's patent claims), although the technology world appears to know full well that Microsoft doesn't have a case...
Still, I will join in thanking Dell for listening and offering what we asked for. It's time to give them some pat in the back, after the rough period of critiques... until next time. ;)
I haven't seen the terms of Dell's "new alliance" with Microsoft, but am hard-pressed to imagine how it could possibly validate Microsoft's patent claims. It certainly seems to buy into the marketing angle: that customers want assurance that they can deploy software without undue worry. That doesn't seem like a major revelation.
I do know that Dell has had an "old alliance" with Microsoft for years. Microsoft is a major vendor to Dell, and the two companies are in that classic conumdrum:
"Owe the bank $100,000 and the bank owns you. Owe the bank $100,000,000, and you own the bank."
Each company is too important to the other's business to ignore.
http://map.ubuntu-be.org/index.php
;-)
Thanks Dell.
I will hold off purchasing my first laptop until you sell in Canada.
Has anyone here bought one? Any reviews?
I have purchased one for my daughter (see above.) An estimated ship date of 6/8/07 is shown, and its current status is "In Production."
I will probably post a review, but it will be unique. I have no intention of opening the box. I want my daughter to do that for herself, and have the experience of getting it up and running. I'll only become involved if she asks for help.
So, my review will be mostly from the perspective of an observer.
My daughter is not a computer person. She doesn't care how it works, she just wants it to work. She has some limited exposure to Ubuntu, because my home computers are always running Linux in one form or another. So, it won't be entirely new to her.
Should be fun.
So, my review will be mostly from the perspective of an observer."
That would probably be the best review of all.Finding out how someone with little or no linux skills deals with Linux preinstalled.Both of my kids (one in college and one in her last year of H.S.)both can use linux but when it comes to any kind of problem,it's dad to the rescue. I'll be looking forward to reading about how things went.
Quoting:So, my review will be mostly from the perspective of an observer.
That sort of review will give us a much better idea of how well Linux on DELL will go down with non techie users. You daughter's impressions would be very useful too.
I take it that 6/8/07 means the 8th of June and not the 6th of August as I read it.
Quoting: So, my review will be mostly from the perspective of an observer.
I'd like to see that sort of review for Vista.
**rolls on floors, gasps for breath**
Quoting:I take it that 6/8/07 means the 8th of June and not the 6th of August as I read it.
Yes, you are correct. My apologies to the non-US crowd. I didn't think about how provincial date formats can be.
Just noticed one thing
Is Dell Hiring?
I assume that means that Dell doesn't have anyone - at all - that can code a web page change for them. That's so sad. The good news is that there are thousands of available web developers that could make the change (in about 5 minutes) for them.
So Dell, all you have to do is ask; we'll be happy to fix your "difficult" problem.
You should see the intranet pages. Oh man.
>>(in about 5 minutes)
You should see the paperwork.
A favorite anecdote: Clicked on an external support.dell.com link from inside Dell. Obviously in error, as the Dell caller pointed out from outside. Clicked and e-mailed webmaster. Response: Call internal Help Desk if you're having difficulty using your web browser.
Stuff like that *immediately* makes you give up trying.
Dell Website Navigation Solved: Look Under Essential Links
I have also edited the story to note the website navigation issue is solved!
"http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs"
I had to put it in quotes because the hyperlink function truncated the address.
These are the links under Essential Links I see nothing that implies Linux or Ubuntu or anything other than Microsoft.
Hang on yes I do "Open-Source PCs" but only because I was really looking for it.
It's not at all obvious, and it seems to be the only link, there's no flashy graphics like the bit that says
Still looking for Windows XP? More Details
How about
Looking for Ubuntu Linux? More Details
With an Ubuntu or Linux graphic, that would help.
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what does he mean by that? to be fair on the very first page of dell.com the ubuntu flash does appear if you wait for it.
but why can't they just put one simple link under dell recommends windows vista home premium.
just one line a few characters like "or ubuntu linux" - that is all that is needed. no big deal. that way it would help at least define where ubuntu linux fits in their offerings to the average consumer - windows replacement.