As many people know, Dell started offering Ubuntu Linux V.7.04 earlier this year. This was a huge step for the Linux community to becoming a mainstream end user operating system. However, recently it has come to light that maybe Dell is doing this half heartedly and I partly agree with this claim. 

The idea that they could be doing better came to me while reading THIS article on ITWire.com, outlining the things that Dell should be doing if they hope to turn a buck from offering Linux as a real replacement for Windows XP and Vista. After reading that I decided I wanted to investigate into how the company was treating the Ubuntu laptops versus the laptops that were offered with Windows XP and Vista.

 The first thing that I noticed when I went onto the site was that there was absolutely no link anywhere on the main page that said that they offered Linux in any fashion on their machines. I then proceeded to the Home and Home Office section for laptops where I again noticed that there was no link to their products that were offered with Ubuntu, though there was a link on the right side of the page to where they offer laptops that run Windows XP! The only way that I was able to find where to order a laptop that was offered with Ubuntu was by typing in "Linux" in the search bar at the top of the page and clicking on the "Recommended Links" link at the top of the search results.  So clearly, they are making no effort what so ever to let the public know that you can actually get a laptop that doesn't run windows from them, they are only expecting people who know that they are looking for one to find it by searching for it.

The second thing I noticed was the difference in selection between the Windows XP and Vista laptops Vs. Ubuntu laptops. There are three separate models of inspiron laptop that are offered with Windows XP and Vista, in comparison, there is only one model laptop offered with Ubuntu, the E1420 N. The next thing I noticed was the difference in price between the two laptops. The base model, E1420 with Windows Vista Home Basic, goes for $899 while the base model, Ubuntu E1420 N, goes for just $779. Let's look at why there is a difference in price and see if we can find the differences that would cause the Windows model to be more expensive than the Ubuntu model.

The first thing I noticed was that the Windows model has a higher quality LCD screen than the Ubuntu model, and yet upgrading to the better screen doesn't cost anything...so why are they offering the lower end screen to begin with for the Ubuntu model and not the Windows one? Next thing that popped out at me was the difference in hard drive size. The Windows laptop comes with a 120GB drive while the Ubuntu model comes with a mere 80GB drive, to upgrade this component on the Ubuntu laptop costs another $25. After that in the list, we see that the Ubuntu model uses the Intel proset 3945 wireless card while the Windows model uses the Dell 1390 wireless card, which last I checked was based on a Broadcom chipset. To upgrade this component on the Windows laptop would cost you an extra $25. The only other difference I noted between the base model setups was the audio chipset; the Windows model uses the "High Definition 2.0" chipset while the Ubuntu model is equipped with the "Integrated High Definition Audio". I'm not sure if there is a significant difference between the two models, but this leads me into the next section which is the utter lack of upgrades off the base model of the Ubuntu laptop vs. the upgrades available for the Windows model.

 So, we start off our configurations so that both laptops have equal specs, the Ubuntu model has had its hard drive upgraded to 120GB and the Windows model has had its wireless card upgraded to the Intel ProSet 3945 wireless card. So let's take a look at the rest of the available upgrades for these two laptops that are now equal in specifications. The prices, at this point, for the Windows and Ubuntu laptop are $924 and $804 respectively.

Looking at the upgrades we can see that the Ubuntu laptop is heavily crippled as far as how it can be upgraded when compared to the Windows model. The first thing we notice is that the Ubuntu model lacks the option for the Intel T7250, 2.0 GHz processor. The next thing we see, going through the "Build My Dell" options is the Display. As mentioned before, the Ubuntu laptop has a different option by default but can be changed for no additional cost, otherwise these two laptops have the same options available as far as displays are concerned. Next, and most notably in my opinion is the lack of selection for a video card upgrade on the 1420N laptop versus the Windows version. Dell gives you the option to upgrade to the NVIDIA 8400M GS video card on the windows model, but only allows you to have the Intel X3100 graphics chip on the Ubuntu model. They claim that this is because there is no native support for the NVIDIA graphics cards in Linux, when clearly, NVIDIA makes a proprietary driver that could be installed by Dell before it ever ships, just the same as they do for the NVIDIA driver on the windows machine. Moving onto the memory upgrades we can see that there is an additional option on the windows machine for 3GB of dual channel RAM, this is interesting to say the least, as I didn't know they made 1.5GB RAM chips, but I digress. Next we have the hard drives; the Windows model can be configured with anything from 80GB of hard drive space all the way up to a massive 320GB of hard drive space, while the Ubuntu laptop is stick with the options of just 80GB and 160GB. This irritates me almost more than the graphics cards because there is absolutely NO REASON for them to not offer the 320GB drive on the Ubuntu laptop, outside of trying to promote the Windows model over the Ubuntu model. Moving onto the CD drive, there is a Blue-Ray disk option for the Windows model that is not offered by the Ubuntu model...this may be the only legit, non-working, upgrade that the Ubuntu machine doesn't have. Last I checked there was no official Blue-Ray disk driver for Ubuntu, that may have changed, but as of the last time I checked there were no drivers available for blue-ray...however, Linux is constantly being updated so no doubt there will be shortly. In the wireless networking department there is no downgrade to the Dell wireless card on the Ubuntu model, however, this really isn't a big deal as the Intel ProWireless card is the better of the two to begin with and provides seamless support for Linux out of the box. 

Continuing through the list of upgrades for each of the laptops I also began to notice a trend in the availability of components and peripherals that were offered by Dell along side of the laptop itself. There were the few things like a carrying case and a USB mouse, but aside from that there was not much else to be offered by dell for the Ubuntu laptop, while the Windows laptop included almost so many things extra that I just wanted to say "OK! Move on already, I don't want a new printer, or scanner, or anti-virus, or warrantee upgrade, or service upgrade..." etc, etc. Why they don't do this is beyond me. I can understand them not offering a virus scanner for Linux as it generally doesn't need one, though running clamAV or similar program is still occasionally a good idea just in case. But printers should certainly still be offered, as well as similar warrantee and service plans.

 In conclusion, I am very inclined to agree with the article written on ITWire.com. Dell has stepped up to the plate to offer something that no other company has yet to do, offer desktop Linux on a mainstream laptop. However, I am inclined to agree that they are only in this game half heartedly. I might not think that if they were only not offering the things that there were simply no drivers for in Linux (which is very few) but the fact that they just flat out don't offer some things that would have absolutely no problem running under Linux and that can run under Linux just fine, but they would have to install drivers for just as they do the Windows model is simply inexcusable. If Dell really hopes to make this Ubuntu thing work, then they are going to need to step up to the plate and start offering for the Ubuntu model, exactly what they offer for the Windows model. This includes similar service and warrantee plans, it includes hardware configurations and it certainly includes proper publication of the fact that they are offering them.

So, Dell, this is your wake up call. If this is just a publicity stunt, you might as well just stop what you’re doing now and go back to being just like everyone else and only offer windows. If you are truly interested in innovation, however, then start offering the same for Ubuntu as you do for Windows and stop all this nonsense that you are putting the users who wish to use Ubuntu through.

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