Pre-installing Linux
There's been a tremendous level of interest in the fact that pre-installed Linux (in the form of Ubuntu | OpenSuSE) is the #1 rated suggestion on Dell's IdeaStorm. On the face of it, there is little question that Linux pre-installation is popular with customers.
Context & Ripple Effects
Mark Shuttleworth is pointing at a demand signal with unusual provenance: on Dell's own IdeaStorm site, customers have voted pre-installed Linux (Ubuntu or OpenSuSE) to the number-one spot, and he argues there is little question that pre-installation is what buyers want. The signal lands at a delicate moment — Dell, the world's No. 1 PC maker by unit sales per its August 2006 standing, announced a free-upgrade-to-Vista offer for all future purchases just two days before this post, putting its Windows-aligned launch calendar directly alongside an open-source groundswell.
This is also not the first run at the question: ZDNet's November 2005 look at desktop Linux for small business framed pre-installation as the missing piece for mainstream adoption. Dell's move toward component-level flexibility — it began using AMD microprocessors in some consumer desktops in August 2006 after years of exclusivity — suggests a vendor already loosening supplier lock-in, which makes the IdeaStorm vote harder to dismiss as noise.
First-order effects
- Dell now has a quantified, first-party demand signal for shipping Linux machines, forcing the question of whether it will act on its own crowdsourcing platform while simultaneously promoting Vista upgrades.
- Canonical (Ubuntu) and Novell (OpenSUSE) gain a credible, customer-voted case for OEM distribution — the channel that desktop Linux has historically lacked.
Second-order effects
- If Dell ships Linux pre-installs, the price gap versus Windows-loaded machines becomes explicit and comparable, exposing Microsoft's per-license economics on commodity hardware to shopper scrutiny.
- Rival PC makers face a copy-or-cede decision: match Dell's Linux offering to avoid ceding the enthusiast and cost-sensitive segments, or concede that channel to whoever moves first.
Third-order effects
- A pattern of OEM-offered Linux would shift desktop operating system choice from something users install themselves to a factory configuration — the structural change the 2005 small-business coverage identified as the precondition for mainstream use.
- Vendor-run idea platforms become a recognized lever for open-source communities to convert grassroots demand into product decisions, a mechanism regulators and suppliers alike will have to account for.
The trend: Desktop Linux is pushing from user-installed curiosity toward factory-shipped option, with crowdsourced customer votes giving PC makers cover to break from Windows-only configurations.