Dell Offers Three Consumer Systems With Ubuntu 7.04

I think it's a very good start.

Can you please guys tell me when this will be available in Spain ?
( www.dell.es )
I called the spanish support number but they still don't know when it's going to be available.


I'm waiting ansiously because I'm still using an old C400 laptop and it's about to die. So please, drop me a line if there is any news! .

hessmo wrote:
"I would rather get a pc with vista on it for the same price. Wipe it off, but still have the ability to put vista back on if I needed to."

I could pay MORE for a system with linux if no money is payed to microsoft from MY pocket.
Doesnt it annoy you that microsoft is just getting richer each time somebody buys a computer, even if that person wont ever use anything from microsoft?
I would rather give the money to dell, canonical or whoever.

Looks like I was to quick to judge. Now that the shop is open and you can actually look at the Ubuntu version it seems both the laptop and the Dimension machine has Intel as an option. Using the same model numbers for different things always confuses me.... I don't understand why companies do it all the time.

//fatal

What is wrong is that you dont know about this if you go the "normal" way, through www.dell.com. They dont have any link, info or even mention about linux versions.
This needs to be fixed or it might end up as another "no demand" fiasco.

Yes, now that the shop is open I also noticed that the Ubuntu laptop actually uses an Intel card and the dimension system has it as an option. Using the same model numbers for different stuff (this is apparently not the same machine as offered on the windows side) always confuses me.... sorry for spreading wrong information.

//fatal

I've been using Ubuntu Linux on my Inspiron E1505 for over a year now. As soon as I got my notebook, I instantly removed windows. I just wish Dell would have had this option on the customization page, or at least FreeDOS. It would have saved me some hundreds of dollars. Anyways, I love Ubuntu on my dell! Does this mean they are going to start offering drivers on their Drivers and Support page?

Positive sales and a support situation easy on Dell, Canonical, and the customers. 3 months, 3 systems, not that bad a record, I say. How many months of testing did they do with Vista before they started selling it? And that was partnered with Microsoft - one of the biggest software companies ever. I'm rather impressed with how serious they seem to be taking this, with how fast they moved on it, and with how responsive they seem to be to the concerns people are voicing on the forums here (people complain about lack of graphics card options on the laptop, and BAM - nvidia 7300 mobile the next day). I've already ordered my Inspiron, and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Thank you Dell!

Glad Dell has taken the step to use Ubuntu, been running it for 9 months on my M65 laptop. Recently upgraded to Feisty Fawn, works great. One item is if we are going to play with BERYL then Dell needs to step up to the plate with a better video card, to support the graphics requirements.

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@I wrote:
I think integrated cards make the computer run slower so, while I was about to get the laptop, I think I'll have to wait until they expand the laptop video card options.

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So now, as SnarkHunter pointed out, Dell does offer a non-integrated card on their Ubuntu laptop. Good news. Way to go Dell. But now I'm in a quandary. This Ubuntu laptop is exactly the same price as the equivalent Windows laptop from Dell*. Why?

Does Microsoft still get their cut even though there is no Microsoft software on the computer? I'm guessing that there are contractual limits on what Dell can sell these Ubuntu computers for but if Microsoft doesn't get their cut and Dell will donate the difference to a worthy cause, I'm all in.

By the way, thanks hotshotDJ for clarifying that my integrated video card doesn't make my computer run slower by itself. I think it effectively does make my computer run slower though because I only have 256 MB of RAM. I believe I'm constantly waiting on Windows swap file updates and if I had a video card with its own memory, my computer would probably run faster. My CPU and GPU probably use the same memory bus which would also slow things down.

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* The models I used for comparison are the base E1505 with the "Intel PRO/Wireless 3945a/g" wireless card added and the E1505N with the "1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm" memory upgrade and the "256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 7300 TurboCache™" video card upgrade. As of this moment, both are exactly $728. These are as equivalent as I could make them but the E1505N doesn't have the modem/network card that comes standard with the E1505. I need a modem!

Beryl works fine with XGL on my ATI x1300. Of course, the Beryl that included with the universe repository in Feisty doesn't have XGL support, I had to install from a third party repository.

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@edhere wrote:
I think it effectively does make my computer run slower though because I only have 256 MB of RAM.

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Well, yes. As you pointed out, the cause of the slow-down is all the swapping out to disk. While, of course, this creates a slow system, the cause isn't really the graphics card, but the deficit of RAM. Same symptoms. Different solutions.

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@edhere wrote:
but the E1505N doesn't have the modem/network card that comes standard with the E1505. I need a modem!

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Where did you get that idea? The Inspiron E1505n comes with a Conexant modem. According to the wiki, the proprietary drivers will be available soon on the support site soon.

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@hotshotDJ wrote:

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@edhere wrote:
I think it effectively does make my computer run slower though because I only have 256 MB of RAM.

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Well, yes. As you pointed out, the cause of the slow-down is all the swapping out to disk. While, of course, this creates a slow system, the cause isn't really the graphics card, but the deficit of RAM. Same symptoms. Different solutions.

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@edhere wrote:
but the E1505N doesn't have the modem/network card that comes standard with the E1505. I need a modem!

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Where did you get that idea? The Inspiron E1505n comes with a Conexant modem. According to the wiki, the proprietary drivers will be available soon on the support site soon.

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You're right that replacing my video card is not a solution. It's not even an option since it's part of my motherboard. The real reason my computer is slow is that I bought an inexpensive computer and one of the reasons it was so inexpensive is that it has an integrated video "card".

I got that idea about the modem not being included from the information displayed during the online order process. Unlike for the E1505, I don't see where a modem is mentioned anywhere during the order process for the E1505n. The wiki you referred me to (which I wasn't aware of) lists the modem as an optional component, but I don't see where I can add it to the laptop during the online order process.

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@edhere wrote:

The real reason my computer is slow is that I bought an inexpensive computer and one of the reasons it was so inexpensive is that it has an integrated video "card".

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All you have to do is add more RAM (if that is an option on your old notebook). That will speed things up for you. Integrated video is not always a bad option -- NVidia makes integrated video too. For the most part, only gamers need the more expensive cards. Even the BEST video card won't help a system with only 256 Meg of RAM.

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@edhere wrote:

I got that idea about the modem not being included from the information displayed during the online order process. Unlike for the E1505, I don't see where a modem is mentioned anywhere during the order process for the E1505n. The wiki you referred me to (which I wasn't aware of) lists the modem as an optional component, but I don't see where I can add it to the laptop during the online order process.

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The modem is included on the E1505n by default. (See here for discussion -- especially comment #2) It isn't an optional component and therefore there is no place to select or deselect it during the online order process. But I DO see exactly what you mean. The fact that a modem is included in the E1505n is not clear at all. They really need to fix that on the online order form. Had it not been for previous conversations and other threads in here, I probably would have come to the same conclusion that you did.