Make the dell ubuntu models available through the main webpage

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Make the dell ubuntu models available through the main webpage

11050 points posted to Dell Web Site, Linux, Sales Strategies by rajeevbhatta 06/19/07 **UNDER REVIEW**

Instead of having the model listings on a different webpage ( www.dell.com/open) have these models available from the product search you have on the main page or a link available through the main page (www.dell.com)

When I go to dell.com and I search for the product model numbers I never can find them I have to go to the other page and then I see it. The only thing I saw on the main page is a small flash ad which then takes you to the page.

Why cant you place these models with the other models on your page.........

jel 06/21/07	Yes, you can't pretend to be treating those who want Linux/Ubuntu/FreeDOS as equal customers when you hide those products away as if they're second rate options or unmentionable in polite society.
sumyunggai 06/24/07	Agreed. This is not equal marketing. Do you want this to fail, Dell?
saivann 07/04/07	Yeah, it's a very important point. This is not about trying to erase Microsoft, but just gives choice to the consumer. If Microsoft and Ubuntu are well described, the final user will HAVE CHOICE. That's very important and that sounds like the Dell philosophy too. I can affirm that Ubuntu isn't just for technician who knows everything about computers. Administration and installation is complicated on Linux on the same way that no lamda users would be able to format and install Microsoft Windows. But when the system is already installed, Ubuntu is pretty user friendly and the people which aren't already Microsoft pros understand very quickly how Ubuntu works and generally loves it. So I think that there should be no problem to seriously shows Ubuntu if it's clear that no "official" support is given around the operating system. Lamba users loves Ubuntu REALLY more than Vista on new computers. It's my job to help people with their computers and I can say without any doubts that Ubuntu is a great choice for general public.
sumyunggai 07/08/07	Case in point: I put a Windows-using fifth grader in front of my Kubuntu laptop. She did ask, "where's Internet Explorer?" and I pointed her to the Firefox icon. She took it from there. Her teacher, a Windows/Mac lover who said that "Linux is only for techies," was stunned. That teacher doesn't say that junk to me anymore. :-) Ubuntu is in no way "just for technicians" any more than Windows XP or Vista are. Matter of fact, you have less need for "being a techie" with Ubuntu because you don't have to fix the OS all the time. Now, that said, two areas in which I'd like to see Ubuntu become a little more user-friendly are the following: 1.) The configuration of screen resolution and color depth with a GUI tool instead of having to hack /etc/X11/xorg.conf would be nice. Windows NT has had this since at least NT 3.51 from 1995. This is not a new ability. 2.) The GUI tool to configure TCP/IP network settings could improve some. I find that I still need to edit /etc/network/interfaces at times, since the GUI tool doesn't always work. This is especially so if you're going from DHCP to static IP address. This is with Feisty Fawn 32-bit; for some reason, I've not had that problem with Feisty Fawn 64-bit. Fortunately, Ubuntu does choose a sane screen resolution, since it auto-detects your monitor, and the vast majority of people do use DHCP from either their home broadband routers or their DHCP servers at work. There is no excuse for Dell not to feature Ubuntu PC's prominently on its homepage the same way that it does the Windows PC's.
bdennis317 07/08/07	Anybody who wants a Ubuntu computer will find it on the site but, putting it on the home page might confuse users.
luisa 07/09/07	YES WE WANT IT!!!! Free http://www.freepenguin.it/index-en.html
rajeevbhatta 07/09/07	A person who wants a ubuntu OS might not even buy a dell laptop he might just install it on whatever he owns at the moment. Most of the laptops are now supported by ubuntu. Ubuntu runs without any problems on older hardware too. but the idea of having ubuntu as a preinstall is great coz people would know of the alternatives. At my work, at my school and a lot of my friends dont even know that linux exists. A preinstall is great for them as most of the hardware is already working in the laptop. When Dell announced that they are going to preinstall ubuntu I was excited as this is a step forward for linux. I wanted to buy a dell on the day of the launch but then they hid the pc's and that pissed me off. I normally dont like dells coz of the heat sink issues I have had with couple of my older dell laptops, but this was one time I was going to make an exception but they pissed me off again.
dell_admin1 07/20/07	Changed status to UNDER REVIEW.
harbinger879 07/20/07	Merged Idea originally posted 06/27/07 Make Linux an OS Option Next to Windows & Easier to Find Currently Dell's Linux offering which is already limiting (just Ubuntu) is relegated to a specific section of Dell's website which is not easily accessible from the main page: www.dell.com. In order for a person to find Dell's Linux offering they must know the url www.dell.com/open. I request two things change: 1) A link on Dells main page: www.dell.com to their Linux offering. 2) The option on every (supported) Dell hardware model have the choice under OS for Linux right next to Windows.
lengau 07/20/07	Merged Comment originally posted 06/27/07 How about simply putting the Operating System choice as the first when selecting any system? Then, Dell could make each OS (even different versions of Vista, if it so pleased them) have different hardware choices. Linux would then be completely intertwined into the product line, and everyone would know how to get to it without a special URL. There could also be options to remove computers that don't offer your OS of choice from the lineup (be that Windows XP, Windows Vista, Ubuntu, FreeDOS, or any other OS that Dell happens to want to ship).
joespimpin 07/20/07	Merged Comment originally posted 07/10/07 As much as I would love to see linux side by side with windows, there are a couple of things that need to go along with it. 1. Full native driver support for all IBM PC Hardware 2. A dominant distro of linux. Although point 1 is being worked on, point 2 can really make things confusing for any hardware distributor. Linux really needs to come together and form one universal distro if they want this kind of success.
jjl128 07/29/07	I agree with bdennis317 above. As much as I would LOVE to see Ubuntu on the front page, I think it will just take some time before it is realistic for Dell to put it in a prominent spot on the front page. The majority of Windows users know of Apple computers; they might not know how to get around it, but they know it's different (my non-techie sister's transition taught me that). When most Windows users have an idea that Ubuntu is another option that is different but possible, then it will be put in such a spot. As much we all love that Dell is now selling Ubuntu computers and as much as we would love them to be an advocate of OSS, they still have a great business that relies on giving Windows users what they want and are used to. No one manufacturer will make a massive push for Linux, it's a matter of time until that's what customers want.
howlingmadhowie 07/31/07	strangely, i told a friend of mind about dell's ubuntu computers. he went to the internet site and tried to find them for half an hour and failed. and he's a pretty intelligent young man. the way i see it, dellideastorm has seen the community say with a very large voice "we are prepared to give dell money to offer us something we could download for free from the net". all dell has to do is offer them it. obviously, dell is trying their best to fail. as i said elsewhere, dell got caught with their corporate pants down here. there they were expecting a nice pr-op by graciously obliging customers' requests for go-faster stripes on laptops when WHAM! out of the blue came 10000 votes for linux, 10000 votes for providing open office and firefox and many thousands of votes for other pieces of software licensed under the gpl. there were tens of thousands of requests ranging from open-source drivers, certification under linux for hardware over computers available worldwide without an operating system right up to providing ubuntu stickers for laptops. once more the democratic power of the internet had done its job by revealing the stories about a lack of desire for Free software as the lies they are. i am unfortunately reduced to speculation when it comes to the business relationship between dell and microsoft. this is a pity because it really is the central part of the jigsaw puzzle that is the apparent ineptitude of dell's attempt to offer ubuntu. i doubt we will ever know much about this. but i'd sure have liked to be able to listen in on a few of the meetings they must have had in the past few months. so let's see where dell goes with this ball. we have seen tens of thousands of people stand up worldwide and offer dell money for computers which at that moment didn't exist. i wouldn't like to be dell at the moment because i can't see a way for them to get out of this gracefully. oh, and to address the topic of this thread: of course dell should make the ubuntu models available through the main webpage. if dell wants i'm sure they can show enough disclaimers and ill-concealed horror stories about the pains of linux ownership before the customer finally clicks "buy". (heck it, they already start the current "open source" page with just such an ill-concealed horror story).
howlingmadhowie 08/01/07	oh, btw: http://digg.com/linux_unix/Comes_vs_Microsoft_Petition_Shows_How_Microsoft_Bl...
michi 08/05/07	And make it available in Europe too!!
masterchief 08/07/07	Agreed. It's not equal marketing. I'm sure you will sell more Ubuntu desktops adding this link in main pages. Please, make it available in Europe too...
twocows 08/08/07	"he went to the internet site and tried to find them for half an hour and failed. and he's a pretty intelligent young man. " Tell your "smart" friend that all he has to do is do a search on Dell's site for Ubuntu and take the first link. It's not hard to find if you go looking for it, don't act like it is. However, I think it should be visible to the public. That's the point, isn't it? To get more people to migrate to these computers? Well, there should be visible links on the site (as well as something nobody seems to hear about: an option on the phone customization orders; they can ask "Which operating system would you like? Windows, Ubuntu Linux, or FreeDOS?).
howlingmadhowie 08/09/07	why should you have to search for ubuntu? (and why when configuring an ubuntu pc should you read a sign saying "dell recommends windows vista"?)
jonsmirl 08/11/07	Get rid of the Linux ghetto. Let Ubuntu compete head to head with Vista.
rajeevbhatta 08/13/07	The biggest drawback ubuntu and linux in general has is that, there are not many retailers( like dell, ibm etc....) selling their pcs with linux..... and now that they are doing it they should not hide it........ By hiding a person buying a PC does not see his/her options............and the biggest problem that exists is that people do not like changes......... so if they get a pc with Windows they will never bother to change it even if it gives them problems every time they use it............... The move to sell ubuntu on pcs was a wonderful move by dell but it seems like they do not want this to work................ thats why i posted my idea here................
trocupei 08/13/07	Give people the choice of freedom, the community is there to help them... I've installed 3 ubuntu linux of 3 different clients computers today because they are tired of windows viruses trojans and spywares and programs in the start up, etc... i"ll supply the support... easy..they don't break... lol There's a demand that's for sure...
ubondell 08/14/07	There are a ton of programs written for Linux, besides the GNU stuff that is implicit (you know, gcc, etc.) There are the contents of the Ubuntu package manager: http://packages.ubuntu.com/feisty/ It has hundreds of programs in there that are click to install, and once installed Ubuntu manages the updates along with the OS updates. Then there are the commercial partners, http://www.ubuntu.com/products/softwarecatalogue Notice the link to Dell in the top right corner, http://www.ubuntu.com/dell I'll bet there is no link to Dell on Microsoft's web page. As far as not being able to do much, Vista is the real loser. In one command line in Linux I can find every JPG on my PC and print out the duplicates. That is with nothing more than the built-in commands. If I want to know how to do something in Ubuntu I can check on http://ubuntuforums.org/ and I don't have to sign up for email spam or pre-pay for something that is likely useless, like Windows.
ubondell 08/14/07	dotChris, The reality is that it is Windows that dies: MSDOS - dead Win3.1 - dead as of 12/31/2001 Win95 - dead as of 12/31/2001 WinNT4 - dead as of 12/31/2004 Win98 - dead as of 07/11/2006 Win2K - dead on 06/13/2010 WinME - dead as of 07/11/2006 (some say stillborn) WinXP - soon WinVista - not soon enough (Data from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows Of the 20 releases listed in the timeline section 18 include the word unsupported in the status line.) I switched to Ubuntu when Microsoft stopped issuing security updates for the version of Windows on my Dell Inspiron. I have now upgraded through two newer versions of Ubuntu, all by doing nothing more than running the update manager; no lost data, no blasted applications, each better than the prior (i.e. no DRM or other crap). How well would a Windows PC user do if they tried upgrading a PC from Windows2000->WinXP->Windows Vista (ignoring the fact that Vista would crawl like a snail on a PC sold with Win2000, assuming that it would even start). Also, the truth is that Linux can't die because I have my own copy of the source. So if it came to that I could edit, compile and rebuild the kernel if necessary. I have done that for a floppy-based version of Linux (freesco) so I am not talking out of my ass like you seem to do. BTW, if you want a more objective view of Windows vs Linux, than either of us have, I found this an interesting read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Windows_and_Linux< my crystal ball tells me that the next Window version will likely be based on the Linux kernel down deep, with just enough Window-ish skin to make the non-technical think it is the same OS. There is just no more lipstick to put on the current code to solve the legacy problems it has.
howlingmadhowie 08/14/07	.chris: it is however perfectly true that linux is used a lot more as an operating system than windows. it just isn't used on desktop systems. the code is freely available from thousands and thousands of sources. it can't "die". it would be easier for windows to die as the only people who can modify windows is microsoft. older versions just stagnate and die. with a linux distribution, you just click update and you have the newest version on the system. you see, linux can't die. people will always be inventing new architectures or need to fine tune an operating system. if you want to do that, you need an open source operating system. nobody in their right mind would spend 50 million on a super computer and install windows on it. if you spend that sort of money on a computer, you want to know what it's doing. and it's the same for markets which are moving quickly (things like the consumer electronics market). here, there are many different architectures and linux supports almost all of them. and even if it doesn't, you can add support yourself, or ask the kernel maintainers to do so.
twocows 08/15/07	but "windows" hasn't died. its just the older versons that died. its the same "windows" jsut a new verson with new features. So your statment is false. Yeah, but you said that Linux will die, and thus have no support for it. Well, older Windows versions currently have no support. I'd like to see you call up Microsoft Tech Support and get help with a Windows ME problem. They'll shoo you away and tell you they don't support it anymore, and to upgrade to a newer version. also wikipedia is user submited info, so most liky a linux geek or you posted that I don't remember where, so go ahead and attack me because I can't cite this, but awhile back, I read the results of a study comparing Wikipedia to a number of other well-reputed encyclopedias, such as Encyclopedia Britannica, and 9 out of 10 of the articles on Wikipedia were rated by experts to be of better quality than the other encyclopedias' articles.
twocows 08/16/07	Encarta was one of the ones it was compared to. Additionally, I find Encarta extremely hard to use, whereas in Wikipedia, you just type in what you want.
smoe 08/23/07	I only learned from ideastorm about how to order Linux machines from Dell. Before that I just thought that they had not gotten around updating their web pages. This is hillarious. Strangely enought, www.dell.de/open brings me to a page in english, although Linux is very strong over here.
davmcn 08/23/07	yah that is funny i didn't know about it either until i typed in dell.com/ubuntu wow...it wasn't clear that is why they need it on there site...
weistrass 08/27/07	We want it!!!! Carl
delluser 09/02/07	I've seen this idea duplicated at least twice in the list of most voted ideas. I guess the message is clear.

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