Is Canonical over-excited over Dell ?? [Archive]

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hellmet

May 29th, 2007, 10:17 AM

Yea sure.. we all are quite excited that finally some company has woken up to realise Linux's potential. Dell responded to our demand by offering a few low-end computers.
But doesn't Canonical seem to be over-excited, and is over-doing this? I just noticed the huge banner on the main page. Just my opinion.

brim4brim

May 29th, 2007, 10:28 AM

hellmet

May 29th, 2007, 11:04 AM

Its a big deal for ubuntu. Dell's website looks as if its least excited about the whole affair.
I think I see MS's hand in this too ?

brim4brim

May 29th, 2007, 11:09 AM

Its not a big deal for Dell. Most of the people who will buy the machines already know about the deal or run Ubuntu. Its still a product for techie people ATM and those people make it their business to know whats going on in the tech world so mass banners on Dell's website aren't really neccessary.

gnomeuser

May 29th, 2007, 11:20 AM

The important bit is by far that Dell acknowledges the importance of getting Free Software drivers and they will work towards that goal. Having their weight behind Free Software as a whole is far more important than a tiny test run of pre-installed machines though that should not be disregarded either since Dell is a major vendor and an industry leader in terms of defining new hardware standards.

lyceum

May 29th, 2007, 11:45 AM

A lot of questions from new users come from installation. Why download a disk when you can just buy a PC? Dell is a name people know. It really gives legitimacy and instant recognition to people. People I talk to light up a little when I tell them that Dell now sells Ubuntu pre-installed. They take the idea of switching more seriously. Also, keep in mind that Dell is selling Canonical as support. This brings funds to Canonical, and that brings money back to Ubuntu. Mr. Shuttleworth may be rich, but I am sure he wants Ubuntu to be able to pay for itself at some point.

hellmet

May 29th, 2007, 12:09 PM

Hmm.. I get the point here lyceum. Anyways.. anything for ubuntu. :D

LightB

May 29th, 2007, 12:40 PM

moredhel

May 29th, 2007, 12:50 PM

whether it's a big deal or not, it's damn good news, and I certainly got people to listen to me about ubuntu once I said the dell are now shipping pc's with it preinstalled :D

foxy123

May 29th, 2007, 01:11 PM

the only a really annoying thing about it that Dell offers Ubuntu only in the US, while in Europe and the UK it is not available and there is no time table for that.

Rashid584

May 29th, 2007, 01:17 PM

Very true. It makes Linux sound a lot more legitimate and a lot less geeky when you say "dell sell computers with Linux on now"

I just hope Dell's little test run is successful...It'd be interesting to see where the 100,000 or so votes (or was it 20,000...) they go on Ideastorm were located...I have a feeling it wasn't the US. I think a test run in Europe instead of the US would have been much more successful, because greater Linux enthusiams, and anti-Microsoft sentiment exists here...but then I am biased :D

-Rashid

lyceum

May 29th, 2007, 01:38 PM

IMO, Mr. Shuttleworth really just wants to deliver a blow to the monopoly like many others. Funding Linux development and adoption is one way to do this. Whether his plans are all ultimately about making money is known to no one but himself, or certainly not to you and I.

I would agree with you, the way "bug #1" is worded does seem to be a goal to stop a monopoly. IMHO, the best to do that is to prove you CAN make money for Canonical with FOSS (Ubuntu). But that is my 2 cents.

fuscia

May 29th, 2007, 02:32 PM

i went to the dell site, as if i were a normal buyer (instead of a god), and didn't stumble on to anything that even looked like a suggestion ubuntu was available as an option. is this still to come?

bchaffin72

May 29th, 2007, 02:43 PM

I found it, but it did not exactly jump out at me.
http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ubuntu?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml
It did,however, appear in a banner ad once I had been at the site for a few minutes.

ubuntu-geek

May 29th, 2007, 02:46 PM

maddog39

May 29th, 2007, 02:50 PM

I dont think they are over excited in the least bit. This is huge news and a great thing all around for the linux community and is essential to our growth. Why would you be excited about this??

Moldz

May 29th, 2007, 02:58 PM

I think the better question is this: how many of you are planning to buy one of these systems in the next month?

lyceum

May 29th, 2007, 03:16 PM

lyceum

May 29th, 2007, 03:17 PM

I think the better question is this: how many of you are planning to buy one of these systems in the next month?

I am getting one as soon as I get my student loan money, but that will not be until the end of summer.

starcraft.man

May 29th, 2007, 03:17 PM

I think my favorite part of that http://www.ubuntu.com/dell page is this..

"On-line help forum
Ubuntu has an extensive and vibrant community who work through on-line forums to provide guidance and help for beginners and experts alike. For details of the on-line help forum visit this link (http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board?board.id=sw_linux)."

Wait! So what is this forum for?

LOL, uh interesting... why not point to us? Seems uh, well... weird.... >.>.

To answer moldz, I'm not planning in particular to buy a computer from Dell. While I would love to support Ubuntu, I don't buy solely based on that. I had a custom built p4 system almost 6 years ago now, and it is still going (and playing games I might add, with only one upgrade of graphics card), I will likely build myself a new one when time comes. If not I will buy/customize a system I think will last me an equally long time as my present one, whether it has Ubuntu preinstalled is secondary to the hardware inside.

That said, I do think the community is a bit overexcited. While it seems to me this does give us good coverage and exposure to mainstream, it also has the potential to backfire. While the systems are tested and will work out of the box with hardware, what about after? People may try to get programs they like on it, and then find its very difficult to use some of their windows programs (or not like linux alternatives), then they may try a VM or such and not like it too much. Finally, ending up back with windows with a somewhat bias against Ubuntu/Linux.

I think only time will tell, I am just mildly sceptical about mainstream success of linux, especially since dell deals heavily with MS, that said, they did bring back XP, so MS may in all fact be losing its grip on the market. We will see how it pans out.

gnomeuser

May 29th, 2007, 03:36 PM

I think the better question is this: how many of you are planning to buy one of these systems in the next month?

I'd love to but two problems:

a) I can't afford must less justify buying a new machine right now
b) Dell only offers these nice machines to americans right now

I'm hoping by the time a no longer is a problem b won't either, in the meantime I will recommend Dell to friends who ask even if they get a Windows machine, I believe in rewarding them for the effort by sending business their way.

starcraft.man

May 29th, 2007, 03:51 PM

I'd love to but two problems:
b) Dell only offers these nice machines to americans right now

Ya, darn it... thats another reason I can't. They aren't even shipping to Canadians, and we are right on top. Oh well... maybe later down the line?

matthew

May 29th, 2007, 04:49 PM

hellmet

May 29th, 2007, 05:39 PM

I'd seen that earlier. Was shocked, but I didn't bother to create another thread.
Why is canonical giving us step-motherly treatment??

neighborlee

May 29th, 2007, 06:01 PM

Its a big deal. Besides it helps users seemlessly migrate to Ubuntu avoiding driver hell which means they will have a pleasant experience using Ubuntu out of the box guarenteed.

Ubuntu is all about ease of use and you can't get easier than buying a computer with preinstalled ubuntu!

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#How_to_install_Windows_Games_.28Cede ga.29 < considering that the aim is to make linux easier to use ( which part of that mentality is stability and perceived ease of use ) , I must question the sincereity of ubuntu to endorse cedega considering most of its promises have not been delivered on either ethically or technicallly.

Does the linux community want emulation ( or whatever you 'consider' wine to be ) or actual native linux gaming code from vendors ?

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#How_to_install_Multimedia_CodecsM< face it sometimes reality bites...if 'ease of use' is a goal, then after all these releases what is this about I wonder...or is this guide just not maintained properly ?

I alsa must pause to wonder why the word 'ugly' is used to name codecs that many deem necessary; is this the 'thought police' at its job again saying that if you use these things ( that atm have no 'used' or accepted by vendors yet it seems ? ) you are some linux traitor , and if not what is the mentality behind this naming scheme ? ;)

THere is another thing of which I think ubuntu is clueless about: after ALL this time we still have 'no centralized control panel' making it not only non efficient but not very ( imho )elegant to get things done. IF it were so elegant and useful to have all these sub-items having off the menu, then why has windows, mac or whomever not done this I'd ask you all to consider...? I suspect windows-land has paid alot of money for useability reports so to ignore all that, considering that imo its nicer to look at a single control panel in lieu of tons of sub-items instead of in logical 'areas' , seems to be to be odd at best and I wonder what others think about this..?

I very much like the fact that ubuntu carries over some windows items upon install which is very nice and of course overall the theme is interesting if not provocative ;)

I must pause to also ask, are users ( susie homemaker and joe sixpack types ?) going to be expected to go through this hastle ( though at one time ubuntu and fedora promised I thought ? to make this auto'magic' ? ) of manually getting codecs installed for their 'uisual' browsing pleasure of at least cnn.com and im sure other highly perused websites ????

I ask these questions not to flame, but to be serious because if linux is to be adoped en masse, it must be as easy on ALL fronts ( or , ok better than ) windows, mac etal. That friends is a 'fair' question yes ?

I hope cnr.com is also adopted soon as this will give linux world a download.com place to get their software and as cnr has always imo had some very nice extra features I hope this works well. ( although I think the mac way of installing via appdir like struture is smarter . What do you all think about that issue as well ?

THanks for reading
nl

juxtaposed

May 29th, 2007, 07:20 PM

All I see is they put the dell logo on some guys shirt on the ubuntu.com page; I havn't heard anything, or seen anything, that would make me think they're over excited or something.

hellmet

May 29th, 2007, 07:25 PM

Have a look at the site again.. there is a BIG banner right below the navbar!!!
EDIT :: Where the hell did that go?? It was there when I started this thread!! I should've taken a screenshot.
Is canonical reading this?? .. If so.. WTF about the forums uh?

fuscia

May 29th, 2007, 07:35 PM

chopped liver-r-us

starcraft.man

May 29th, 2007, 08:14 PM

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#How_to_install_Windows_Games_.28Cede ga.29 < considering that the aim is to make linux easier to use ( which part of that mentality is stability and perceived ease of use ) , I must question the sincereity of ubuntu to endorse cedega considering most of its promises have not been delivered on either ethically or technicallly.First off neither Ubuntu nor these forums endorse Cedega (at least to my knowledge, I've suggested it but thats only a suggestion and your free not to do it). Please read at the top of ubuntuguide.org
Unofficial Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) Starter Guide They are not affiliated to us. End of point.

Does the linux community want emulation ( or whatever you 'consider' wine to be ) or actual native linux gaming code from vendors ? WineHQ (http://www.winehq.org/) mission statement is on front page. The point of WINE IMO is to smooth transition, so people who must (for example) have PS can use a copy while they learn gimp, then when they find a replacement delete wine and ps altogether. I always send people to linuxappfinder (http://linuxappfinder.com/) to find native apps, WINE is not installed by default (if it was, that would be then an endorsement), merely a choice like choosing to use Ubuntu/Linux

http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Ubuntu:Feisty#How_to_install_Multimedia_CodecsM< face it sometimes reality bites...if 'ease of use' is a goal, then after all these releases what is this about I wonder...or is this guide just not maintained properly ? Check restricted manager in Feisty. It also isn't so hard to copy an paste a command line (or if you like GUIs, use Synaptic). If you or anyone you know is aiming for an OS that is completely hassle free then use Windows or Mac (or another distro that supports them out of the box). As Aysiu has pointed out a few times, Ubuntu devs make a philosophic choice not to include all those proprietary codecs (being sued is secondary in their minds it seems)

I alsa must pause to wonder why the word 'ugly' is used to name codecs that many deem necessary; is this the 'thought police' at its job again saying that if you use these things ( that atm have no 'used' or accepted by vendors yet it seems ? ) you are some linux traitor , and if not what is the mentality behind this naming scheme ? ;) A trivial complaint only made to incite a response. I know not why they are named that, who cares, if you need them, install them per your own conscious.

THere is another thing of which I think ubuntu is clueless about: after ALL this time we still have 'no centralized control panel' making it not only non efficient but not very ( imho )elegant to get things done. IF it were so elegant and useful to have all these sub-items having off the menu, then why has windows, mac or whomever not done this I'd ask you all to consider...? I suspect windows-land has paid alot of money for useability reports so to ignore all that, considering that imo its nicer to look at a single control panel in lieu of tons of sub-items instead of in logical 'areas' , seems to be to be odd at best and I wonder what others think about this..? Obviously once again you are uninformed, there is a control panel in Feisty (you can activate it) and it then lists all your customizable options (it is functionally almost the same as the windows control panel). I would equally submit I am a former windows user and there are many options that cannot be tweaked via the control panel and must be searched for deeper in windows. I also very much like the system menu (the one in the panel) and have the control panel disabled thats my choice. Ubuntu does not aim to copy windows in that respect or any other.

I very much like the fact that ubuntu carries over some windows items upon install which is very nice and of course overall the theme is interesting if not provocative ;) Ok...

I must pause to also ask, are users ( susie homemaker and joe sixpack types ?) going to be expected to go through this hastle ( though at one time ubuntu and fedora promised I thought ? to make this auto'magic' ? ) of manually getting codecs installed for their 'uisual' browsing pleasure of at least cnn.com and im sure other highly perused websites ???? Ubuntu isn't for everyone, people who can't be bothered to learn a different OS (who have say used windows for 10 years and are happy) should stay with what they have and use windows or mac, it works out of the box very well.

I ask these questions not to flame, but to be serious because if linux is to be adoped en masse, it must be as easy on ALL fronts ( or , ok better than ) windows, mac etal. That friends is a 'fair' question yes ? I question why you ask all that, it seems to me you are somewhat uninformed or simply looking for an argument. Your post is very much off topic of what the poster was saying, he was referring to the fact that since Ubuntu will come preinstalled on Dell machines then there will be less hassle configuring things manually and making hacks or other manual tweaks to get unsupported hardware working, since all the hardware dell uses is well supported. The bottom line is neither you nor anyone else "has to" use linux, its a choice. I doubt a good many people will try Linux, because over the years they have grown accustomed to using Windows (and just like those people who want to support the environment and still drive a car to and from work/other places for hours on end each day even though they could arrange to use public transit) they will continue to use Windows because it is more convenient/they are used to it. In addition, I'd say Ubuntu is making great strides to make things easier (restricted driver management and migration assistant are two good examples), it is not an instantaneous process though and will likely take a while longer (if it ever does) become automatically easy, I don't think its goal is to become a clone of windows or automatic, above all I think its to provide a choice..

I hope cnr.com is also adopted soon as this will give linux world a download.com place to get their software and as cnr has always imo had some very nice extra features I hope this works well. ( although I think the mac way of installing via appdir like struture is smarter . What do you all think about that issue as well ? I don't think CNR will solve everything. It will be another option.

THanks for reading
nl

In the end I cannot tell why you went to the trouble of posting all that. Some of it was plain wrong, and other parts of it weren't really valid criticism (like the name). If you don't like Ubuntu, please use whatever you do like and be happy with it. If you do like Ubuntu and want to improve it, then become a tester/coder/help new people get started with it/file bug reports, but don't post inflammatory comments in a topic when they are uncalled for. They don't get things changed, and almost everything you posted about Devs are aware of (they aren't ignorant).

Oh and I did look over your past posts, you are seeming to go out of your way to criticize what Ubuntu has done. Just curious, but what if you took all that energy and filed bug reports or other such positive things. Then you could have a say and shape how Ubuntu develops. Or fork your own project and make Ubuntu more automatic if thats your aim.

starcraft.man

I hope you don't find me to upset/angry at ya, I just tried to point out everything you said that was wrong in a civilized manner, the red text is of course me.

Edit: I really do have too much time on my hands to be able to write all that. Anyway, if you wanna discuss criticisms, please make a thread elsewhere and don't hijack this one (this one is about Ubuntu and Dell, not Ubuntu's flaws and how to fix them, I probably shouldn't have even responded). Don't let me dampen the mood of this thread anyway, continue with discussing dell to your hearts content :).

hellmet

May 30th, 2007, 12:27 PM

@Neighborlee .. What the .... was that??

sysdrum

May 30th, 2007, 01:00 PM

I am so getting me one of those for my mother.... I have been trying to get her to change from (insert non-FOSS here) She love's her dell laptop (running ubuntu 6.10 I setup for her).... now she can have a desktop I don't have to de-virus and reload every six months...plus it is from dell... yes

plus whayt was with the last post ? that wasn't even on the topic??

foxy123

May 30th, 2007, 01:09 PM

I am thinking about buying a new laptop in autumn/winter. I have a work laptop from Dell and it is fine. So if they do Ubuntu here in the UK it would be my first choice. System77 is also not available here.

lakersforce

May 30th, 2007, 01:43 PM

It is the over-hysterical posters on this web-site that is over-exited, in my opinion.

RAV TUX

May 30th, 2007, 11:58 PM

chopped liver-r-us

I was having a wonderful time reading this thread with much joy about all the positives for Mr. M. Dell and Ubuntu, and then you mentioned chopped Liver.....mmmm

I can't think of anything else now....

Must get chop Liver!

Overall as stated before I support any move that will benefit and profit M. Dell personally, this man contributes greatly to our community. He is a great man and a good Jew.

If you support Linux you should buy Dell with Ubuntu and support two honorable men, M. Dell and M. Shuttleworth.

These guys are doing great things, so don't be shy; break out the credit card and buy a Dell with Ubuntu, buy 2, 3 or 4. They will make great gifts!

About the forum thingy, I can understand Dell wanting to host their own forum. They will have overall more quality control against potential undesirable subject matters. It is their investment I can understand this overall. ubuntuforums.org will always be here for the rest of us. I suggest that regular ubuntuforums.org members support the Dell-Ubuntu forum since they support Ubuntu and go to their forum and help out, without pointing back to this forum. Just help new Dell/Ubuntu users out and enjoy the spirit of Ubuntu....

remember to have fun and smile also

Now where is that Chop Liver......yummmmmmy

Mazel Tov to Dell!, Mazel Tov to Ubuntu!

Rashid584

May 31st, 2007, 12:07 AM

whats this about him being a jew? :scratch:

-Rashid

RAV TUX

May 31st, 2007, 12:12 AM

I was having a wonderful time reading this thread with much joy about all the positives for Mr. M. Dell and Ubuntu, and then you mentioned chopped Liver.....mmmm

I can't think of anything else now....

Must get chop Liver!

Overall as stated before I support any move that will benefit and profit M. Dell personally, this man contributes greatly to our community. He is a great man and a good Jew.

If you support Linux you should buy Dell with Ubuntu and support two honorable men, M. Dell and M. Shuttleworth.

These guys are doing great things, so don't be shy; break out the credit card and buy a Dell with Ubuntu, buy 2, 3 or 4. They will make great gifts!

About the forum thingy, I can understand Dell wanting to host their own forum. They will have overall more quality control against potential undesirable subject matters. It is their investment I can understand this overall. ubuntuforums.org will always be here for the rest of us. I suggest that regular ubuntuforums.org members support the Dell-Ubuntu forum since they support Ubuntu and go to their forum and help out, without pointing back to this forum. Just help new Dell/Ubuntu users out and enjoy the spirit of Ubuntu....

remember to have fun and smile also

Now where is that Chop Liver......yummmmmmy

Mazel Tov to Dell!, Mazel Tov to Ubuntu!

Read more about the Michael and Susan Dell Philanthropy:

Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Founders: Michael and Susan Dell (http://www.msdf.org/about/letter.aspx) started the Foundation to advance children's issues at a local, regional, national, and international level in large urban areas.
Endowment: The Michael Dell Foundation (http://www.msdf.org/)'s endowment totals over $1 billion, and has committed over $330 million to nonprofits.
Areas of interest: education, health, microfinance, India, and Central Texas (http://www.msdf.org/priorities/default.aspx) represent the areas of interest for the Dells.
Notable projects/programs: Dell Scholars Program and MSDF Microfinance Initiative serve as examples of the various initiatives (http://www.msdf.org/priorities/Programs.aspx?id=32) of the Foundation.
http://www.institutionsofphilanthropy.com/dell.html

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living Celebrates its Grand Opening

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living celebrated its grand opening on March 21, 2007. The world-class research center focuses on improving healthy living in communities, homes and schools by addressing the childhood obesity epidemic, child and adolescent development, and community programs and policies in Austin. The new center is located on the University of Texas-Austin campus and is headed up by UT faculty member, Deanne M. Hoelscher, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., C.N.S.

Founded through a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to the UT School of Public Health, the center will bring together existing work from the school’s Human Nutrition Center, including its successful and widely recognized program, CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health), a K-5 school and family-based program designed to improve healthy eating and increase physical activity.

“The UT School of Public Health is very excited about the grand opening of the Center. This partnership with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation marks a significant beginning to our goal of addressing the epidemic of childhood obesity and its effect on related chronic diseases,” said UT School of Public Health Dean Guy Parcel, Ph.D.

To find out more about the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, go to http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/DellHealthyLiving/home.asp http://www.msdf.org/ (http://www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/DellHealthyLiving/home.asp)

Point being their is a lot for Canonical, Ubuntu and all Ubuntu users here to be excited about.

Michael & Susan Dell are wonderful and honorable people who are doing a lot for the world as a whole.

Even if they didn't sell Ubuntu, you should buy Dell.

(and yes I did have a change of heart....call it enlightenment if you will)

RAV TUX

May 31st, 2007, 12:15 AM

whats this about him being a jew? :scratch:

-Rashid
Michael Saul Dell[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dell#_note-fastcompany) (born February 23 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_23), 1965 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965), in Houston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston%2C_Texas), Texas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas)) is the founder and CEO of Dell, Inc. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell%2C_Inc.) Dell is the son of an orthodontist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodontist) and grew up in a Jewish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish) family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dell

It is a well known fact and he has contributed greatly to our community, and the world as a whole.

Michael Saul Dell is simple an awesome Human being.

...and Ubuntu is Linux for Human Beings anyway...;)

So it is all good.:KS

neighborlee

June 1st, 2007, 04:11 PM

@Neighborlee .. What the .... was that??

I take it this isn't a serious reply, so I pause to ask what the ..... was that ? ;)

cheers
nl

neighborlee

June 1st, 2007, 04:21 PM

In the end I cannot tell why you went to the trouble of posting all that. Some of it was plain wrong, and other parts of it weren't really valid criticism (like the name). If you don't like Ubuntu, please use whatever you do like and be happy with it. If you do like Ubuntu and want to improve it, then become a tester/coder/help new people get started with it/file bug reports, but don't post inflammatory comments in a topic when they are uncalled for. They don't get things changed, and almost everything you posted about Devs are aware of (they aren't ignorant).

[QUOTE]Oh and I did look over your past posts, you are seeming to go out of your way to criticize what Ubuntu has done.

I 'seem' to be is the key adjective here it looks like ;)...if you want to throw flames backing them up is always a good idea as it creatives incentive for 'rational' debate get my point ? ;)

Just curious, but what if you took all that energy and filed bug reports or other such positive things. Then you could have a say and shape how Ubuntu develops. Or fork your own project and make Ubuntu more automatic if thats your aim.

I willl not fork any distro as imo its sickening how many we have which imo causes a great deal of 'fragmentation'..suse has wonderfuil features that ubuntu does not as does fedora, as does pclinuxos as does blehblehadinfinitum ;)

starcraft.man

I hope you don't find me to upset/angry at ya, I just tried to point out everything you said that was wrong in a civilized manner, the red text is of course me.

No I dont starman, you are welcome to your opinions on this matter as I am as with any 'luck' we can all keep it civil , but lets be perfectly clear that the 'wrong' is IYHO ;).

Edit: I really do have too much time on my hands to be able to write all that. Anyway, if you wanna discuss criticisms, please make a thread elsewhere and don't hijack this one (this one is about Ubuntu and Dell, not Ubuntu's flaws and how to fix them, I probably shouldn't have even responded). Don't let me dampen the mood of this thread anyway, continue with discussing dell to your hearts content :)

Way too much time, but maybe so do I/we hehe....I love the hijack term..so I can reply to a thread without being accused of this imo is infantile, but hey thats just how it goes ( no mods' have complained so far sobeit);' part of dells offering and part of ubuntu abiliiites to create a useable desktop OS for users wishing alternatives make this a very reasonable topic for my reply and to suggest otherwise means I guess your not happy I opted to take my first ammendment right and 'disagree' with you and yours ;) I hope you aren't president as lord knows what type of communistic methodologies we might all have to suffer through <wink>

Yes, lets let the thread continue ;)

cheers
nl

saulgoode

June 1st, 2007, 05:16 PM

I alsa must pause to wonder why the word 'ugly' is used to name codecs that many deem necessary; is this the 'thought police' at its job again saying that if you use these things ( that atm have no 'used' or accepted by vendors yet it seems ? ) you are some linux traitor , and if not what is the mentality behind this naming scheme ? ;)

"Ugly" would seem a very appropriate term, though IMO overly mild.

Media (according to the first online dictionary I visited (http://dict.die.net/media/)) are the "transmissions that are disseminated widely to the public". Perhaps you consider it beautiful that media which is being disseminated widely is encrypted within a 'secret' format which requires that the public pay tribute and make themselves subservient to those who hold the key to accessing this media? Myself, I consider the proliferation of such codecs quite an ugly situation and would rather support those who are engaged in providing information in formats accessible by all and which are not encumbered with patents, copyrights, and DRM measures.

If you wish to easily access Flash files, talk to Adobe. If you wish to legally access the content in MPEG, RealMedia, or Microsoft media, complain to those who are distributing such "ugliness" in the first place. Until/unless those corporations open up their formats so that they are freely accessible to all, they can lay no claim to being "media" formats.

kamaboko

June 1st, 2007, 05:19 PM

I don't think Dell plans on this being the silver bullet for their turn-around. As you may have read, they're laying off 8,000 employees. In any case, if Dell can squeeze an additional 1% in sales out of this, I think they'll be happy.

bootslap

June 2nd, 2007, 07:10 AM

Although ... Dell offering Ubuntu is a welcome step, I have mixed feelings. Firstly, all the talk about hardware being compatible and newbies getting an easy OS might be misplaced. We all know that OS behavior vis-a-vis hardware varies drastically from distro version to version.... and an upgrade from Feisty to Gibbon might not be well supported. I am sorry if I sound misinformed .. but I am a bit skeptical about this whole thing. I think, it is still better to check out yourself which distro works out well for your hardware and load it rather than being dependent on any one in particular ....

steven8

June 2nd, 2007, 07:13 AM

Hmm.. I get the point here lyceum. Anyways.. anything for ubuntu. :D

If you mean that. . .then why start this thread?

Lord Illidan

June 2nd, 2007, 03:00 PM

matthew

June 2nd, 2007, 03:11 PM

Actually they changed it now :Yay. Some requests were made, blog posts read, favors called in...lol. I'm glad they took care of it.

Gargamella

June 2nd, 2007, 03:29 PM

it is very important to take these partnerships ahead, so I think this is ok