Well, this is an interesting development. Turns out that I was wrong; Dell has indeed decided to expand their PC lineup to include Linux right out of the box. Last week, on their IdeaStorm blog, Dell announced that due to intense demand Linux will soon be offered as an alternative to Windows on both personal computers and laptops. The blog post goes on to mention the results from the recent survey that Dell undertook to get a better understanding of the Linux community at large:

• More than 70% of survey respondents said they would use a Dell system with a Linux operating system for both home and office use.
• Survey respondents indicated they want a selection of notebook and desktop offerings.
• Majority of survey respondents said that existing community-based support forums would meet their technical support needs for a tested and validated Linux operating system on a Dell system.
• Survey respondents indicated that improved hardware support for Linux is as important as the distribution(s) offered.

Furthermore, Dell also stated that in the next couple of weeks the company will be busy figuring out what systems they will be offering Linux on, how these systems will be tested for compatibility issues, and what Linux distributions might be offered.

So, how will this move impact the future of Linux? This “commercialization” of Linux might be frowned upon some Linux purists, but ultimately it might prove to be the boost that Linux needed. One of the major advantages that will arise out of this deal will be that far more hardware vendors and designers will be inclined to make sure that their products will be completely compatible with the latest distributions of Linux, and that more developers might be willing to open up their application and driver code to the community for better support capabilities.

The concern for driver support was also readily apparent in the comments posted to the Direct2Dell blog, which asked users to list their specific needs and concerns for the future adoption of Linux. One of the most frustrating aspects of getting a Linux system fully up to task is getting the small things, like built-in microphones and such, to work properly. The concern is especially relevant to laptop users. I, for one, am currently shopping around for a new laptop and come across some interesting models from HP in particular, and I am not exactly sure what options I want to include. I am planning on installing Linux on this new laptop and have little desire to pay extra for options, like a built-in webcam, only to find out that there is no driver support for that particular feature in Linux.

In another post on the Direct2Dell blog, Dell clarifies that it is fully committed to getting Linux up and running with as many GPL-licensed drivers as possible. Dell has already been offering Linux systems for years to business and enterprise customers, and in the post they mention that “it’s been [their] standard operating procedure for the last 8 years on PowerEdge servers” to avoid closed-source drivers, and to include community developed alternatives instead. The current plan seems to be to include as many open source drivers as possible from Kernel.org, to ensure that almost any device hooked up to a new system will be supported from the get go.

Dell recognizes the importance of open source, GPL-licensed drivers which are maintained upstream in kernel.org. They allow users the widest choice of Linux distributions, effectively taking the specific hardware and distribution out of the decision-making process and let you focus on solving your business problems. We will work with our hardware partners to develop, test, and maintain Free drivers, and continue to make progress towards that goal for all drivers.

Dell hasn’t yet made any announcements as to when this new operating system option will actually be made available, but hopefully, we’ll see these new Linux systems sooner rather than later this year. If the same intense vigor is present in the actual sales of these Linux machines as in the demand for their adoption, then I really hope that other companies, like HP, take notice of this and follow Dell’s lead. With a little luck, the masses might soon know of three major operating systems: Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.