Modify Colors
Posts in 2008 August 11
Dell (Unintentionallyl) Says Ubuntu Comes With "No Security"
One of the many benefits of buying Linux preinstalled on a PC is that there is no crapware. One common piece of crapware is a 30-day free trial of some antivirus suit, which is not even needed on Linux. This, however, led to an interesting quote on Dell’s website. Below is a screen-shot:
Almost certainly a mistake... I hope.
This is a screenshot from the Dell site, comparing a Windows (left) and Linux (right) machine. The red highlighting was added to point out the flaw.
Not only does Dell say the Ubuntu machine comes with “No Security,” but they also say it has “No Productivity Software (pre-installed).” Ever heard of OpenOffice?
I suspect (and hope) that this is a mistake that will soon be corrected.
Select Dell Notebooks Now Cheaper With Ubuntu + Retail Vista Than Vista Pre-Installed
In cases where computers are available pre-installed with either Linux or Windows, it is almost always the case that either (a) the Linux one is slightly less expensive or (b) the Windows one is actually less expensive, so you might as well just buy the Windows version and install Linux. Apparently, this is not always the case. While comparing the prices for some Dell computers, I discovered that on some Dell notebooks, it is cheaper to buy the Ubuntu version and a retail copy of Vista than to buy Vista pre-installed.
Since Dell has recently added several new models to the Ubuntu line, I decided to do price comparisons between the Linux and Windows models. I tried to get the systems as close as possible, but in a few cases there are very minor differences. All prices listed below are how much cheaper the Ubuntu model is:
- Inspiron 530 (Desktop) – Ubuntu is $80 cheaper.
- Inspiron 1525 (Notebook) – Ubuntu and Windows are equal price.
- Studio 15 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $100 cheaper.
- XPS M1330 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $350 cheaper.
- XPS M1530 (Notebook) – Ubuntu is $350 cheaper.
That means that on the two XPS models listed there, it is cheaper to buy the Ubuntu version and pick up a retail copy of Vista Home Premium (or, better yet, don’t) for $220 from Newegg. Wow.
Update 1 – It seems that Dell has pulled the XPS M1530 from the Ubuntu page.
Update 2 – For anyone who wants to confirm the numbers, here is what you need to know:
- You have to go to dell.com/ubuntu to find the Ubuntu machines. Then, you can search for the Windows counterparts.
- The default configuration of the Windows and Ubuntu machines is not the same, so you have to click on “customize” and go through each option, making sure that the machines have equal specs. If there are multiple choices that work, I choose the less expensive option. If you cannot match the specs exactly, get as close as you can.
Yes, there are a few cases where you cannot match the hardware exactly. The wireless cards seem to be the biggest issue. In one case I could not match the exact model of wireless card, in another one card was N and the other was G. There was also one case where both machines had the same amount of RAM, but one machine had it spread across two chips, while the other only had one chip. Finally, in one case, the clock speeds of the processors was off by about .1 GHz. So, yes there were a couple of issues, but all of them are really small and highly unlikely to cause any difference in performance.