1) You said the three major OEMs sell Linux, but you only mentioned two. Also, I am really just talking about consumer non-netbook Linux, thus Dell is the only company that offers Linux, excluding netbooks and enterprise machines. I am perfectly aware Dell sells computers with Ubuntu – I own one. I would like to see more OEMs offering Linux.

3) Once again, I don’t care who you blame it on, it needs to be fixed.

4) OK, name all the common Windows programs? Do they all either work perfectly under WINE or have 100% compatible alternatives? No, not really.

5) First, I think Dell wants you to buy computers, not be so annoyed with trying to find something that you go to HP. Second, to use Google, you have to know what you are looking for. Is the average WIndows user just going to suddenly Google “Dell Linux,” when they have never heard of Linux?

In fact that is not a Linux fault. It’s hard to mantain compatibility with $omeone who’s trying to avoid it.

1) All three vendors do linux on product. Hard to find Dell product. Enter ‘Dell Linux’ in Google. You are two mouse clicks away from their product selection page.Couldn’t be easier unless a Dell rep handed you a product slick. HP has been selling Linux longer than anyone else in their workstation line of systems. All 3 vendors provide linux preinstalled of selected models of product They are the big three with some 90% of the market. So the market angle is specious.

‘First, it is practically impossible to support all of the harware out there….’ This too is a red herring. First of all none of the vendors support all the hardware out there anyway. The big three do not place linx on their entire product lines anyway, they select the most compatible hardware to use with Linux. Second that is not necessarily the problem of Linux as it is the OEM peripheral mfrs not want to provide support with drivers. Don’t flog the horse when it is the cart that is broken.

2) Probably true. But my complaint right now is all we have seen of W7 is screen pops. Nobody had gotten their hand on W7 internals outside of the MS circle. That is the same round of releases we had with Vista and what a disaster that turned out to be. It looks like MS is pushing the Aero experience even on W7. That dictates a high end graphics card. Few of the Nettops are proviisoned with those kind of graphic chips on concerns about power. So if W7 either dictates Aero or that is the only way you get the pleasing experience that might just preclude its use on NetTops.

Better Linux for MID’s sure. But that’s coming already. Ubuntu has a MID version already. Suse I believe is already working a version as well. And there is of course Android. It would be a killer app for a NetTop or mide. Add OOfice and stir lightly and there is your all in one data/comm/game system.

3) True, but you are griping at the wrong company. Dell is the integrator so they should have done a better job. Or you should have gone to a Linux oriented retailer who does such integration and they do exist by the way.

4) You need to get specific. I have not problem with participating in AD, using Windows shares, or offering them or using windows defined print resources.

5) See my point in (1) above. There are many things on Dell’s website that are hard to find. That’s by design. They want you on their website as long as possible. Its supermarket marketing strategy. If you know how to use Google its a couple of mouse clicks away.

I can come to only two conclusions. Either you are a Linux newbie who has used it for a while, like what they see but are frustrated they can’t get to the power because its not ‘easy’ like Windows. The other is less gregarious, you are just lazy.