1 of 3 Dell Inspiron Mini Netbooks Sold With Linux 230
christian.einfeldt writes "According to an article in Laptop Magazine on-line, one-third of Dell Inspiron Mini 9s netbooks are sold with the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Dell senior product manager John New attributed the sales volume to the lower price point of the Ubuntu Linux machines. And the return rate of the Ubuntu Linux machines is approximately equal to that of comparable netbooks sold with Microsoft Windows XP. Dell spokesperson Jay Pinkert attriutes the low return rate to Dell's good communications with its customers, saying 'We have done a very good job explaining to folks what Linux is.'"
Re:The problem are the other two thirds (Score:1, Informative)
Re:The problem are the other two thirds (Score:2, Informative)
well dell currently offers the xp version with more ram at less cost (after a $150 "rebate") , so i think i'll just be putting on ubuntu after market. (only problem i can see is getting rid of the stupid microsoft sticker from the bottom without it becoming all gummy
Re:Sounds good to me (Score:1, Informative)
...I need Windows for a few things.
No you don't; you need wine [wine.com]. :-)
Cheers.
Re:"HP's Linux" (Score:2, Informative)
The 1 GB limitation is probably due to the way they have the kernel compiled. The Linux kernel has a 1 GB limitation unless you have High Memory enabled. If I remember correctly, the kernel runs faster if High Memory is disabled, which is why Dell probably has the kernel configured that way. Linux mini 9s come standard with 512MB. Way too much information that I don't understand can be found here: http://kerneltrap.org/node/2450 [kerneltrap.org]
As for the yahoo toolbar junk, I can't defend Dell on that one...
Thanks for the UNR link, I didn't know about that. I actually ordered a mini 9 with Linux a week ago when Dell was having a sale on em. ($284 w/ 1mp webcam, 1gb ram, 8 gb ssd) Can't wait for it to get here.
Re:It's a favorite for Hackintoshers (Score:4, Informative)
Oh no, maybe .001% of people are doing that.
The number of hackintoshes on planet earth is probably in the hundreds total.
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:5, Informative)
Drivers are for the kernel, not for a distribution.
Re:So.. (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:3, Informative)
What's disturbing is that Asus chooses hardware that has bad drivers and a manufacturer that just does not want to co-operate... Some Eees have a pretty good wireless chip but for some reason they are now using the awful Ralink hardware that A) sucks on every platform and B) has linux drivers so bad that they're not even enabled on the default kernel build.
I would expect a manufacturer to bundle drivers (Score:2, Informative)
It's not a distro responsibility to make sure all the devices have current drivers, it's the manufacturer's job to do that.
DEMAND THEY DO IT.
And accept nothing less.
Re:The problem are the other two thirds (Score:5, Informative)
A not-insignificant chunk is running OS X, as well.
How To: Hackintosh a Dell Mini 9 Into the Ultimate OS X Netbook [gizmodo.com]
Re:Sounds good to me (Score:1, Informative)
You don't need Visual Studio. You can use free IDE like Code::Blocks.
Re:"HP's Linux" (Score:4, Informative)
So after the beginning of January, Dell Ubuntu no longer has the "crippled kernel that only recognizes 1GB of RAM", it supports the full 2GB.
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:5, Informative)
The problem with the GP's comments is that he fails to take into consideration that XP (and other versions of Windows) REQUIRE the use of:
a) Antivirus software. Yes, you CAN do without it, and many technically minded people do. But you HAVE to know how to properly secure your machine and you will still need to use a one-shot scanner like Trend Micro's on occasion. For the AVERAGE (IE: most of the population) user, they will want AV software. Once that's installed you can kiss your speed goodbye. Especially if you load up what MOST users load up, either Symantec or Macaffee.
b) Anti-Spyware software. See Antivirus software.
Those two items, particularly the first one, completely KILL any speed advantage Windows has, handing the speed mantle to any of a dozen linux distros quite easily. Again, to keep it honest, we MUST compare standard setups to standard setups. Linux does not require AV software, Windows does. Simple fact of life in the modern computing world.
So, rather then your strawman argument of stupid people starting the "Linux is faster" meme, it was actually experienced users used to dealing with (and setting up) multiple platforms that have seen the difference and let others know.
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:2, Informative)
I've had similar experiences with Ubuntu. Its just too damn bloated.
But Linux is just the kernel and it is indeed fast. What distros pile on top of the kernel is what can slow the whole OS down if they are not careful.
Ubuntu's not even that bad about it, in my experience (8.04.1, 8.10). After I log in, when I see my full desktop prepared and my wireless Internet ready to go, the system is ready for me to start doing stuff. Kubuntu (8.04.x), I wanna give maybe 1 or 2 seconds to get settled after I get my Internet.
However, on logging into Windows Vista (or even, to a lesser extent, XP), I wanna wait five or ten minutes for the system to free up the CPU before I start doing stuff, because in my experience, Windows likes to do a lot of stuff in the background.
Re:Netbooks and Linux (Score:3, Informative)
That said, I don't know how Ralink's chipsets work on netbooks. I have a Dell Inspiron 1525n with that Intel wireless chipset mentioned above (no problems there, either). If you're having problems with the Ralink drivers on a netbook such as the Eee PC, though, I'd look into the rt2x00 project [serialmonkey.com] for some possible answers.
Australia (Score:1, Informative)
In Australian, we can't buy a Dell Mini 9 with Linux. It has to come shipped with XP, which we then blow away.
I'm sure Microsoft love the fact they have 100% market share of Windows on Australian Netbooks.
Re:What, 33% market share and we're complaining? (Score:3, Informative)
It's just that specific model. Netbooks are the new hot thing, but they aren't exactly the biggest chunk of the market as of today. So it's not like it's 33% of their Inspiron line or something. So I don't find the math to be implausible on its face, especially when we're talking about comparing a sales number with a completely different metric.
In any event, just having that Tier 1 support, and having it apparently work out well in that line, is something to get excited about.
Oh, and btw, that 0.2% absolute delta between April 08 and January 09 is actually a 33% increase in Linux market share.