[Am-info] Dell and Linux

[Mitch Stone]

It's hard to imagine Dell "responding" to Wal-Mart. I've brought this up 
before, but even at Wal-Mart, it's impossible to order PCs configured 
identically -except- for the OS, just as it is at Dell and everywhere else 
I've checked. Clearly, Microsoft's OEM contracts forbid resellers from 
disclosing the price their customers pay for Windows.

On Sunday, May 12, 2002, at 08:27 , Roy Bixler wrote:
>
> I consider the most interesting recent development in this area to be 
> that,
> Walmart gives the option of selling a PC without a pre-installed OS.  
> Also,
> as this article at Newforge
> ("http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/05/02/1514240&mode=thread&tid=7"
> )
> shows, Walmart does have Linux users in mind.  Dell claims that they don'
> t
> preinstall Linux or other operating systems because "there is no customer
> demand."  I wonder what they think of shipping a PC without an OS and 
> being
> able to knock a nice percentage off the price.  If Walmart's initiative is
> successful, Dell will have to respond somehow.

   Mitch Stone
   mitch@accidentalexpert.com