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There’s quite a bit of speculation going on at what distribution of Linux Dell will choose to put onto its desktops or if they’ll even attempt to put Linux on the desktop.

In my opinion, it would be smart for them to do this...mainly because there is so much marketing momentum behind this right now they’d be a fool not to take advantage of it...and they didn’t have to pay a dime for it either. Most companies would kill for their blog to receive as much attention as the Dell Linux Blog and Idea Storm has gotten in the past few months...and they’d kill for the huge amounts of media attention the Dell Linux Survey and Announcement of Certified Linux Computers are also getting.

I think Dell will ride this Linux wave in...but not how most people think they will. Most people think Dell will listen to tons of people filling out the surveys telling them Ubuntu. But examining this from a business perspective and Ubuntu becomes the lowest choice on the totem pole. I believe they’ll surprise everyone with a different move that would get them the most out of their business AND personal Computer lines. I think they will (if they choose any distribution at all) choose Fedora Core or RHEL Desktop and not Ubuntu.

Why would they do this? To be tied to Red Hat more of course. This allows them to do less to certify their hardware for Red Hat and you can bet that if Linux is on the desktop pre-installed that they’ll offer it on the server. I think this would be a good deal for both Red Hat and for Dell...even though it’s Fedora it opens the door a bit and since Fedora is a test ground for RHEL, choosing it is beneficial all around.

I believe (since we’re speculating here) that Dell will snuggle up to Red Hat as much as they possibly can and that it will benefit both of their businesses in a HUGE way.

The thing that makes me think this is Red Hat’s sudden (re)interest in the desktop has odd timing. Is it purely coincidental? Is it random chance? Is it just speculation? Who knows. One thing is for certain...when a company get’s big, nothing it does is pure chance.

And what of Novell? If we truly want to speculate, Novell is also a better choice than Ubuntu...because of the existing agreement with Microsoft, Suse also looks better for Dell because of their own ties to Microsoft. So, we’ve got two distros that have more going for them than Ubuntu does...which may or may not be a good thing. So who will Dell choose if they choose at all?

Anyone else care to speculate?

Are you leery of installing Linux onto your Windows PC? Would you like to try out this Linux thing but are you reluctant to make room for it on your current hard drive for fear of messing something up?...Good News! You can now install Debian (and Ubuntu) safely from your Windows desktop WITHOUT MESSING UP YOUR HARD DRIVE! How? Simple. Visit either of these websites:

Debian:

Install Debian in Windows

Ubuntu:

Install Ubuntu in Windows

Follow the instructions and enjoy Linux safely and securely without nuking Windows. It’s like a crutch for those of you reluctant to put the full weight on that one foot. If you are confused about what this Linux thing might be...visit this flash presentation to get an idea and welcome to the world of Linux! We’re glad you came aboard! Hopefully, you’ll make the choice many have already made to run Linux exclusively on our PCs

There's been quite a few postings and articles on new users and Linux flourishing during the past year.  The reason I believe this to be is that desktop Linux is approaching or has arrived at the tipping point where it can gain mainstream adoption.  People are seeing Linux as a viable alternative to Microsoft.  My wife recently had me nuke the dual boot computer and go with Linux due to Windows Media Player 11 restrictions set to come out when it is released.  Her main concern is being told by companies how she should be able to listen to her music after she's bought it...kinda like buying a car and the dealer tells you where you can drive it and how you can.  She's in the process of converting all her mp3's to ogg's to 1) save space and 2) because they sound better and are in a free format.  Thus far, she's not missing Windows.

Many blogs also have taken up this topic and, when determining the best Linux desktop, gushed about Xandros, Freespire, Ubuntu, and MEPIS.  The thing I find odd is that they forget the little guy that's outpacing all the others...and that little guy is PCLinuxOS.  Let's take a look at a few reasons why PCLinuxOS is, IMHO, the best Linux flavor for new users.