MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-07-07 |
| FROM | Mike Richardson - NYLXS PRESIDENT
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Dell to Offer Linux-Loaded PCs in Europe (fwd)
|
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 07 Jul 2004 06:04:25 -0400
From: Michael L. Richardson
To: miker-at-nylxs.com
Subject: Dell to Offer Linux-Loaded PCs in Europe
from:
http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040706/D83LHVQG0.html
Dell to Offer Linux-Loaded PCs in Europe
Email this Story
Jul 6, 5:55 PM (ET)
By MATTHEW FORDAHL
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A line of Dell Inc. (DELL) desktop computers
running a version of the Linux operating system will be sold in Europe
by a reseller, broadening alternative offerings to Microsoft Corp.
(MSFT)'s ubiquitous Windows software.
The computers being sold online by Questar of Milan, Italy, will ship
with Lindows Inc.'s Linspire operating system - in English- or
Italian-language versions - and will receive Dell technical support,
Questar said Tuesday.
Starting at about $575, the systems will be targeted at businesses,
schools and consumers.
"This is a winning combination for the European community - Dell's
highly recognized brand and service package coupled with Questar's Linux
sales expertise," Michael Robertson, chief executive of San Diego-based
Lindows, said Tuesday.
The Dell OptiPlex systems loaded with Linspire are available only
through Questar. Dell was not offering any Linspire-based systems on its
Web site. Though it halted Linux computer sales to businesses in 2001
because of low demand, Dell now sells workstations running Red Hat Inc.
(RHAT)'s version of Linux.
On Tuesday, Dell spokesman Jeremy Bolen said Questar purchases the
computers from the PC giant and then resells them to its customers. He
said Questar is a direct customer of Dell and not a partner.
"That's the extent of their relationship with us," he said.
Linux, which is freely distributed, has been a popular operating system
for servers but has only recently made some inroads on the desktop PC.
Red Hat Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. (SUNW), Novell Inc. (NOVL) and
others are now offering user-friendly distributions.
Dell's biggest rival, Hewlett-Packard Co., announced this spring that it
was broadening its desktop Linux offerings for corporate customers. On
Tuesday, the company said it ships about 100,000 Linux desktops per
quarter, with roughly half going to Asia.
The basic Questar system ships with an Intel Celeron processor, 256
megabytes of memory and a 40- gigabyte hard drive. The package also
includes the free OpenOffice productivity suite - which includes a word
processor and spreadsheet application - and a year of access to a
Lindows site that simplifies the installation of other free software.
No similar configurations are shown at Dell's U.S. Web site, though a
low-end OptiPlex PC running a Pentium 4 with Windows starts at about
$400.
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