While we still wait for Dell to keep to its Linux distro inclusion promise, thus far citing “driver support” being a primary concern, the continued waiting seems rather silly to me. What’s funny about this though, is while one Dell spends its time “working on it,” another “Dell” proves that it can be done.

As you can plainly see, much of the over-complication we are seeing thus far with getting Linux onto Dell desktop machines is not as complex as it appears. It’s almost there.

(Above: Michael Dell Looks Different in a Tux)

In many ways, I think that Pirillo really nailed it with his latest comic on the matter. For years, Dell has been made to sound like it was “in bed” with Microsoft. And while many anti-Microsoft critics claim all sorts of outlandish things regarding Microsoft’s OEM requirements, trust me when I say that much of it is bull. Yes, I am sure that Microsoft is not thrilled about Dell’s Linux inclusion these days. However I also know that Dell makes up a HUGE amount of its OEM business. So you had better believe that Dell knows this and frankly, for the first time, honestly has options should things get too sticky in the consumer market with the Microsoft OEM team.

But at the end of the day, I think that Michael has done a good job at demonstrating that having the advantages of both OSes can be a good thing. What I could stand to see much less of is “Linux will never be as good as Windows and blah, blah, blah” type nonsense that I keep reading about. Hate Linux? Awesome, don’t use it. And with that said, I believe that constructive concerns, feedback, or even well thought out, point-by-point rants are just fine. But the mindless ravings that BOTH Windows and Linux users send back and forth needs to stop. So again, for all of you running Windows boxes that wish to try a distro of Linux and fully expect it to behave as you like, please re-read this again — closely. Also bear in mind that I firmly believe that those who are having success and happiness with their existing OS ought to stick with it. If OS X meets your needs, then please use it. The same for Windows and even the same for the different distributions of Linux. But to try something new only to spend the better part of an hour going off on why it sucks (this includes Vista bashers, too) is beyond stupid.

For those of you in the IT game however, I would again, as I did over a year ago, encourage you to invest in a Linux-ready box and take another stab at Ubuntu if for no other reason than to become ready for a coming storm. You can pick one up easily enough, with everything working except codecs, Flash, and Java because of licensing reasons (an easy fix, by the way).

Why bother? Because even here in tiny Bellingham, WA, I have received a few new phone requests from those wanting to know if I support this “Ubuntu thing” the caller(s) recently heard about. These are people who check email, print stuff, and even wander onto eBay once in a while. Like it, hate it, believe it, or even accept it – these consumer changes are coming; you had darn well better get over your “Linux discomfort” and join the rest of us in becoming capable with more than just Windows. If you are trying, rest assured Windows user friendly help is coming.

So once Dell begins rolling these mainstream distro boxes out, you had darned well better be remotely competent in backing up data, restoring X, updating video drivers, assisting in hardware installs, and offering distro upgrades. Understanding how to do these things will be a must if you wish to participate in the mixed OS world of PC repair. Still dislike this “Linux nonsense?” Too bad! You’ve just been outvoted.

When all is said and done, Windows will, indeed, continue to remain top dog. I support this completely because it lights a fire under the appropriate butts to make newbie friendly distros like Ubuntu, Linspire/Freespire, and Linux Mint (Flash, codecs, expanded Wi-Fi support, and Java out of the box) even more usable for the end user. I also believe that for the time being, Windows is a smarter choice for specific enterprise situations as Novell has not impressed me much here. Ubuntu tries, but I see it succeeding in schools before the business world, in my opinion.

So go ahead and call me a “Linux zealot.” While you may choose to do so, I would point to the fact that I am not as much of a Linux nut as you might think. I live in the real world. I believe that each OS option is becoming a critical piece in this thing we call personal computing.

[tags]Dell,Linux,windows,vista,Ubuntu,drivers,nonsense[/tags]