I love the Linux Desktop, it is a lot of fun to work with. But they still have to gain more support in the world before they will really start taking hold I think. If Dell begins selling their desktops with Linux, this might actually be a good thing.

Linspire President Kevin Carmony doesn’t want Dell selling and promoting Linux desktops — at least not yet.

Carmony — whose company’s Linux operating system has found its way onto PCs from retailers Sears.com, Kmart.com, Walmart.com, Amazon.com, and others — says Linux’s move to the desktop centers on the alignment of three keys: technology, demand, and distribution channel.

“All three need to kind of keep pace with each other,” Carmony said in an interview. “I don’t want Dell to do this prematurely. It takes a lot to move their needle.”

Carmony explained that if Dell, recently called out again for its half-hearted desktop Linux efforts, were to undertake a major Linux sales and promotion campaign, the expected return would be huge — and any disappointment would bring another five years of limited, low-light Linux offerings from the high-volume PC giant.

“They don’t create demand, they only fulfill it,” Carmony says. “I don’t want me to be the one pressing Dell [for Linux offerings], I want demand.” Source: NewsForge

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