Dell offers "open source ready" desktop PC

Round Rock (TX) - Dell today announced that it is reacting to "growing consumer demand for open source ready" computers and now offers a version of its n510-series desktop PC that ships with an empty harddrive and a FreeDOS disc.

There are not a lot of reasons for most consumers out there to buy a PC without a preinstalled Windows operating system and without applications. But just in case you just can’t live with Windows on your new PC, Dell offers a choice. Somewhat hidden on its consumer PC website, the system builder now lists two versions of its n510 series that are marketed as "open source ready" - which essentially means that the new "E510n1" models come with a blank harddrive.

Interestingly, the E510n1’s base configurations starts at a higher level than the Windows-based E510, resulting in an overall higher price for an "open source system." For example the n1 comes with twice the memory (512 MByte), a dedicated graphics card (ATI X300-based) with 128 MByte shared memory and an upgraded sound card. Starting price is currently $774, which is $30 less than a similarly equipped E510 with preinstalled Windows XP. According to a spokesperson, Dell would expect buyers of the "open source system" to be "more tech savvy" than users who are shopping for a Windows system and therefore demand more advanced hardware features.

The spokesperson conceded that there is still somewhat "limited demand" for Linux desktops in the consumer space, which is a reason that the company does not offer the E510n1 with Linux preinstalled. Also, Dell does not believe that any of the Linux distributions currently available on the market has emerged as a "distribution for everyone" yet and therefore chose to leave the decision for or against a particular Linux version to the buyer.