Today I had the task of looking on the Dell & HP sites for desktops or workstations that would support Ubuntu and multi-station software. 

The checklist was not long,  I wanted to find a machine which had Ubuntu pre-installed so I knew that there were Linux drivers to support the hardware inside.  As well I wanted to have at least 2  PCI-E slots and 2 PCI slots on the machine in order to support additional video cards.

I was not impressed with the outdated Dell links on Canonical (http://www.ubuntu.com/dell).  They had not been updated since 2007. It shows the latest compatible release as 7.10.  When I clicked on the desktop model listed, I was redirected to the Dell site (http://bit.ly/AD2PU) which has only 3 laptops featured that come pre-installed with Ubuntu.

In the meantime, I had put out some feelers on identica, to see if anyone else had some insights, but it seemed that the above links were the only resource that folks were aware of.  But then a tweet popped in gwibber regarding the pending announcement next week (Aug 09) of new Dell Ubuntu desktop.  http://bit.ly/WSiRA  I am excited to see the model when it is unveiled.

I then switched gears and looked at workstations instead of desktops.  Now there were some models that worked with Redhat, so I added them to my list of possible candiates, as I thought that the hardware worked with a version of Linux, so there may be hope for drivers.

I also found the same issue on the HP site.  No current desktop models certified for Linux, and having to guess if the workstations would fit the criteria.  I was surprised by this, because when I did a search for Linux on the HP site, there were many references to HP working with Linux, but all seemed dedicated to the server side.http://bit.ly/sefBl

I have been working with an energy efficient PC manufacturer, that pre-loads Ubuntu by default (you need to pay extra for Windows license) and have been happy with the hardware (aleutia.com) but when I go to government ministries or large companies they seemed tied to procuring hardware from Dell or HP.

I believe that the adoption of Linux or Ubuntu as a viable desktop OS will be advanced much further if these OEM's step up and provide ready to order models pre-installed.  Their market presence will add credibiltiy to an already great alternative.

On a final note, I am looking forward to the day when I can refer people with confidence to HP or Dell Linux sites, and they can easliy select and order a desktop model.