Get ready for the new machines that are built to run WIndows 8. They will have a TPM installed that only has MS WIndows as a boot option. Booting from USB/CDROM will now be impossible if the BIOS vendor doesn't give you a way to disable the TPM or reload a new boot signature. So, If you're thinking of getting a new machine this year, you better do it before WIndows 8 becomes official. Once that comes out, you might have to switch to an ARM-based machine to escape the Microsoft monopoly.

that is a horrible thing for the computer world, so much for originality, all the computers will look and function the same.. all using a bloated, memory hungry, money robbing operating system.. We need it to change FAST!

Have you guys heard about Project Sputnik? It's a pilot Dell is running for a Ubuntu based developer laptop. There's more detail on the Idea Storm page.

Yes i offer my customers that choice as well. it's their computer let them decide what goes on it.. that is the way it should be..

Hi dell, I would like to buy a system. Umm, I do not want McAfee nor Windows. I would prefer other programs such as Ubuntu and Avast. I am sorry sir but we only ship with Windows and please sir you cannot order without McAfee and gain the discounts that we offer. We are forcefed options that we do not want and people who know far less order far more Windows programs. Like they said, it is all about the money. people make changes. We should all change.

I don't understand why most of Daniweb is so fond of Linux, You can do programming on Windows and Mac just fine. Why get some free, badly designed, awful performace and opensource to ruin your computer with? That's probably what came to Dell's mind.

There are many viruses for Linux too.
Dell dislikes linux probably because it may give them a bad reputation.
I mean. :(){ :|: & };: is basically all you need to crash your system completely.
And in case you guys thought Windows is the only operating system which is vulnerable to "real" malware, then here's the Wikipedia page clearly explaining that Linux users are just as vulnerable as Windows users!

@HTMLperson5: Oh... I see you're still trolling the boards. You know, there are days I actually miss usenet...

At everyone else: please don't feed the tolls.

All Operating System has the same virus thread !!! No one is better or worse !!! It's the Hackers and Virus creators that decide who they want to attack ... And yes You don't need a virus to kill any operating system I have discovered to do something and all OS world wide will be out for a duck ... sorry can not publish it here !!! My multi operating system Mos 1.0 uses an antivirus which is installed by default The user just configure it and virus scanning is done in the background as you work surf receive or send emails etc ... Hackers does not concentrate there efforts on Linux, UNIX or netBSD(Mac OSX does not exist its netBSD-5.1) go see now http://www.netbsd.org/ and here you see products using netBSD http://www.netbsd.org/gallery/products.html Software products based on NetBSD

Apple's Darwin  (This is your Mac OSX wake-up freeware sold at sky rocket price)
Castle Technology Ltd: USB software and Network stack
CentreCOM WR54-ID
Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network
FSMLabs' RTCore/BSD
fdgw
Ghost for Unix (g4u)
NetBSD/i386 firewall project
NetBSD Live! CD
The OSKit
QNX
SEIL routing software based on NetBSD
wifiBSD
Wasabi Storage Builder64

Geting to based on Mos 1.0 is a Combination of freeBSD and Linux at first then I added a Wine API) All software that runs on netBSD(Mac OSX) can be unconditionaly run or in worst case be recompiled and run on most linux UNIX or Mos system !!! If software excist for Mac OSX then its allready ready to run on LINUX UNIX !!!! I compile lots of software created for netbsd(Mac OSX) and it compiles without modification so stop BILLSHIT its not ported talk to Linux LIES !!! Its Mac OSX ready means its UNIX rerady Means it is Linux ready !!!

DELL'S problem is ... I have the same ... in the begining the user is lost and phone all the time .. I have made notes of all there questions and answers needed and now when I give a Mos 1.0 computer nobody phonesback because I have prepared a list of Question Answers and that is all !!! THE USER FIND HIMSELF ON A SYSTEM WERE YOU DONT NEED TO CONFIGURE OR INSTALL AN ISP and thus confuse them You plug-in ETH and you surf You use WIFI You right click choose preference and in keyword you type your KEY PROVIDED and of you go or if public wifi you just choose and you are connected !!!!!

So DELL take your finger out of your Budtocks and think with your brains situated on the extreme top of your body and not those between your legs

For the Dell Laptops, I dont think even Windows will work out good. The speed of the Dell Laptops are always slow when you compare them with Lenovo, Thinkpad, Acer and other brands.

SNIP

Oh... I see you're still trolling the boards

And I can see you are stalking me
:-[
Just because my opinion is different to yours, it does not at all mean that you should call me a troll and rubbish the valid points I am making.

there are days I actually miss usenet...

There are days when I just wonder why I bother with this crap.

I think much of the dell support members don't know much about Linux, this might be case ? only feww knows.

I like the information.
I prefer ubuntu than windows.
I especially liked this

The tone is pretty much set from the get go with the statement:

"UBUNTU is not a Microsoft Windows operating system - and is not compatible with Microsoft Office programs - so it's important you make the right choice"

I almost don't know whether to laugh or cry at what comes next, in the form of the 'Choose Ubuntu if' argument which consists of just two points:
You do not plan to use Microsoft WINDOWS
You are interested in open source programming

The tone is pretty much set from the get go with the statement:

"UBUNTU is not a Microsoft Windows operating system - and is not compatible with Microsoft Office programs - so it's important you make the right choice"

I almost don't know whether to laugh or cry at what comes next, in the form of the 'Choose Ubuntu if' argument which consists of just two points:
You do not plan to use Microsoft WINDOWS
You are interested in open source programming

It is funny they mentioned "UBUNTU is not a Microsoft Windows operating system".

DEll is a horrible company. I can say that as a former employee, I worked in their support department. Now there was a short brief time that those hired to provide support, was picky chosen employees. Then it came close, within days of Christmas & Dell sat nearly 100 UNQUALIFIED people just have warm bodies sitting in chairs anwering the phone on and after Christmas. Literaly hiring the guy who chose the answer 'compact disc', when asked what medium loses it memory storage when power is lost. Seriously they hired that guy. Every day I read RED NOTES, the RED NOTES cannot be read to customers. For example, a certain model was sold, even though the cpu or the ram WILL fail... probably melt infact. A class action law suit was lost by DEll on this issue. The warranty was extended by 2 years on all these fail by design laptops (The Dell 'L' word). What did Dell do for these people that won a lawsuit against them? Easy... Dell is unable to do anything but cycle broken parts from customer a to customer b, and give custoimer b to customer c & so on for 2 years. Meanwhile making each customer wait at least a month to have laptop sent to depot (for repair). Repeat this at least 3 times and scream really loud at me, then my boss may have possibly signed off on a new replacement for you. Why is Dell unable to ever do anything else ( because they refuse to buy extra parts when taking orders). Every day they have say 100 computers to build, so they order exactly enough parts to build 100 computers. All spare parts come from returns.
Nobody at Dell Support has any idea how to help you with Linux. (there was a few but they all have Linux Administrator jobs now). In fact the U.S. companies taking support calls did such a bad job they were demoted to chat support for Canada. Now you have to call India.
Oh and if you ever wondered if they support person on the phone, has tree charts & drop down menus to follow through, with (+-) symbols, like you file manager, and these are the questions you are being asked, which is why they wont help you unless you (try their step). Well thats cause they do have step by step guides, and your answers lead them to the answer. Sounds great except almost always they end at a dead end without a resolution. Us smart employees just learned to to trick out the logging system to believe we used the step by step, and we all quit.
Lastly, why did i say the laptop is the Dell 'L' word? I was not allowed to say the word Laptop, I had to say notebook or portable computer. Why? obviously cause they were sued for burning someone lap.