After having a meeting with a medium sized business owner about his need for a website it became painfully clear to me that "we" as the FOSS "community" need to do a much better job at making what it is we are offering more visible. We need something that communicates what FOSS is and what benefits there are for using FOSS applications.

When Dell first announced that it would be releasing Ubuntu Linux-powered consumer desktops and laptops, some people saw it as more of a stunt than a serious business move. They were wrong. Dell has already expanded its consumer Linux line, and now it has announced that it will soon be offering

Free and open source software (FOSS) is only beginning to find a foothold in computer science departments in North America. FOSS tools may be used in teaching or be the subject of research or special committees, but few departments include courses that introduce students to the FOSS community.

In the past several days, rumors have surfaced that Dell would not be offering extended warranty and CompleteCare hardware support options for its Ubuntu Linux desktop and laptops. And indeed, if you went to Dell's Ubuntu PC buying site, you'd find those options missing.

In the US Dell has famously started offering Ubuntu on selected machines as a direct alternative to XP or Vista. Fortunately these machines cost less than their Windows counterparts and that's good, but Dell really should consider moving beyond offering Ubuntu; and here's why.

Imagine how successful Dell's Ubuntu offering could be if just one Dell Ubuntu machine was put in retail stores. If people knew of an alternative to Windows, they would go for it! So what do you say, Dell? Why don't you try to put at least one of your Ubuntu machines offered in retail stores? Please add your support!

I have just upgraded my new Dell computer that came with Ubuntu 7.04 to the pre-release version of Ubuntu 7.10 (Beta).

One year after Dell became the first tier-one OEM to offer modern Linux preloaded on desktops, Dell hasn't blown up, its customers haven't revolted and the Earth still spins on its axis.

It's been only a handful of months since the OEM began fielding Web-borne requests to add the open-source operating system to its preloaded platform mix, and Dell is already a few weeks into filling orders for the penguin-loving public. It's too early to judge the success or failure of Dell's mainstream Linux foray.