Recently Dell did something amazing. The Austin, TX computer giant admitted on one of their Web pages that "Ubuntu [Linux] is safer than Microsoft Windows." (PDF Link) But, now Dell has backed off to the far more generic "Ubuntu is secure".

In a brief but bold statement, Dell's U.S. website suggests that Ubuntu is safer than Microsoft Windows, especially for customers looking to avoid viruses. The statement, spotted by TheVARguy.com, also suggests that Dell will begin shipping Ubuntu 10.04 of selected U.S. systems sometime in mid-2009. Here's an update.

Dell appears to be back-tracking on a claim made on its website that Ubuntu is safer than Windows.

In a short but bold statement, Dell's U.S. website says Canonical's Ubuntu Linux is safer than Microsoft Windows. Here's the scoop and the implications from The VAR Guy.

On June 10, The VAR Guy was first to report Dell considered Ubuntu Linux safer than Windows. But now, Dell has apparently updated its web site to remove/alter that statement. Of course, Linux conspiracy theorists think Microsoft pressured Dell to make the change. Is that really the case? Here's the story.

It's a top ten list of why you should buy a Dell with Ubuntu installed. My favorite is "6) Ubuntu is safer than Microsoft Windows.
The vast majority of viruses and spyware written by hackers are not designed to target and attack Linux." Followed by "2) Ubuntu is based on Linux.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical and Ubuntu, sat for a video interview with Dell Cloud Computing Evangelist Barton George. In it, Shuttleworth takes a "service pack" shot at Windows 7 and covers numerous questions about Canonical's business and cloud strategy. Here's the video - plus some perspectives from WorksWithU.

Just when I was getting nervous about Dell's Ubuntu Linux strategy, the PC giant delivered some good news at the OpenSource World conference in San Francisco, according to PC World. The Dell statements don't address all of my concerns but they do restore my faith in Dell's commitment to Ubuntu.

Dell Ubuntu Linux buyers were recently outraged when a price comparison between identical Inspiron 1420 laptops showed that instead of the Ubuntu system being cheaper, it actually ended up costing $225 more than the same laptop with Vista Home Basic Edition.