Citing slow demand for the operating system on client PCs over the last several quarters, a Dell spokesman said the PC maker chose to stop preinstalling Red Hat Linux on desktop and notebook models in the US.
The Australian office, however, has decided to hold off on plans to remove Linux as an option in the pre-installation stage. Rob Small, corporate communications director at Dell Computer Australia, explained the US move was merely a result of customer demand, and not part of a global move to remove Linux.
Although desktop level demand for Linux operating systems has been relatively low in Australia, Small said Dell has seen growth in demand for Linux in a server environment.
In response to the US announcement, Dell has moved quickly to ease the concerns of users who have already invested in Linux-installed PCs and notebooks.
Customers demanding Linux will still be "supported on a Dell-plus process", which refers to factory integration of standard operating systems, according to Small.
The US move was not unexpected. Dell executives have suggested that the operating system has more potential for workstations and servers. The desktop decision was largely a financial one, influenced by the slow PC market, said Dell spokesman David Graves.
Dell has not bid goodbye to the operating system altogether. The company continues to offer workstation and server models with Red Hat preinstalled. Dell recently began installing the latest version of Red Hat, version 7.1. In addition, Dell will likely continue to offer Red Hat Linux to larger customers who wish to custom-configure desktop PCs or notebooks with the operating system.
Despite an initial splash last year, and efforts by groups such as Gnome to build graphical user interfaces to run on top of Linux, it has been difficult for the operating system to get a foot in the door of the desktop market, said Red Hat spokeswoman Melissa London.
"With Linux, the productivity suites just aren't there," London said. As a result, she added, "you're fighting a pretty big uphill battle" to establish the operating system on the desktop.
"Not that we're not trying, but obviously the biggest growth is on the server," she said.
Other PC makers, such as IBM, continue to offer Linux preloaded on certain models such as the ThinkPad notebooks. However, they report that the majority of business is on the server side.
Dell says it will keep an eye on demand for Linux on the desktop.
"If things change, and there's an upswing in demand on the client side, we're open to going back to it," Graves said. Linux "has been very successful on the server side."
