Either Dell is really going through with putting Linux on their products or they are interested in doing extensive research before making the final decision. In a new desktop Linux survey, Dell begins by asking which models of Dell desktop and notebook systems customers prefer, where they"re used and what applications customers use on them – in other words, Dell wants to know what a Linux desktop system will be used for. Dell"s survey goes on to ask what level of Linux support people want from them. Would support from software vendors and the open-source community be enough, or do consumers want full-scale corporate support? Finally, Dell asks customers which distributions they would most like to see: Novell/SUSE, Red Hat, Fedora, openSUSE or Ubuntu. Users also have the option of nominating their favorite Linux distribution that isn"t on that list.
In the Dell blog that introduces the Linux survey, Matt Domsch, Dell"s Linux software architect, wrote: "We"re crafting product offerings in response, but we"d like a little more direct feedback from you: your preferences, your desires. We recognize some people prefer notebooks over desktops, high-end models over value models, your favorite Linux distribution, telephone-based support over community-based support, and so on. We can"t offer everything -- all systems, all distributions, all support options -- so we"ve crafted a survey to let you help us prioritize what we should deliver for you."