Business As Usual For Dell's Linux LineupBusiness As Usual For Dell's Linux Lineup

Dell's partnership with Ubuntu looks to have something the PC maker's last desktop Linux effort did not: a future.Nearly a decade ago, Dell cut a deal with Red Hat to sell both desktop systems and servers with Linux pre-installed. The servers stayed; the desktop systems did not.

Last spring, Dell cut a deal with Ubuntu and reentered the Linux desktop market. This week, Dell announced that it would upgrade its Linux lineup -- currently including two laptop models and one desktop model -- to the latest version of Ubuntu Linux. "Hardy Heron," as it's called in Ubuntu geek-speak, appeared last April to generally strong reviews.

Like most OS updates, "Heron" required a fair amount of product-testing legwork to ensure that it plays well on various hardware configurations. At the same time, Dell added a number of new hardware options to its Linux support list; some of these, such as fingerprint readers and HDMI graphics, probably involved cooking up some custom driver support. And according to a recent post on Dell's corporate blog, the company will offer Linux on at least three more of its laptop models, starting next month.

Clearly, Dell is happy enough with its desktop Linux strategy in general, and with Ubuntu in particular, to continue investing in them. None of this guarantees that Linux will win a permanent role in Dell's desktop product plans. But at this point, you have to like its chances.