Why the Dell/Ubuntu Deal Won’t Improve Linux’s Market Share

“Over the past few weeks much has been written about Dell’s
decision to offer desktop and notebook PCs that have the Ubuntu
Linux distro installed on them as opposed to Windows. Dell offered
this distro based on overwhelming levels of feedback from the
IdeaStorm community. The community cried out for a Linux distro
(Ubuntu in particular), Dell delivered. But despite the fact that
this is a huge step towards making a Linux distro mainstream, I
firmly believe this move won’t have any significant positive effect
on the Linux market share.

“When you take a few steps back from the furor and zealotry and
take a close look at what’s happened here, you will quickly start
to see the cracks. One problem is that Dell appears to be under the
misguided impression that listening to the IdeaStorm community is
the same as listening to customers. It’s not. Anyone can register
and become an instant member of the IdeaStorm community. What Dell
listened to wasn’t a cross-section of customers, but rather a
pressure group. …”

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