Hmm, your question "given this scenario, what is the advantages of buying the Dell with Linux pre-installed." really doesn't make any sense to me at all. The closest question that would make sense to me would be something like "Why on earth would anyone buy anything else other than a Dell with a linux pre-installed".

Assuming we're not talking about "Damn Vulnerable Linux" which was written as a teaching aid then the only sensible answers to that would be things like "Because i wanted a toaster" and answers like that. As linux is already the main OS on small devices like watches and stuff i would guess the toaster is more likely to have linux than be made by Dell Lol

Anyway, thanks for this question. It's been fun )
Good luck and i hope you enjoy linux as much as i have so far
Many regards to all from
Tom

linuxchallenger:

After that helpful and well delivered homily by Tom6, and the good words from other members, senior member and guru, I guess nothing more needs me speak of but answer your first but less critical point:

Q--"I am posting this in order to get an answer to whether Linux will be superior to Windows if it were no longer free."--

A--If Linux were no longer free? I cannot imagine a near future yet today how might it happen for Gnu/Linux to become PROPRIETARY the way Microsoft Windows is since the beginning. To understand why please if you have time visit these locations and learn what is happening behind "Linux"--
http://www.gnu.org/
http://www.fsf.org/
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html
http://www.fsf.org/licensing/

Hope this helps. Googluck.

I use windows fairly regularly.

My problem was spending $300 on a couple of windows vista ultimate coasters. Tried and tried to install, called the windows helpline and apparently most of my windows vista certified compatible hardware was not yet vista compatible (new system build lol) and I was told it would not run on my brand new system lol.

Slackware install went without a hitch (just a few modifications were needed), debian and quite a few other linux distro's with few problems, and even the most troublesome I could install and get running on my vista certified hardware with the help of this site alone... but not vista lol. To boot, all of my old hardware is supported and works as well.

Now windows 7. Errr... not again lol. I think that everyone that bought vista should get a free copy at least after putting up with vista. Even once the vista updates got to the point of running on my system, it must be re-installed regularly (like all the previous versions of windows I have used). So far I have only re-installed for fun or a change of scenery or to just practice setting it up. Its actually only ever irrecoverably crashed once forcing a re-install and windows has been through quite a few re-installs over the same time period and I use linux MOST of the time.

My systems will most likely not be seeing windows 7 unless it happens to appear in a banner on a website that I am visiting.

Ahah, i totally missed that as being the question! lol

I guess it depends what you mean by free. Freedom of Speech has had a high price and is still a luxury only enjoyed by a very few people on our tiny planet. The emphasis is on 'unrestricted' rather than cheapness. Someone estimated that the lines of code written in linux 10years ago was worth a total of 10billion dollars just in terms of wages per line of code - the fact of that work being given for free makes it even more precious. Priceless rather than cheap.

I enjoyed those links The interview with Stephen Fry was good. I liked Ubuntu's one with Nelson Mandela too but i can't find a link except through an Ubuntu desktop, it's in the "Examples" folder on a LiveCd. I think this link, which i got from Malekmustaq's
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html

Good luck and regards from
Tom