Probably should have posted this in software however, it is more likely to impact the procurement of hardware...

While waiting for alien to convert some VMWare RPMs on a Ubuntu 8.05 VM running on a Ubuntu 7.10 box (Dell Dimension 4600) - this takes a while - I need a faster machine - so I decided to browse around the Dell site and wish and kill a little time. And I discovered...

The Dell web site does not work properly from a Linux box. I tried Firefox 2.0.0.14 and Epiphany 2.20.1. The Dell home page shows a row of pictures - Laptops, Desktops, Servers etc. When you hover over one of these it allows you to select Home, Small/Medium Business, Large Business etc. Except that on Linux the selection list is UNDER the animated content above the row of pictures. I can just see it sticking out to the left when I hover over Laptops. Works fine in Firefox 2.0.0.14 on Windoze.

So if anyone has any dealings with Dell in the near future give them a little Penguin bite :-)

Regards,

Ken

p.s. I have sent feedback though the tool on the Dell web site. It is probably routed to Saturn or someplace. We will see.

Same here--I also posted a problem report.

Interesting, I went to the Canadian site, things work correctly there, well almost. Linux is a well kept secret there.

To find the Ununtu offerings, you have to search on Ubuntu, not linux. If you search on linux, you get a lot of hardware that linux will run on, router, etc.

So for folks from Canada, search Ubutnu...

Dell and open source have always been a little mysterious. They do offer Red Hat Linux on some of their servers and workstations. However, it costs more to have them not install Windoze. It also costs more for them not to include a monitor - if you compare the "Dell Deals" and a custom config. I found a difference of about $200US if I chose to get a T3400 workstation without a monitor which I do not need. Guess I need to buy the deal, sell the monitor and the Windoze CD then use the money to buy more memory (Dell wants their memory more than I do).

Several years ago I purchased a Dell branded 21" Trinitron monitor from a dealer at a computer show. I asked them where they got all the brand new Dell monitors. Seems they were in the business of selling value added CAD systems. They found it cheaper to purchase a workstation bundle from Dell, sell of the monitor, add a 36" CAD monitor, a $2K graphics system and their software rather than just buy the bare computer. Go figure.

Ken