Dell has just this week released what its calls its first “open source” PC. Shipping with FreeDOS and labeled the E510n, the PC is designed to cater to those who may have misgivings about buying a machine prepackaged with Windows, whether they want it or not.
There’s just one problem. Did YOU know about it? Neither did I for a good while. Dell never made a press release announcing its availability. And on the Dell website, the E510n is nowhere to be found. The closest match is this model, which only costs about, oh, $10 less than the comparably-configured Windows-included model… well actually, the Windows-included model costs WAY less when you consider that it includes a free 17-inch LCD flat panel monitor… while the “Open Source” version is SO
“open source” that it’s BYO Monitor.
End result? You could buy a regular Dell PC, strip off Windows and be done with it.
It’s a shame that Dell is so in bed with Microsoft that it can’t even do a haf-hearted attempt to mollify the open source community with decently-priced hardware, much less even consider a linux offering. Dell shouldn’t have even tried.