Gadget lust: Dell Inspiron 910 shipping with Ubuntu Linux

Dell Inspiron 910 to run Ubuntu Linux

(Credit: Dell.com)

Word on the street is Dell will release a new Inspiron 910 sub-notebook (I prefer the term 'laptot') on August 22 shipping with Ubuntu Linux. Further leakage from Gizmodo says that the machine will be $299.

I've written in the past about how sub-notebooks are a great opportunity for Linux on the desktop. There is no need to run Windows (or MacOS for that matter) when you are using the machine primarily for browser-based applications.

I've been running Ubuntu on a Thinkpad X300 for the last 2 weeks and while it's still a bit too geeky, the issues I have run into appear to be largely due to the fact that IBM doesn't officially support Ubuntu (yet.) With the exception of Adobe Photoshop I have yet to run into any business reason why I can't use Ubuntu full-time.

In light of consumer response to Vista (not great if you haven't been paying attention) there is an opening for Linux to swoop in and grab some market share. The big hardware vendors just need to start playing along.

[jaimevaz]

This is very exciting news, and the Ubuntu "remix" looks pretty slick. Glad Dell got dibs on that.

Also -- the de-facto industry term for these products is "Netbook." No one says "sub-notebook," "laptot" or even "ultra-portable" anymore. Sorry dude, but 2006 called, and they want their terminology back.

[ricegf]

@jaimevaz: Sub-notebook gets 2.3 million hits on Google, Netbook gets 8.9 million - but UMPC (Ultra-Mobile PC) gets over 15 million. Wouldn't "de-facto" imply that *more* people use it than the alternative? Sorry, dude... (For the record, I use English to communicate, and any of the above work just fine for me.)

[munish666]

Hey Dave,
I' ve been using Adobe Photshop CS2 on Ubuntu (on Wine) for a while now and it works fine (there is a bit of a performance hit but not very noticeable for me at least)

http://wiki.winehq.org/AdobePhotoshop

Google seems to be throwing their considerable weight behind making this work :)

Regards
Munish

[jerpie]

@ricegf: UMPC is an generic umbrella term for many different types and form factors of devices. The Dell Insprion 910 is a netbook, which is evident by it's form factor and specs. The only reason UMPC has so many hits is because it is a generic term and it has existed for a longer period of time... not because it is accurate.

Regardless of what it's called, I've been waiting for this particular netbook to be released (hopefully later today) and will be picking it up ASAP!

[pmnb]

Any update on a release/ship date for this puppy?