I thought that hell would probably be frozen solid before I’d ever type those words, but I must give credit where credit is due. Yay, Dell. Yes, Dell, Inc., as in, “Dude, you’re gettin’ a…”

Rumours have been flying lately and there was a press release on Canonical yesterday (maybe day before), but today, it’s officially official; a large image displayed on Dell’s site. “Coming soon by popular demand, Ubuntu.” Of course there are still the “Dell recommends Windows Vista” banners, and it’s still possible that Dell will offer only low-end Linux systems, stuffed into a dusty little corner of their website where no one who wasn’t given a direct link would ever find them like HP did when they claimed that selling Linux “failed” (how can something fail when it was never given a chance?), but it’s at least a start, and an opportunity for Linux to make real inroads to the average user’s desktop. Not that I’m convinced that Linux is ready for the average user (“My operating system? Operating system. Um…is it AOL?”), but neither is Windows, and they’ve been using that for years. I’m not a Linux zealot and indeed, don’t really give a flying fuck what OS anyone uses, but if Mac and Linux present any significant threat to MS’s current desktop monopoly, it can bode only well for users. Big businesses with no competition nipping at their heels get lazy and cheap (see: ISP, cable and telephone companies).