Linus Torvalds has mentioned he purchased a Dell XPS-13 with Ubuntu Linux for his daughter. Now ZDNet shares some trivia from the historical past of “essentially the most well-known Linux laptop computer,” citing a presentation by Barton George, Dell Applied sciences’ Developer Neighborhood supervisor, on the Linux/open-source convention All Issues Open:
First, nonetheless, it is best to know that Dell has supported Linux desktops and laptops for the reason that center 2000s. In 2006, Michael Dell informed me that Dell could be the primary main PC vendor to launch and help desktop Linux — and this proved to be successful. Barton George defined that Dell had at all times carried out nice quantity with these computer systems. Not quantity, just like the Home windows machines, in fact, however sufficient that Dell has at all times supplied Linux-based — primarily Pink Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) powered — workstations.
Nonetheless, none of those machines actually appealed to builders… George introduced on his private weblog what Dell was planning, and his site visitors went from 60 views a day to fifteen,000. Then, as now, there’s a variety of curiosity in laptops that include Linux able to go… Dell received along with Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s dad or mum firm, to ensure all of the drivers had been in place for a top-notch Ubuntu Linux developer desktop expertise. Certainly, the identify ‘Mission Sputnik’ is a nod to Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu founder and Canonical CEO. A decade earlier than the challenge itself, Shuttleworth had spent eight days orbiting the Earth in a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. George and the crew determined “Soyuz” did not have an inspiring ring to it, so the corporate went with “Sputnik” as an alternative.
George continued: “We introduced a beta program for the machine with a ten% off provide. We thought, effectively, we’ll in all probability get 300 folks. As an alternative, we received 6,000. That is the place senior administration mentioned OK, you’ve got received one thing actual.”