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Linux has had a serious and enthusiastic supporter in Dell since 2007, when Dell became the first major computer OEM that succeeded in blooming on the market with pre-installed Linux desktop. 2015 brings for the fans of Dell and Linux a new touch: Ubuntu 14.04, highly recommended by the engineers of Dell that have attached it to the Precision M3800 workstation laptop, and also to the Dell XPS13.
The Service Pack available for these two systems is SP1, making the dreams of Linux come true with the LTS (long term support) that Ubuntu provides its users. The date of the release is set to April 2015.
Barton George, Dell’s Director of Developer Programs has stated in a blog post that the necessities of programmers have ground and they wanted to have a bigger and better version of a laptop that runs Ubuntu Linux and that’s how they thought about the Precision M3800. Not much they, but him, Jared Diminguez, a Dell software engineer that has gathered all data and combined it with his grand passion, in order to make big efforts seem as easy as batting one’s eyelashes.
All these struggles are part of a project initiated by Dell, that is called the “Project Sputnik”, which started in the year 2012. The purpose of it was to thank all developers who really wanted to work with professional laptops that use the Linux operation system, especially for the features that it offers. Of course, these laptops are not only for enterprises, as anyone can buy them freely.
Initially, Dell made a “developer edition” of the XPS 13 Ultrabook, that has gone through many changes over the years, as far as the hardware part is concerned. However, for those who want a more powerful engine, the M3800 is a better choice, because of its 16 GB of RAM, high quality processors engraved with the Intel Core i7’s fame on them, graphics offered by NVIDIA and an optional 4K display. No additional software or drivers are provided by Dell in this model, mostly because all the needs that a user can have while working on this laptop, are met through the Linux Ubuntu operating system.
Independently from Dell, there are many projects that bring Linux to the peak, such as “Purism’s Librem 15”. Companies like System76 and ZaReason also specialize in Linux laptops.
However, having a Linux laptop isn’t a cheap deal. Nothing under $200 is worth buying, so if quality services and performance is needed, the amount of money that should be gathered is $1.533, for the beautiful Dell Precision M3800.
Image Source: UPANH
