Pre-install gNewSense on laptops and desktops

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Pre-install gNewSense on laptops and desktops

630 points posted to Software, Desktops and Laptops by libervisco 02/21/07

gNewSense, from http://gnewsense.org/ , is a pure 100% Free Software Ubuntu based GNU/Linux distribution sponsored by the Free Software Foundation, an organization which started the Free Software movement from which the latter Open Source Initiative sprung up. It is the organization behind the GNU General Public License.

gNewSense is special in that it does not contain any code under proprietary licenses at all, and is yet quite usable even for the average user. This means that it is easy to guarantee that all software within gNewSense is completely legally distributable.

The idea is to offer a line of laptops and desktop PCs whose hardware perfectly fits what this GNU/Linux distribution supports (and it doesn't support only a few hardware devices, notably some wifi chips and some Nvidia and ATI cards). It should be quite possible to build a system that doesn't contain any such unsupported parts.

The benefits of doing this is offering a choice for those who wish to have a completely legally free operating system working out of the box on Dell computers. There is a great number of people within the Free Software community who would appreciate having such a choice and would buy it for themselves and recommend it to their relatives and friends.

It would also certainly attract attention of the Free Software Foundation which would publicly commend Dell for offering this choice, which is very good for bettering Dell's reputation within the whole of Free Software and Open Source movements.

If Dell decides to do this, they should brand these boxes by the correct terminology, calling the operating system they are offering as "GNU/Linux" because the GNU Project, sponsored by the Free Software Foundation, started what we today know as GNU/Linux, a popular free operating system that rivals Microsoft Windows. Many of the core and essential components of the OS come from the GNU project.

kdean06 02/21/07	Certainly. I've always strayed from laptops for the simple reason... They don't work! If Dell created a line of laptops running GNU/Linux, and actually supported it, my next computer purchase would be from Dell. In the mean time, I'll stick to custom building my own desktops.
mattflaschen 02/21/07	As an OEM, Dell has the ability to provide a completely Free gNewSense system with fully operational hardware. This would be a very valuable service.
guyjohnston 02/21/07	I completely agree. I'd definitely buy a desktop or a laptop with gNewSense preinstalled (if I needed to buy a new one at the time). As well as the fact that GNU was the first of the major contributing projects to the combined GNU/Linux operating system to be started, and "Many of the core and essential components of the OS come from the GNU project", it's important to know that it's the largest of the various contributions, meaning it's essential to give it credit, rather than only crediting the Linux kernel, which is a secondary contribution. It's only thanks to the GNU operating system that its GNU/Linux variant is a whole OS at all, because it's the only one of the contributing projects which has the goal to create a complete OS (which is free as in freedom), not just a particular application or a small collection of software.
rek2 02/21/07	yes! I agree I will buy this system, myself and mostly everyone at our non-profit http://www.binaryfreedom.info I hope this can become a reality.
dragon_legion 02/21/07	This idea would bring new users to the GNU computers and make Dell quite a bit more popular with the GNU community. It would also give people a different OS choice than Windows and allow them to see how unrestrictive a GNU/Linux distribution is in comparison to Windows.
freed42 02/21/07	Right now Dell needs a strong differentiator, so what better choice is there than gNewSense GNU/Linux? As previous comments have noted, it is sponsored by the FSF (the only such GNU/Linux distribution to my knowledge). Such an offering would attract those of us such as myself who have for years avoided buying or recommending Dell because of the prospect of being forced to buying bundled software having disagreeable terms of use. Dell should realize that the terms of use for gNewSense are far, far more relaxed, which is increasingly attractive to informed consumers.
zeuux 02/21/07	Many computer users always use free software, gNewSense is a entirely free GNU/Linux distribution, and FSF support it too. If Dell could preinstall it, it will better. Bill Xu A Dell user and free software supporter.
markdarb 02/21/07	Such a computer would be extremely popular among free software enthusiasts. Not only would it come with a good alternative operating system; the choice of hardware would also allow the installation of many other free operating systems (something which poses many difficulties on the majority of computer systems due to the lack of free drivers for closed specification hardware). I have hoped for a while that a company will do this; if Dell releases a free software friendly PC I will choose it above any PC package which comes with a commercial operating system.
pvdg 02/22/07	The GNU/Linux community is growing everyday and creating a market for computers pre-intalled with a GNU/Linux distribution. gNewSense is a 100% Free Software GNU/Linux distribution that would make an excellent choice, for if a computer runs gNewSense correctly, it will almost certainly run any other GNU/Linux distribution.
trm 02/22/07	Hardware that works with gNewSense would be certain to play well with other GNU/Linux distributions, too. That'd make it pretty attractive to GNU/Linux users in general.
guyjohnston 02/22/07	markdarb, I don't recommend using the term 'commercial' to refer to an operating system which is proprietary. We're talking about freedom here, not price, so that adds confusion. Quite a lot of free (as in freedom) is written for commercial reasons these days, by companies such as Novell and Red Hat. Some parts of GNU/Linux were written like this (such as some parts of GNOME), which in a way means that it's also a commercial operating system, which I've got nothing against.
kodali_raghu 02/22/07	I definitely would like to have gNewSense on Dell Laptops & Desktops. This will actually make me get back to Dell :-)
abattis 02/23/07	I would definitely buy systems from Dell if they supported 100% Free Software distributions like gNewSense. I buy around 4 computers a month in my consultancy business.
abattis 02/23/07	I would also like to suggest that a Free Software BIOS is an important part of a fully free system.
guyjohnston 02/23/07	That's a very good point abattis. It's often difficult to get a free (as in freedom) BIOS working as the developers have to support every single motherboard. Having the help of a computer manufacturer to get it working on their hardware would make a big difference.
falmonte 02/23/07	gNewSens is a GOOD distribution to preinstall on Dell notebooks and desktop. I had to pay for Windows software recently to have a Dell laptop, and i like Dell computer, but i don't want Windows, i don't trust in it. If GNU/Linux comes preinstalled i had added more hardware options to it. Also i will recommend to all my contacts to buy a Dell computer with GNU/Linux preinstalled, if you Dell will do it.
andei 02/24/07	yes. adding gNewSense would be an awesome idea. besides being a fantastic GNU/Linux distribution of its own right (based on the rock solid Debian and user friendly Ubuntu) it is on the bleeding edge of free software development by being 100% free. Dell would not only firmly place itself on the free software scene with a decision to install gNewSense on its machines, it would also score a fantasic PR victory by appealing to the dynamic and rapidly growing world wide free software community. I would definitly purchase a Dell computer if it came with gNewSense preinstalled on it.
ernyd 02/24/07	Excellent idea. I am sure it would help to increase Sales of DELL computers.
guyjohnston 02/25/07	There's an idea to have a vote for the GNU/Linux distribution(s) to be offered by Dell at http://www.dellideastorm.com/article/show/63567 . It's probably a good idea to show support for gNewSense there, so it might get 'nominated' if that vote takes place.
sabaki 03/16/07	I'm running gNewSense on my Dell Latitude and it works great. I'd would like to see gNewSense preinstalled on Dell hardware. It is a good choice for people, particularly if they want to be assured that they are running Free Software (Free as in Freedom). By starting from a gNewSense GNU/Linux base system, the user is responsible for his own computer and what he installs on it and knows he doesn't have to worry as much about runnning afoul of any non-free software 'gotchas'. Chuck Bell Open source is OK, as long as it isn't full of holes. Free Software is best.
winoffice 12/16/07	First you wanted Ubuntu Linux, now you want gNewSense Linux????????
jocke 12/17/07	gNewSense is the best GNU/Linux-distribution out there and I support this cause!
tdobson Apr 16	+1 from me. I would definitly have a gnewsense installed Dell. winoffice: whats wrong with gnewsense? have you ever used it? As jocke said, it is the best GNU/Linux Distrobution out there. Check it out!

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