Dell Now Shipping Ubuntu 8.04 LTS PCs

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS had shipped back in April, but up until now owners of Dell PCs would have had to install this "Hardy Heron" update manually if they were interested in benefiting from the Linux 2.6.24 kernel, GNOME 2.22, and the other improvements within this desktop Linux distribution. Today, however, Dell has announced that they have begun shipping select desktops and notebooks with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

The first Dell consumer products with an option for Ubuntu 8.04 are the XPS M1330N, Inspiron 1525N, and Inspiron 530N. The Dell XPS M1330N notebook starts out at just under $1,000 USD with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and Intel GMA 3100 graphics. For those looking for something a bit cheaper, the Inspiron 1525N from Dell starts out at just $549 USD. Of the three "Dellbuntu 8.04" PCs today, the Inspiron 530N is the only desktop. This PC starts out at $449 with an Intel Pentium processor, Intel GMA 3100 graphics, and a 19" flat panel monitor.

In addition, next month Dell will be launching the XPS M1530n and Studio 15n with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS.

The announcement of Dell starting to ship Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron" on its PCs was made this afternoon on the Direct2Dell blog. Like the Ubuntu 7.10 PCs, these with Ubuntu 8.04 from Dell will ship with "out of the box" DVD playback support.