Some of Dell’s more reasonably-priced computers are about to become even cheaper. PC beginners will enjoy an easier entry in the computing world and will be treated much friendlier. Why that? Well, due to popular request, Dell have decided to offer a free software suite and a very friendly distribution of Linux for some of their desktop PCs and laptops. They have finally chosen Ubuntu, as it’s one of the friendliest distributions.

Linux is generally regarded as an unfriendly operating system. People are also scared by the fact that they won’t get to run their usual applications they had on the Windows or MacOS system.

However, the interest in Linux has grown lately, as more and more people found out that it can have a friendly interface, that there are certain distributions which need absolutely no configuration, that they’ll find every program they need, that it’s much stabler than its competition, and that the price is… well isn’t.

Ubuntu has been a major player, gaining a lot of popularity in the past years. Its two taglines are ‘It just works’ and ‘Linux for human beings’. This and the fact that Mr. Dell himself has been using Ubuntu on his home laptop for a while might have been the other factors that have lead to this decision.

There is no accurate report on what computers will come with Ubuntu preinstalled, but desktoplinux.com have inside sources which have reported that Linux will come with an e-series Dimension desktop, an XPS desktop and an e-series laptop.

As opposed to most other PC retailers, Dell will offer the Ubuntu system for a lower price than same-specced Windows computers.

With an accessible distribution of Linux mass-delivered by such a large computer company, it’s sure that more and more people will discover the benefits of free and high-quality software, and that a lot of prejudice will disappear. Maybe it will also stimulate our friends in Redmond to try and be less tight and more competitive; Vista is still priced ridiculously and offers nothing but a better version of Solitaire.

Announcement on Dell’s official blog, via desktoplinux