It would appear that Dell is making life difficult for UK customers who want to buy a Dell PC running Linux. Being a snooping journalist myself, I went to have a look for myself and indeed it is a lot harder to buy a Linux powered Dell than all the hype, fuelled in no small part by the Dell PR machine of course, would lead you to believe.

For roughly two years, readers have told WorksWithU they have a difficult time finding Ubuntu desktop and laptop options on Dell’s U.S. Website. Apparently, Dell heard the constructive criticism. Only a few weeks after Windows 7's launch, Dell is giving Ubuntu more real estate on the Dell U.S. website. Here's the scoop.

Finally the OS juggling games can stop and we can just have Ubuntu and Windows options on all of Dell's computers from now on. Well, all of their netbooks, that is. One of the most annoying things about Dell is their seemingly random decisions about what computers are going to be offered with what OS. Apparently, though, Dell realized how annoying this was.

Talks are under way between Google and Dell to bring Chrome OS, the search giant's cloud-centric operating system, to Dell's computer lineup, according to a Dell executive. Dell wants to be "on the forefront" of "unique innovations" like Chrome OS that will hit store shelves in the next few years, Amit Midha Dell's president for greater China and South Asia recently told Reuters.

So this guy buys a Dell Inspiron Mini 10.1-inch netbook but either isn't happy at its lack of cellular coverage, or just has a severe phone fixation and decides to rip it apart and turn it into a Dell Mini 3i phone, complete with Android-based OS.

This is obviously a mistake on Dell's part, but you can't help but imagine the folks over at Microsoft laughing and saying "we told you the Linux Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is higher than Windows".

I was lucky enough to have a friend at Dell who let me play with Dell's new Latitude 2100-N for a few hours. After he chased me down, he pried it out of my fingers. I didn't want to give it up.

Dell has no intention of selling non-Windows consumer and commodity PCs/Notepads. They simply can’t as the net profit on a Dell system is derived directly from the Windows OS via “Desktop Real Estate” and any Microsoft leads and co-marketing funds [kickbacks] provided — and not from the hardware.

Dell’s Inspiron Mini 9 Netbooks running Windows XP and Ubuntu are on sale. But US newspaper advertisements from Dell and Best Buy show Dell’s Windows XP netbooks to be a far better bargain than Dell netbooks with Ubuntu Linux. Here are the details.