In a brief but bold statement, Dell's U.S. website suggests that Ubuntu is safer than Microsoft Windows, especially for customers looking to avoid viruses. The statement, spotted by TheVARguy.com, also suggests that Dell will begin shipping Ubuntu 10.04 of selected U.S. systems sometime in mid-2009. Here's an update.

On June 10, The VAR Guy was first to report Dell considered Ubuntu Linux safer than Windows. But now, Dell has apparently updated its web site to remove/alter that statement. Of course, Linux conspiracy theorists think Microsoft pressured Dell to make the change. Is that really the case? Here's the story.

Even as Dell prepares to ship computers with Ubuntu 10.04 pre-loaded, the PC giant is battling rumors that it no longer remains committed to Canonical's Linux distribution. For Dell, it's time for a clear, concise statement that specifically describes the company's history with Ubuntu and next moves with the operating system. Here's why.

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.

In a short but bold statement, Dell's U.S. website says Canonical's Ubuntu Linux is safer than Microsoft Windows. Here's the scoop and the implications from The VAR Guy.

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.

Attention Ubuntu Linux shoppers: Dell in newspapers today advertised Inspiron Mini 9 netbooks running Ubuntu for the bargain basement starting price of $299.

Ever since Dell announced that they would be selling computers with Ubuntu pre-installed, I have wanted to buy one. This is not because I was unable to install Ubuntu myself, but because I wanted to reward Dell for choosing Ubuntu. I also wanted to make a statement that there was consumer demand for Linux to be pre-installed on computers.

Initially, I was skeptical about Dell's decision to sell selected consumer PCs with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed.

But after a few days of testing, I'm a skeptic no more. And I'm not alone. Dell insiders tell me that the Ubuntu PCs, introduced in late May, are selling well -- though they decline to share exact sales figures with me.