regarding computer problems, partly because I believe it will help these individuals but also so that the operating system can gain wider importance & recognition. Such recognition could lead to many needed improvements in the system such as increased hardware compatibility & the production of professional games for the Linux platform (gaming computing currently being an area in which Microsoft holds an absolute monopoly). Thus over time the strength of the system will increase & all software will improve thanks to the greater stability offered by the Linux kernel as well as the open source nature of Linux operating systems.The spread of open source software will however be very slow if it depends heavily upon local advocates, such as myself, helping people change from Windows. A much more effective manner would of course be for Linux to be sold preinstalled on computers so that hardware compatibility is ensured. In the past there have been small companies which have indeed dealt in such systems but given their modest market share they've gone unnoticed to all but those who actively seek them out.
However a few months ago now Dell in the US began to offer Ubuntu as a preinstalled option on a number of systems. Whilst these systems did not account for a great proportion of their range this showed a notable change & willingness to explore the business possibilities of offering free software. It would seem today that this move proved to be quite successful, yesterday I heard Lenovo was set to follow suit having done a deal with Novell & just an hour ago I heard from the Ubuntu UK mailing lists that Dell will announce tomorrow (August 8th) it intentions to sell its Ubuntu based products in France, Germany & Britain. Surely this can only be a good thing & true example that Linux is now ready for the desktop?
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