* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, June 6, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    ‘Sinners,’ starring Michael B. Jordan, is now streaming on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrills of ‘Sinners’ Starring Michael B. Jordan – Now Streaming on Prime Video!

    California Mid-State Fair announces entertainment lineups for Frontier and Mission stages – KSBY News

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for California Mid-State Fair’s Frontier and Mission Stages!

    Spotify & OpenAI: Will Gen AI ‘Hollow Out’ Entertainment? – Technology Magazine

    Will Generative AI Transform the Future of Entertainment

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    When fiction becomes fact: 3 pieces of modern technology inspired by Star Trek – Redshirts Always Die

    From Screen to Reality: 3 Modern Technologies Inspired by Star Trek

    The Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology – UCF, ZPP, and IRR10 – Alma Research and Education Center

    Exploring the Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology: Innovations and Insights from UCF, ZPP, and IRR10

    Inside the tedious effort to tally AI’s energy appetite – MIT Technology Review

    Inside the tedious effort to tally AI’s energy appetite – MIT Technology Review

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

    Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

    Shows to Watch – The Advocate

    Must-See Shows You Can’t Miss!

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    Fox News Entertainment Newsletter: Celebrities mentioned during Diddy’s high-profile sex trafficking trial – Fox News

    ‘Sinners,’ starring Michael B. Jordan, is now streaming on Prime Video – About Amazon

    Experience the Thrills of ‘Sinners’ Starring Michael B. Jordan – Now Streaming on Prime Video!

    California Mid-State Fair announces entertainment lineups for Frontier and Mission stages – KSBY News

    Exciting Entertainment Lineup Unveiled for California Mid-State Fair’s Frontier and Mission Stages!

    Spotify & OpenAI: Will Gen AI ‘Hollow Out’ Entertainment? – Technology Magazine

    Will Generative AI Transform the Future of Entertainment

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

    Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says – MarketBeat

    UBS Analyst Predicts Surge in Micron Technology Stock Price!

    Domo to Participate in the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit – Business Wire

    Domo Set to Shine at the D.A. Davidson Technology Summit!

    When fiction becomes fact: 3 pieces of modern technology inspired by Star Trek – Redshirts Always Die

    From Screen to Reality: 3 Modern Technologies Inspired by Star Trek

    The Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology – UCF, ZPP, and IRR10 – Alma Research and Education Center

    Exploring the Isfahan Center for Nuclear Technology: Innovations and Insights from UCF, ZPP, and IRR10

    Inside the tedious effort to tally AI’s energy appetite – MIT Technology Review

    Inside the tedious effort to tally AI’s energy appetite – MIT Technology Review

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

How Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops (and why it’s called ‘Project Sputnik’)

October 21, 2023
in Technology
How Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops (and why it’s called ‘Project Sputnik’)
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Dell XPS 13 Ubuntu Linux Developer Edition with Tiger Lake Dell

RALEIGH, NC — Today, the Dell XPS-13 with Ubuntu Linux is easily the most well-known Linux laptop. Many users, especially developers — including Linus Torvalds — love it. As Torvalds recently said, “Normally, I wouldn’t name names, but I’m making an exception for the XPS 13 just because I liked it so much that I also ended up buying one for my daughter when she went off to college.” 

So, how did Dell — best known for good-quality, mass-produced PCs — end up building top-of-the-line Ubuntu Linux laptops? Well, Barton George, Dell Technologies’ Developer Community manager, shared the “Project Sputnik”  story this week in a presentation at the popular Linux and open-source community show, All Things Open.

Also: The best Linux laptops (and why you might want one)

First, however, you should know that Dell has supported Linux desktops and laptops since the middle 2000s. In 2006, Michael Dell told me that Dell would be the first major PC vendor to release and support desktop Linux — and this proved to be a success. 

George explained that Dell had always done great volume with these computers. Not volume, like the Windows machines, of course, but enough that Dell has always offered Linux-based — primarily Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) powered —  workstations.  

Still, none of these machines really appealed to developers. George explained:

 “Back in 2011, a group of us were trying to figure out how Dell could become more relevant to developers. Dell wasn’t a big thing in developers’ minds, and we decided it would be a good idea to get developers to change their minds and to think of Dell as a company they wanted to work with.” 

This notion had been sparked by a conversation between Dell and Stephen O’Grady, co-founder of the developer-centric analyst firm RedMonk. Barton recalled O’Grady suggesting it would be great for developers “if you took one of your laptops, put Ubuntu on it, and just got it to work. We said that’s an awesome idea, but it’ll never happen, because we’re talking about Dell. Our laptops need to deliver huge volumes and revenue. When I talked to one of our higher-ups about the volumes that we thought we would sell, he said, ‘Yeah, that’s what we sell in Belgium on Tuesday, between three and four in the afternoon.'” 

Despite this disheartening evaluation, when Dell started an in-house innovation fund, Barton pitched it again. This time, he was granted $40,000 to pursue the idea. “This was enough to get going,” George recalled. “So, first thing, we put together an official team. But none of us were full-time on this. We got approval from their managers to work on this officially, but it was sort of in our spare time.” At times, George said, “The project staff was two people and a dog.”

Also: The best Linux distros for beginners

George approached Google and Amazon: “‘Here’s what we’re trying to do,’ he related his pitch. ‘Does this look like something you’d be interested in?’ And so while they didn’t place an order there for 10,000 units, they didn’t laugh me out of the room, either.” It was enough to prove there was a business case for a developer-focused Ubuntu Linux laptop.  

During that same period, George announced on his personal blog what Dell was planning, and his traffic went from 60 views a day to 15,000. Then, as now, there’s a lot of interest in laptops that come with Linux ready to go. 

After all that, the team wanted to ensure they did it right. This wouldn’t just be a case of dumping a distro on a machine and hoping for the best. You can do that today and have an excellent chance of everything working perfectly. In 2013? Not so much. 

George added, “We created a rough image that people could use on the XPS 13. Developers could download it and start working on it. We told people there were a  lot of caveats, and it wasn’t an official release nor supported. But the key thing here is while you couldn’t do this with consumers, with developers — who knew it was a beta– then you’re okay. And, we had most of the bugs worked out. The biggest one was the touchpad, which somebody described as ‘craptastic’.”

Also: Linux might be your best bet for heightening your desktop computer security

So, Dell got together with Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, to make sure all the drivers were in place for a top-notch Ubuntu Linux developer desktop experience. Indeed, the name ‘Project Sputnik’ is a nod to Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu founder and Canonical CEO. A decade before the project itself, Shuttleworth had spent eight days orbiting the Earth in a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. George and the crew decided “Soyuz”  didn’t have an inspiring ring to it, so the company went with “Sputnik” instead.

George continued:

 “We announced a beta program for the machine with a 10% off offer. We thought, well, we’ll probably get 300 people. Instead, we got 6,000. This is where senior management said OK, you’ve got something real. We went from slides to launch in nine months. That’s pretty fast for building a system.”

Now, more than a decade later, the Dell XPS 13 line and other other Ubuntu-Linux-powered systems are more popular than ever. From a skunkworks project, George and company created a Linux hardware mainstay for both developers and power users.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : ZDNet – https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-ubuntu-linux-snuck-into-high-end-dell-laptops-and-why-its-called-project-sputnik/#ftag=RSSbaffb68

Tags: LinuxtechnologyUbuntu
Previous Post

Republicans have dropped Jim Jordan as their nominee for House speaker in a private meeting

Next Post

A new robot vacuum that connects to your home’s water supply is now on Kickstarter

Ecological Restoration Service Market to Reach USD 87.9 Bn by 2031, Growing at 9.4% CAGR – openPR.com

Ecological Restoration Service Market Set to Soar to $87.9 Billion by 2031 with a Robust 9.4% Growth Rate!

June 6, 2025
Boise State moves forward with plans for new science building, signaling an investment in STEM majors – The Arbiter | Boise State

Boise State Unveils Ambitious Plans for Cutting-Edge Science Building, Boosting STEM Education!

June 6, 2025
The Science Of De-Extinction Is Providing Hope For Nature’s Future – Forbes

Reviving the Past: How De-Extinction Science Offers New Hope for Our Planet’s Future

June 6, 2025
Cardi B Slams Offset For Allegedly Not Helping With Kids’ Six-Figure Lifestyle – HOT 97

Cardi B Calls Out Offset for Failing to Support Their Kids’ Luxurious Lifestyle!

June 6, 2025
Hollywood legend Tom Cruise becomes record holder for his fiery Mission Impossible stunt – Guinness World Records

Tom Cruise Sets the Bar High with Record-Breaking Fiery Stunt in Mission Impossible!

June 6, 2025
India could become third largest economy in the world this year: Borge Brende – MSN

India Poised to Become the World’s Third Largest Economy This Year!

June 6, 2025
9 things to do this weekend in Lake County plus a look ahead – Leesburg Daily Commercial

Discover 9 Exciting Weekend Adventures in Lake County and What’s Coming Up!

June 6, 2025
Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

Property Technology Magazine Unveils “PropTech Top 50 Index” and the “2025 PropTech Trends Report – The Great Rebuild.” – Business Wire

June 6, 2025
Graphics: China’s ecological, environmental quality keeps improving steadily – news.cgtn.com

Graphics: China’s ecological, environmental quality keeps improving steadily – news.cgtn.com

June 5, 2025
The Forgotten History (and Slippery Science) of Canola Oil – Eater

The Forgotten History (and Slippery Science) of Canola Oil – Eater

June 5, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (670)
  • Economy (684)
  • Entertainment (21,590)
  • General (15,267)
  • Health (9,725)
  • Lifestyle (687)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (685)
  • Politics (691)
  • Science (15,902)
  • Sports (21,187)
  • Technology (15,669)
  • World (669)

Recent News

Ecological Restoration Service Market to Reach USD 87.9 Bn by 2031, Growing at 9.4% CAGR – openPR.com

Ecological Restoration Service Market Set to Soar to $87.9 Billion by 2031 with a Robust 9.4% Growth Rate!

June 6, 2025
Boise State moves forward with plans for new science building, signaling an investment in STEM majors – The Arbiter | Boise State

Boise State Unveils Ambitious Plans for Cutting-Edge Science Building, Boosting STEM Education!

June 6, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version