The way Dell introduced the Inspiron Mini 9 was pretty inspired, so it's almost been depressing watching the steady stream of leaks deflate it into a now familiar device, even though it's only being released today. As leaked, inside is an Intel Atom Diamondville processor and it has a 1024x600 LED-backlit screen with 4, 8 and 16GB SSD options (plus you get 2GB free online storage at Box.Net) and about three hours of battery life. Only the Windows XP version is available now for $399, in black or white—the $349 Ubuntu flavor, along with the rest of the six-color rainbow are a few weeks away.

On Wednesday morning Dell announced two new entry-level Vostro laptops and two new entry-level desktops featuring a choice of Ubuntu or Windows Vista.

Today we're rolling out two new laptops and desktops that are designed to meet the specific needs of small businesses, government and educational facilities operating on a limited budget in the worlds top emerging markets. Take a look at either Steve Felice's post or Kara Krautter's post on the Small Business blog for a bit more context on that front.

Word on the street is Dell will release a new Inspiron 910 sub-notebook (I prefer the term 'laptot') on August 22 shipping with Ubuntu Linux. Further leakage from Gizmodo says that the machine will be $299.

One year after Dell became the first tier-one OEM to offer modern Linux preloaded on desktops, Dell hasn't blown up, its customers haven't revolted and the Earth still spins on its axis.

Canonical's mobile Internet device strategy, based on the Ubuntu Netbook Remix, faces four key challenges, according to Works With U, the independent guide to Ubuntu Linux.

According to sources close to Dell, the Austin, Texas computer giant will be pre-installing Ubuntu 8.04 on its laptops and desktops starting in late June.

Canonical, promoter of Ubuntu Linux, has plenty of momentum on the desktop. But as Canonical gears up for a server push, one key Ubuntu partner plans to sit on the sidelines. Indeed, Dell has no plans to ship Ubuntu on its servers, according to a Dell source who spoke with The VAR Guy today.

The VAR Guy is in the market for a small office printer that supports Ubuntu Linux, Mac OS X and Windows XP. Alas, most PC companies do a lousy job describing which of their printers work with Ubuntu. Which means they’re leaving easy money on the table. Here’s our resident blogger’s sad story so far.

Increasingly-less-direct box shifter Dell has quietly started to offer Ubuntu Linux on its high-end XPS laptops as an option for those who don't want to pay for Windows Vista.

Since we've began offering Ubuntu on some consumer systems, two clear areas of feedback from the IdeaStorm community and Direct2Dell readers have been:  offer Ubuntu on more hardware, and offer it worldwide.  This Ubuntu-related post is still the third most commented post in Direct2Dell's history-many  of the 654 comments are asking for it in more countries.

Now that we have shared that Ubuntu 7.10 is available for sale on select Dell systems, I'd like to take the opportunity to give an update on what customers can expect with this offering. Most of the Ubuntu 7.04 technical details are still valid for this release, but there are a number of changes that I'd like to point out:

The good folks at Dell have added DVD playback capability to the image that they preinstall for folks who buy Dell computers with Ubuntu.

One of the key requests from customers interested in Linux is the ability to watch their favorite DVD movies. (See idea Preinstalled  Linux must play commercial DVDs from IdeaStorm user jonmca... but we ended up taking some advice from jmxz to use LinDVD.). We totally agree and that's why we now include built-in DVD movie playback with all Ubuntu 7.10 systems.

Good news for Dell laptops owners: latest BIOS images can be loaded with Ubuntu, Fedora or CentOS! It was announced at official Direct2Dell blog by Matt Domsch.

Dell agreed to ship PCs and laptops with the Ubuntu operating system after more than 130,000 people promoted the notion on the company's IdeaStorm web site. It would seem, however, that only a fraction of these zealots were willing to back their votes with cash.

Ubuntu is extremely popular on the desktop, but it's made comparatively little progress on servers. That's about to change. Dell is expected to announce in the first quarter of 2008 that it has certified Ubuntu Linux for its server lines.

Better hardware support - this is something we would all like to see happen. And it seems that it could happen, thanks in part to a Dell supported project known as DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support).

Dell has denied reports that it's withdrawing its range of preinstalled Ubuntu Linux PCs in the UK.
Reports are circulating that the company has pulled its limited range of Ubuntu desktop and laptop PCs because of lack of demand.

With the release of 7.10, many have been wondering if Dell will ship 7.10. Well, the answer to that question has been answered, according to a DesktopLinux story. Anne Camden of Dell corporate communications said: