Skip Navigation

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

www.zdnet.com How Ubuntu Linux snuck into high-end Dell laptops (and why it's called 'Project Sputnik')

The Dell XPS 13 is the best-known developer-focused, high-end Linux laptop. Here's how it got there.

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

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.

86
86 comments
86 comments