There was a small but important breakthrough on the consumer desktop front Monday. OK, it happened in Italy, but at least it happened -- and it involves a major international retailer.
As of now, one can buy a Dell desktop with pre-installed Linux through its Italian channel partner Questar.
The particular model is a Dell Optiplex 170L mini-tower system running the Linspire 4.5 distribution and bundled with three years of Dell's Gold tech support plus one free year of Linspire's CNR software catalog.
You can't order it through Dell's regular U.S. Web site or through any of Dell's U.S. retail channels. But you can still order it. It may take a little longer to get it delivered, and you may have a few extra fees to pay, but you can get one. Dell is handling distribution to anywhere in the world from its plant in Ireland, Linspire spokeswoman Ellie Sanchez told Linux.com.