Dell rumors - Ubuntu, here we come

Well, I guess by now you all have heard the news.

It's a May, 1!! The International workers day!!
Well, yes, but it is not what I meant. The rumor du jour today is Dell choosing Ubuntu Linux for its linux-powered products.

The article is telling us much of the story:

Dell will be announcing a partnership with Canonical to ship pre-loaded Linux models with Ubuntu," stated Jane Silber, Canonical's Chief Operating Officer. "They'll be selling these models from their Web site with Ubuntu pre-installed. Canonical in turn will be working with Dell to certify those models to insure that all components are fully functional and will also provide support that will be sold through the Dell Web site.

I'm personally happy about it for 2 possible reasons:

1. I hope it will somehow bring prices down for Dell's laptops (not that I'm fond in that department, but it is nice anyways)
   
2. I hope Dell will be building a machine with all-supported-by-linux hardware, which makes me really happy.

While the first reason is not that important for me (albeit too appealing).

But this is what they say about the second reason:

We're working very closely with the Dell engineering team and they are working closely with us, in terms of... working with those specific models and ensure that all components of that system work properly," Silber explained. "As a consumer, you can confidently buy from that Web site, know that its certified by Canonical, that Ubuntu will run on that without driver issues

That is exactly what is making me happy. That some major vendor will produce a laptop, whose components will be supported by a major Linux distribution and for which drivers will be provided to support all the hardware found within the laptop itself.
Is it the beginning of the great world of multiple vendors supporting Linux within their product lines? I'd be very delighted.
And, Canonical seems to agree with me (heh, :-) ):

Regardless of this deal's origins, Canonical's staff is pretty excited, seeing this as a validation not only for their own distribution, but for desktop Linux as a whole.

I think it's the first time a major tier-one vendor is pre-installing and shipping consumer models on this scale," Silber [of Canonical] stated.

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