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Groklaw member Tyche got a Dell Inspiron 530N with Ubuntu Linux and when I saw him post that he’d ordered it, I asked if he’d please write up a quick review after it arrived. He has done so, and as you will see, he found getting online so easy he had nothing at all to do to make it happen. Just poof.

Now, he has the skills to set up whatever he wants, really, but even when you know how, it’s so pleasant when it just works. And if all your grandpa wants to do is surf, he can do this. So, here’s Tyche’s review, in case you are thinking about a new computer. I’m thinking about a laptop, and if I do it, I’ll let you know how it goes also.

If you follow along by watching the Dell videos explaining each component, you will get more out of this. At least I did. You need to hit the arrow to see all the options to the right, and it helps to hit the icon furthest to the right to see the final ones. For example, the last item is Optional Parts. The default is none. But you can add IEEE 1394a Adapter port, which is included in the price already. I use a Lacie external hard drive for storage and own a Mac laptop, and so for me a Firewire port is important, so I’d want that. But why wouldn’t anyone? It’s included in the price, so I’d want to be sure to select it. There are a number of other items where it pays to look closely at your options. I also see that as of this morning, you can get $100 off one of these desktops, so you’d pay $499 if you chose every default.…more