Note though that Dell's Linux offerings are commercially supported distros--so Linux is not "free (as in beer)." And I can't really imagine that selling a laptop with upstream bits and saying we won't take your call for support would go over well when selling a laptop.
> Note though that Dell's Linux offerings are commercially supported distros
What's the problem with that? Why should I use a different distro if the installed one works perfectly with all HW components? If I really needed another distro I could user docker or the like on that same device.
No problem at all. But the question was about Linux being free. And it's a good bet that a hardware manufacturer probably isn't going to ship with a community-supported distro with no support.
In the UK, RM Ltd launched the original 7in Asus netbook into the education market with two options. (1) Windows XP with normal support. (2) Linux with no support except "reset to factory condition".
Dell UK tried offering Linux with no support, but with the option to buy third-party support from Canonical. The cost of support more or less excluded home and education buyers.
