In a move that's been expected for some time, Dell has announced that for the first time, it will offer PCs with Linux pre-installed. The move makes sense for a few reasons. For one thing, Dell has always touted itself as having the most customizable computers, so giving users their choice of operating systems would seem to fit with the company's ethos. A more important factor may have been the growing Microsoft tax. As many people have pointed out, as hardware prices continue to drop, proprietary software accounts for a larger and larger slice of the cost of a computer. Thus it makes sense for computer makers, which compete intensely on cost, to offer equivalent solutions that don't require them to hand a big chunk over to Microsoft. Dell's entry into the desktop Linux market probably won't do a whole lot to stem its recent woes, but the company needs all the help it can get as it deals with a surging HP, and a computer market that isn't seeing any tailwind from the release of Vista.

Apparently police in Mexico City have decided that they might as well try the "carrot" approach, rather than the "stick" in dealing with local drug violence. They're now offering Xboxes and computers to people who turn in guns (via Engadget). The hope is that this will get guns off the street, reducing crime. Of course, it could just mean that folks with guns will now be stealing more guns in order to get an Xbox while keeping a gun on the side (just in case).