10 years ago, Dell and Canonical launched Project Sputnik, an initiative to deliver high-end Dell systems with Ubuntu preinstalled to meet the needs of application developers. Whereas Dell had previously offered lower-end Linux-enabled laptops, this was the first time that customers had access to powerful systems designed specifically for developers. And just like many of the best projects in the developer space, Sputnik was community-focused from the start.
Today, the Dell XPS 13 has grown into a long-standing flagship range for Ubuntu-based laptops, used by countless developers around the world. But what most people are not aware of is the unusual journey that led to this point.
How it all began
Back in 2012, missing drivers were a major obstacle for developers who wanted to run Linux on their workstations. Users either had to write these drivers themselves, or do without them entirely. So when Dell began exploring new ways to deliver value to web companies, creating…
