• by Emily Burg , March 1, 2007

After a month back at work as the CEO of his eponymous computer company, Michael Dell is illustrating a focus on consumers that once made his company's brand of customization so distinct: The company has rapidly responded to consumer demand to sell Linux-loaded desktop and laptop computers.

Dell Inc. previously had sold Linux-based machines, and while in theory the option to have the open-access operating system should have jived with the personalized nature of Dell's business model and brand, it was not especially popular among its mainstream consumer base. But, as the nature of technology used by its consumers has changed over the past few years, so have the interests of the consumers, as Michael Dell found when creating an online suggestion forum called IdeaStorm a few weeks ago.

IdeaStorm is an online community where customers post their ideas about products. The community can vote on the ideas and discuss them with other users. Dell Inc. simultaneously launched a user-generated content forum called StudioDell, with a video upload feature via which customers can tell stories of how they use Dell technology in their lives.

Upon announcing its launch, Michael Dell said, "We are at our best when we are hearing directly from our customers. We listen, learn and then improve and innovate based on what our customers want. It's one of the real advantages of being a direct company."

Almost immediately, users stormed the IdeaStorm Web site, asking that Dell bring back consumer-friendly priced Linux-loaded computers, and a week later the company said that would be the first consumer-generated suggestion it would implement.

Open source operating system Linux, the David to Microsoft Windows' Goliath, has sometimes delivered financial gains for its providers, mostly in the form of stock market capitalization during the dot-com tech boom, but was never a huge contributor to Dell's bottom line.

However, changes and challenges that Windows' Vista pose to hardware manufacturers--mainly its enormous and expensive memory and graphics requirements--have made computer manufacturers who once defined their brands by selling low triple-digit dollar PCs caterwaul to find a way to deliver affordability and technological capability. Tech experts believe that offering a range of operating system options, including Linux, could help computer manufacturers return to the days of offering cheaper machines that can run up-to-date technology. That could be a boon to its business model.

American Technology Research Analyst Shaw Wu wrote in a research note that Dell may also need to consider experimenting with retail stores and price more aggressively to maintain its market share.

Dell Inc. will report fourth-quarter earnings today. Analysts had lowered their earnings-per-share expectations in the wake of CEO Kevin Rollins' resignation on Jan. 31, but the installation of former Motorola exec Ron Garriques as head of its consumer business is seen as a positive.