As many Linux lovers know, there has been a long wait for the so-called “revolution of Linux”, where desktops everywhere would run the user-controlled operating system with ease, and laptop lovers would frolic through fields with their Ubuntu penguin friends in hand. Maybe that's going too far, but apparently there is a rise in use of the OS, particularly in Chinese markets. Some of it has to do with the end of the XP (Windows XP), which created a little wiggle room in the operating system environment, giving a lot more room for Linux distributors to make their mark. The other part of it might just be Dell knowing how to market their products correctly.

Who knew Windows would ever move over enough to give Ubuntu the (anticipated) “year of the Linux desktop” title? Dell reports more than 40% of its PC sales in China are running Ubuntu Linux, more particularly, NeoKylin (aka Kylin), an Ubuntu-based operating system that “originated as an effort in China to build a home-grown alternative to Microsoft Windows” (The Var Guy). Now that China is more open-armed to Linux-run devices than ever (who can blame it after profiting at a tremendous level), Dell is soon to gain a great opportunity from further investment.

Dell has officially announced a new $125 million investment in providing Ubuntu-powered devices to China, as stated to The Wall Street Journal. This will continue to support China's supply of commercial and government PCs that Dell specializes in; it could also spark a change in the tiny 1.6 percent global market share that Linux contains. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean the rise of Linux is necessarily upon all of us, especially in the department of desktop PCs, where the U.S. would have to drastically play catch up. Still, the investment news brings a lot of smiles to the Dell company, as well as Ubuntu, and of course Chinese markets, who will continue to make its customers happy.