An internal innovation fund at Dell is helping create project Sputnik, an Ubuntu-based laptop aimed at developers. The hardware is Dell's XPS13 Ultrabook, and the OS is the latest version of Canonical's linux distro, Precise Pangolin 12.04 LTS. So far the image contains drivers and patches for hardware, key tools and utilities (emacs, Vim, Chromium etc.,) and a native tool for github repository integration is incoming soon. Dell has also worked closely with Canonical on the project to ensure maximum hardware compatibility. As for developer tools, instead of bloating the system with a complex suite of applications, Sputnik has been designed to let users go to a github repository and pull down individual developer profiles; Android, Ruby and JavaScript being available right now, with more to follow. The install image is available right now via the more coverage link, and more details on the project will follow as it develops.

Project Sputnik: Dell's Ubuntu-based XPS13 laptop for developers originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 May 2012 05:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.