Offer from Dell: "Look, Ma, no Windows

Hey, look, Dell's selling a handful of desktop PCs that come fully loaded with … wait, I mean that do not come fully loaded with a Windows operating system.

From the Dell site:

Are you looking for a desktop on which you can run Linux® or other open-source operating systems? Look no further!
Dell's new open-source n Series desktop solution provides customers with a DimensionTM E520, E521 or C521 desktop without an installed or included Microsoft® operating system. With the n Series desktop, customers have the flexibility to install an alternative operating system (such as a version of Linux® ), and help reduce the price of this system. In addition, the n Series desktop comes with a non-formatted hard drive ready for your custom installation. Dell's n Series desktop ships with a copy of FreeDosTM , an open-source operating system that is ready to install.

Rarely does the absence of software on a machine cause such murmuring on The Tubes, but it doesn't take much of an imagination to guess as to how this decision by Dell went over in Redmond and what price Dell might have had to pay as a result.
Here's one clue, though. Displayed fairly prominently atop the page touting these new Windows-free PCs is this line of advice from Dell:

"Dell recommends Windows® XP Professional."