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February 24, 2007 (Computerworld) -- After collecting some 1,800 new product and service ideas from IT users and customers using an online "suggestion box," Dell Inc. has announced that it's taking the user suggestions seriously and will soon debut and sell a new line of certified, user-ready Linux-loaded desktop and laptop computers.

The Dell IdeaStorm Web site, where customers and other IT enthusiasts can offer recommendations about future Dell products and configurations that they'd want to buy, was started on Feb. 16 by CEO Michael Dell, who is looking for ways to re-energize the company's sales and financial performance after several disappointing quarters.

One post that got a lot of interest was the idea that Dell bring back a reasonably priced laptop computer that runs Linux.

Just a week after debuting the IdeaStorm site, the company said Friday night that the Linux-loaded desktops and laptops will be the first user-generated suggestions that it will follow.

5. Goowy

Goowy is also Flash-based, but I don’t feel any of the usual negative traits that Flash can bring. It has lots of well-written and usable applications, it’s not lightning fast but it’s not too slow either, and it all works within the same window with the standard desktop-OS-like toolbar. The apps…well, the apps are great. They open in windows you can move around your webtop using a pretty precise grid, which makes organization really easy. You’ve got your standard file-uploader, mail application, RSS reader, instant messenger, bookmarks, calendar and contacts. All of these apps are very well made; for example, the RSS reading functionality is almost as good as in my online reader of choice - Netvibes. I wouldn’t exchange Netvibes for it just yet, but if weren’t able to use Netvibes anymore, Goowy would do just fine. Same goes for other applications, which makes Goowy by far the most usable WebOS in this list.

As far as settings go, you’ve got a lot to choose from. Actually, Goowy is so advanced that I almost feel bad giving it a short rundown instead of a full-featured review it deserves, and I will probably make up for it sometime. Let’s just mention it has a spell checker and a spam filter, which shows the devotion to detail in this product.

Although this text is not a contest, if I had to pick just one WebOS to use, Goowy would be it - and by a big margin. The learning curve is very short; it looks sexy, it has a solid number of well-written applications, and it’s all pretty-much bug free. Great job.