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This week, the news arrived that Dell is putting ARM processors alongside Intel Core Duo chips in high-end Windows-based laptops that can boot Linux for instant-on application usage. The company's Latitude Z notebooks run Windows on a Core Duo Intel processor, but will let you jump in and out of simple applications and browsers for on-the-fly tasks when you don't want to wait for Windows to boot.

The concept isn't new. The idea of instant-on computers has been around for more than 15 years, but Windows computers have mostly been diametrically opposed to the concept. We have written about DeviceVM's Linux-based SplashTop instant-on software a number of times, and I've used it. It's excellent for when you want to check on a quick bit of information without loading a bloated operating system. Still, who wins if this idea takes off on a widespread basis in portable computers?

Ever since netbooks--low priced, ultra-mobile computers with very low price points--became a hot hardware category, with both Linux and Windows versions available, reports have flown around saying that the return rates for Linux netbooks are vastly higher than return rates for Windows machines. Kevin Turner, Microsoft's COO, helped fuel the fire by saying that return rates for Linux netbooks are more than four times higher than return rates for Windows netbooks, here.? I challenge you to find a retailer who wants to sell Linux on these netbooks, because the returns are bad, Turner said.

That position has been challenged a number of times, with the most serious challenges coming from netbook manufacturers. Asus' CEO has said that return rates for Linux netbooks are no higher than they are for Windows systems.?He ought to know, and he's also said that Linux netbooks are quite popular in Europe, where overall open source adoption is high. Now, as The Register reports,?Dell, the number two computer manufacturer in the world, is refuting Turner's position as well.