The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition is also known as Project Sputnik, where it has now gone on sale for those who are willing to fork out $1,549 for this bad boy. The asking price is $50 more expensive compared to the Windows powered version, where this model will be pre-installed with Ubuntu 12.04. The Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition is an Ubuntu Ultrabook, and it bears the hallmark of a skunkworks project in an effort to optimize the open-source operating system to run on Dell projects, while helping to create better laptops for developers.
The whole idea is to churn out a laptop meant for developers alone, with the premise that developers are the kings of IT and are the ones behind the agenda for web companies. Web companies, on the other hand, set the agenda for the entire industry. Do you agree or disagree? Well, Dell’s Project Sputnik comes with open source tools such as Profile Tool and Cloud Launcher, an Intel i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge processor, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SATA III SSD.