Just a few weeks after Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) opened up its "IdeaStorm" digg-like customer blog and feedback forum, the top issues generated by customers at the site were asking (and in fact, pleading) for the world's second-largest PC maker to sell its PCs pre-loaded with the free Linux operating system.

While almost all PCs sold today include a copy of Microsoft's Windows operating system, the price of that Windows software is included in the PC's price. What if you don't want to pay for or receive Microsoft Windows on that new Dell PC? Fat chance during the last few years, as that was the only non-excludable operating system choice for almost all consumer-level PCs purchased from Dell.

But, in true Michael Dell fashion, the computer maker's recent top management changes -- including the return of Dell himself to the CEO position -- renewed a focus on what customers want. This is great news, as companies collude all day long in glad-handed deals to sell each other's wares regardless of what the customer wants. Dell himself built the company he is now running again by focusing on what customers really want.

Whether the Linux crowd is just a vocal minority or a representation of a larger customer base that does not want to pay for Windows in the price of a PC any longer, the option to include Linux on new Dell PCs is a return to what Dell used to do best -- listen to and respond to customers. It'll be interesting to see how its next few fiscal quarters break out in terms of how many PCs ship with Windows and with Linux, yes?