What should Dell do?

I saw this article about Dell and ideas that people are posting about how to best revive it. The number one idea was to offer Linux pre-installed. I think the market for pre-installed Linux will be minuscule for some time to come. Instead, I think Dell should consider following Apple's lead and develop their own operating system, custom tailored to their hardware. It should be highly polished and easy for users. A DellOS could be built on Linux, BSD or even on Darwin. It would be a tough row to hoe, but once there, Dell could innovate in much the same way Apple is free to do today.

In fact, I think the Apple model may well be the future of computer manufacturers with Microsoft ultimately being forced into building its own hardware to remain competitive with the likes of Apple (and Microsoft will ultimately also have to wrestle with the enormous propriety code base that is Windows...that model simply doesn't scale in the long run). Of all the computer manufacturer's out there, I think Dell is probably the best positioned to pull off something like that. They already have the direct sales channel, good brand recognition, and they have been putting their toe in the water with Linux for a while now. They just need to assemble the right software team and someone with a fanatic attention to detail to make it happen. Or, maybe they should buy a Linux vendor.