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- Copyright Hunter Strategies LLC
As had been promised, Dell today announced three computers with the Ubuntu 7.04 Linux distribution preloaded. There was a bigger surprise, however, in the other announcement that Dell would start selling exclusive models of their PCs at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club retail stores in the USA and Canada.
Linux seller Linspire has removed the $20 to $50 annual fees it charged for access to its “Click ‘N’ Run” library of software downloads, a bid to enhance the popularity of its product.
“CNR really makes using desktop Linux easy, and we want everyone to have access to this quality service,” Chief Executive Kevin Carmony said in a statement. The move was financially feasible for the company because it’s making enough revenue from premium products such as software to play DVDs, CodeWeavers’ CrossoverOffice software to run Microsoft Windows and Sun Microsystems’ StarOffice, a commercial variant of OpenOffice.org, the company said.
The library is a key feature of the company’s $60 Linspire and free Freespire Linux products. The company argues that its approach makes it easy to install new software.
And it does make it easier, particularly for users that aren’t overly proficient technically, which is what Linux need to attract if it is ever going to have broad appeal as a desktop OS.
It seems like the never-ending Linux desktop quest is finally getting a bit closer as SVN reports that Lenovo will preload Suse on the Thinkpad T60 (a nice machine. Technically I think HP was the first OEM to ship a Linux laptop a year or so ago but it was a clunker, both in terms of form factor and usability. Thinkpads have great keyboards and are virtually indestructible.
From the embedded link to Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols:
Finally. For years, the holy grail of the Linux desktop has been to get a major computer vendor to commit to preloading a Linux desktop. It finally happened.
On August 4th, we found out that Lenovo Group, the company that has taken over IBM’s Personal Computing Division, had made a deal with Novell Inc. to preload SLED 10 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) on its ThinkPad T60p mobile workstation.
For the first time, a major OEM (original equipment manufacturer) has committed to preloading a Linux desktop.
…
The T60p isn’t just any laptop. It boasts a high-end, 2GHz Intel Core Duo processor T2500, with a minimum of 512MB of RAM, which can be pushed up to 2GB of memory. For graphics, it uses an ATI FireGL V5200 with 256MB of RAM.The system is also expected to come with what Lenovo is calling a “ThinkPad Experience” under Linux, which includes: Access Connections, Configuration Utility, Power Manager, warm and cold docking support for USB and video, and Help Center support.
The Linux option hasn’t made the Lenovo ThinkPad T-Series page yet, but presumably it is coming. It’ll be interesting to see if it is any cheaper than the Windows versions of the T60p which seem a bit pricey.
Update 8/15: InfoWorld:
The suggested retail price for the 14-inch model is $3,099 and $3,199 for the 15-inch.
Both products are now available for purchase on the Lenovo Web site and through retailers.
I still can’t find it yet on the Lenovo Web site, but these seem rather expensive especially since a regular T60p starts at $1,919.