Open Sauce Software
Tasty titbits from people using Linux and other open source software in business.
Friday 12 September 2008, 1:16 PM
Lenovo - nope, no Linux here
The story, as now reported in Computerworld is that the company pulled the plug on a US trial selling Linux-equipped laptops to home users through its web site.
A flack called Ray Gorman bleats that the company really does like Linux or something (but presumably it's still too tough for home users?).
Meanwhile, here on ZDNet, David Meyer was given a list of links on the UK site, where Lenovo is supposedly selling Linux laptops.
All but one of those links go to a recommendation for Windows. And the other one goes to a partner, not Lenovo.
PreviousComments on this post
If Lenovo doesn't want to sell Linux,
then just shop elsewhere.
http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/23168/
Absolutely.
My confusion is why, if Lenovo clearly has no intention of selling Linux to users, do they try and tell us they do?
It may be they have done some complex maths and worked out there's no return on it, but if so, why not get the publicity in line?
"Offering" Linux machines when the link just takes you to an ad for Windows, is counterproductive in every way - and then sending those links to us as a way to show they like Linux, is just silly.
I've had a response from Lenovo:
"Lenovo’s Linux strategy has not changed and it will continue to offer [the] customer a choice. For those customers who want Linux, Lenovo will continue to pre-certify their systems for Novell and Red Hat Linux on ThinkPad notebook PCs. Lenovo is also adding Ubuntu certification for new ThinkPad and ThinkCentre PCs."
So they're pre-certified. If you want to run Linux on them, it's up to you. And Lenovo's site is designed to steer you away from the option.
"Lenovo is also offering Linux on the new server line and Ideapad Netbooks, designed for education customers, will be offered with a Linux pre-load."
Fair enough. I'm sure that's based on Lenovo's analysis of the likely take-up of Linux. And I guess they have to spin it as active support for Linux,when it's not.
At least they didn't send me a pile of dud links...
Hi Peter... Lenovo is certainly using a lot of smoke and mirrors here, aren't they? Pre-certified is one thing, but unless I am overlooking something rather significant, I don't see any way to buy ThinkPad notebooks or ThinkCentre PCs without any operating system at all, so I suppose that means if you want to run Linux on them, it's up to you, but you get to pay for Windows anyway.
As has already been suggested, the rational response to this is to take your money elsewhere.
jw 18/9/2008
