Further to the news that HP is to supply Desktops with Linux to the Australian market, I spotted a recent Australian IT column that suggests that other suppliers are planning similar ventures…
Tweet ThisLenovo, the Chinese company that bought IBM’s PC business a couple of years ago, is planning to sell Linux-powered ThinkPad notebook models in Australia. According to a Lenovo spokesperson, some T-series ThinkPads with Linux pre-installed should be available in December or January.
These are business machines, not consumer models. They will be loaded with Novell’s SuSE version of the open-source operating system, as well as the Open Office productivity suite, but overseas reports say Lenovo plans eventually to offer Linux on its consumer line as well. It already offers a dirt-cheap Linux PC in China.
Dell Australia is also considering Linux-powered consumer notebooks. It already offers Linux options on some business models, and since May has been mulling a plan to market consumer machines equipped with the Ubuntu version of Linux.