Lenovo quietly selling Linux-compatible laptops (DesktopLinux.com) [LWN.net]

DesktopLinux.com looks at the latest Linux laptop offerings from Lenovo. "Lenovo seems to have a love/hate relationship with Linux. Last year, it began offering its high-end T60p ThinkPad laptop with SLED 10 (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop). This year, the company is releasing its newest high-end laptop, the T61p ThinkPad, and once more, while it runs desktop Linux, the company isn't overly eager to let the world know about it. Be that as it may, Lenovo released the ThinkPad T61p, on July 10 and will start to ship it to customers later in July."

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Lenovo quietly selling Linux-compatible laptops (DesktopLinux.com)

Posted Jul 14, 2007 17:38 UTC (Sat) by sbergman27 (guest, #10767) [Link]

1. Quietly sell Linux-compatible laptops?

Fine, but an awfully strange marketing technique

2. Fail to provide a way for people to find out about them on your website?

Fine too, but damned counterproductive.

3. Loudly proclaim the termination of the program, citing lack of consumer demand?

That's where I start getting pissed.

I've seen this pattern before. Lenovo is at step 2 right now. Any reason to think that they won't move on to step 3?

Lenovo quietly selling Linux-compatible laptops (DesktopLinux.com)

Posted Jul 14, 2007 22:18 UTC (Sat) by pr1268 (subscriber, #24648) [Link]

Ahhh, I see where you're going with this; Lenovo's wacky marketing technique is a strange anti-Linux (or anti-FLOSS) FUD campaign.

Well, there's one way to stop this: Go, all you Linux-using laptop shoppers, and considering investing in a Lenovo Linux laptop. (I would but I'm a struggling college student right now. I do think highly of Lenovo's laptops [if not their marketing strategy].) :-)

Lenovo quietly selling Linux-compatible laptops (DesktopLinux.com)

Posted Jul 15, 2007 2:11 UTC (Sun) by sbergman27 (guest, #10767) [Link]

"Campaign" is not the word that I would use. I think that vendors are afraid to be too public about going against their primary OS supplier's wishes, but are more comfortable being public about the cessasion of doing so.

Doesn't make it any less irritating when the scenario plays out, though.

I'd as soon direct people to Dell or System76, which are vendors that I think are more serious about selling Linux laptops.

If I understand the situation correctly, Levnovo won't even dirty their hands by preinstalling the Linux.

Lenovo quietly selling Linux-compatible laptops (DesktopLinux.com)

Posted Jul 15, 2007 12:02 UTC (Sun) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

If I understand the situation correctly, Levnovo won't even dirty their hands by preinstalling the Linux.

Surprisingly enough there are no demand for this. At least there are no demand for systems with Linux-only preinstalled... Lenovo mostly sells to corporations. Some of them want Linux support today. None of them want two models (one for Windows, one for Linux) - they want one to install Windows or Linux by employee choice. And that means: no preinstalled Linux. Why ? Microsoft forbids that. They can not forbid you to install Linux on one model and Windows on another model (court orders), but they can and do forbid dual-boot installations...