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Lenovo is cutting back on sales of desktops and laptop systems with the Linux operating systems pre-installed.
The PC maker said Thursday that it will no longer take online orders for computers pre-loaded with any flavor of Linux. Ray Gorman, a spokesman for the company, said that it will continue offering such machines only through its own or partner direct sales teams.
"Our commitment to Linux has not changed," said Gorman in an e-mail to Computerworld. "What's changed is that customers will no longer be able to order Lenovo ThinkPads and ThinkCentres with pre-installed Linux via the lenovo.com web site."
Gorman said the most orders for pre-loaded Linux software had come through their sales teams or business partners. Their online sales for pre-installed Linux weren't hitting big enough numbers, he added.
Lenovo has been offering Linux-based machines since 2000.
The company will continue to pre-certify Novell and Red Hat Linux on ThinkPad laptops and ThinkCentre desktops. Lenovo is also adding Ubuntu certification for new ThinkPad and ThinkCentre PCs, according to Gorman.
He also noted that Lenovo is slated to deliver Linux-based servers, and IdeaPad netbook models in September and October respectively.
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Comments (6)
What about naked computers?By Anonymous on October 22, 2008, 11:55 amI would rather buy a computer without an operating system,because no company truly knows what the customer needs. Only the customer knows what is most important...
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Certification is sufficient.By Anonymous on September 18, 2008, 3:17 pmWhen I get a machine that has Linux pre-installed I always blow it away and reinstall my own favorite distro with my preferred configs. My guess is that most buyers...
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So what...By Anonymous on September 17, 2008, 3:49 pmI am a long time Ubuntu user. I also use IBM laptops... but I only buy used laptops because I am tired of paying the MS premium. Plus, I have never been short...
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Marketing?By Edgar Hilton on September 17, 2008, 11:36 amI just bought a Lenovo. After I received it, I wiped out Windows and put Linux Ubuntu in the entire harddrive. Had I known that Lenovo was installing Linux...
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Gorman's statement = BFLBy Dan_Aquinas on September 17, 2008, 10:29 amGorman's statement of "Our commitment to Linux has not changed," is a Bald-Faced Lie (BBFL). How can you make it *harder* to obtain a Linux based PC by taking away...
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