Lenovo deletes Linux

I have to wonder why this is a story and conclude it's just Microsoft's marketing monies at work and signals Lenovo's move into the top tier of manufacturers in Microsoft's eyes.

There are very few PC companies supporting Linux (as opposed to server makers, most of whom support Linux). HP offers Mandriva Linux in France in what can only be thought of as an experiment in offering Linux and support in a small but ready market. Local or regional "white box" PC makers sometimes support it, but none of the majors do so on the desktop or notebooks they offer.

The problem PC companies have with offering Linux is two-fold. First, they'll probably lose MS marketing monies. Second, they have no support structure in place and building up one would be both expensive and time consuming. They state there is not enough demand for Linux, which is true enough when you consider they mean there is not enough demand to quickly pay for the increased infrastructure they would need AND replace the MS marketing money that would be lost. What we in the trenches see as substantial demand is not adequate to their needs. It's as simple as that.

Jack

Update; Lenovo is now back-tracking frantically. They will continue to offer Linux on their business notebooks, known as the "ThinkPad" models. Considering that it took diligent searching to find their Linux offerings before and that they seemed to discourage the choice of it with unseemly vigor, this is hardly good news for Linux fans. Still, it is there if you want or need it. ZDNet has a story about it, here.