PC vendors want to sell you desktop Linux

It used to be that finding a PC with pre-installed Linux was harder than finding a needle in a haystack. Now, though, all the major PC vendors are offering Linux-powered PCs.

Last week, for example, Dell announced that it was selling PCs with the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, Ubuntu 8.04 installed. What they didn't point out was that Dell will soon be offering Ubuntu Linux on six different systems, including its forthcoming UMPC (Ultra Mobile PC) Dell E line. In the past, Dell usually offered Ubuntu on no more than three systems.

Dell is not a charity. If people weren't buying desktop Linux, they wouldn't be selling it. And, if more people weren't asking for it, they wouldn't be offering it on more systems.

It's not just Dell. I've spoken recently to numerous PC vendors, including HP, Lenovo, and Asus. All of them are not just continuing to sell pre-installed desktop Linux; they all have plans to expand their offerings.

Even HP, perhaps the slowest of the major vendors to come to terms with the Linux desktop becoming an attractive option to customers, is now offering Novell SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP2 pre-installed on its two of its new UMPC models: the HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (KX869AT and HP 2133 Mini-Note PC (KR922UT). At prices starting at $499 for a fully equipped, albeit UMPC form factor, laptop, I suspect HP will be selling a lot of these systems.

Indeed, a lot of the growth in desktop Linux is coming from vendors selling Linux-powered UMPCs. People love these small, inexpensive PCs. It seems like every day, another OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is offering a new one. Today, for instance, I see CherryPal has released a 2-watt Linux desktop system today.

Users aren't just buying UMPCs, however. Dell will be start offering its higher-end XPS M1530n and Studio 15n laptops in early August. Meanwhile, Lenovo offers pre-installed Novell SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP2 on several of its ThinkPad business PCs.

Why is all this happening? Well, for one thing, desktop Linux is much more mature than it was even a few years ago. Today, with a modern Linux distribution, a user is no more likely to need to resort to a shell command than a Windows user is to using the registry editor. Linux is also cheaper to use than Window.

Last, but perhaps the most important reason of all, Microsoft has given both Linux, primarily at the low-end, and Mac, on the high-end, a chance to get customers at Windows' expense. If it hadn't been for that great blunder called Vista, both Linux and Mac OS' audience growth would have remained tiny. Now, users are waking up and trying the alternatives, and OEMs, both from the largest to the smallest, are providing them with Linux-powered PCs.

Today, it's still not as easy to buy a Linux PC as it is a Windows PC, but that day is coming and its coming sooner than you might think.