Journal ironfrost's Journal: Off-the-shelf dual-boot linux PCs 1
I was surprised today to see an advert from Founder, one of China's major computer manufacturers. It caught my eye because it was promoting the company's new line of dual-boot Windows+Linux desktop machines. Although selling computers with Linux preinstalled isn't particularly strange here, this is an encouraging sign because it shows that the reasons for offering Linux aren't just to save money any more - previous Linux offerings in China seem to have assumed that customers would just wipe the OS and install Windows (my laptop came with several discs of Windows drivers and software like WinDVD). Ironically, the fact that Founder considers it worthwhile to sell (and promote) dual-boot PCs may say a lot more about the suitability of desktop Linux than pure-linux products from Dell or Lenovo.
a subject! (Score:2)
In the United States, it's likely that if Linux started to gain desktop traction, Microsoft could easily crush this with patent litigation, and by punishing OEMs who provide other-than-Windows PCs by giving them poorer deals on Windows. This, incidentally, is probably just one of the many reasons that Apple would never sell a 'white box OS X' - because Microsoft can easily crush Apple just by discontinuing Office for the Mac. That, and App