Lenovo finally delivers SUSE Linux-based ThinkPads
PC vendor Lenovo has promised ThinkPads with pre-installed Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 for some time now. Lenovo will deliver the goods the week of Jan. 14. — Lenovo will release pre-installed SLED 10 …
Context & Ripple Effects
Lenovo is finally shipping what it promised months ago: ThinkPads with Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 preinstalled, landing the week of Jan. 14. The move rides the same wave as Dell's Linux hardware support plans announced last May, which first showed a major OEM treating desktop Linux as a shippable enterprise product rather than a hobbyist install.
The timing also fits Lenovo's broader push to stand on its own brand: it retired the IBM sticker from ThinkPads in November 2007, CEO Bill Amelio said the company no longer needs the IBM name to sell notebooks, and it launched three consumer-oriented IdeaPad models in early January. A factory-loaded Linux option gives the post-IBM ThinkPad line an enterprise differentiator of its own.
First-order effects
- Enterprise buyers can now order ThinkPads with a supported, preinstalled SLED 10 image from Lenovo itself, removing the self-install-and-certify step that previously kept Linux off corporate laptop shortlists.
- Novell gains a second marquee OEM channel for SLED 10 beyond Dell, putting its enterprise desktop in front of Lenovo's corporate install base without Novell selling hardware.
Second-order effects
- Dell's Linux program is validated by a second top-tier OEM joining it, which puts competitive pressure on remaining vendors to match preloaded Linux offers or cede that segment.
- Preinstalled SLED 10 competes directly with Windows XP/Vista licenses on the same machines, forcing Microsoft's OEM pricing and bundling terms into the comparison at the point of sale.
Third-order effects
- If Dell and Lenovo both sustain preinstalled Linux lines, desktop Linux adoption shifts from individual downloads to procurement-line decisions, making OEM certification and driver quality the real bottleneck rather than the OS itself.
- A durable two-OEM market for enterprise Linux desktops would raise the stakes of Novell's partnerships and roadmap around SUSE, since its distribution reach now depends on hardware vendors' commitments.
The trend: Major PC makers are converting desktop Linux from a user-installed alternative into a factory-supported enterprise SKU, with Dell and Lenovo setting the pace.