Computer maker Lenovo will not install or support the Linux operating system on any of its PCs, including ThinkPads and a series of new notebooks, the company said this week.
The Raleigh, N.C.-based company is clearly positioning itself as an exclusive partner of Microsoft, several weeks after the companies announced they were "reaffirming" global market development and cooperation agreements.
"We will not have models available for Linux, and we do not have custom order, either," said Frank Kardonski, Lenovo"s worldwide product manager for Lenovo 3000 offerings. "What you see is what you get. And at this point, it"s Windows."
While Lenovo and Microsoft have had a long OEM relationship that pre-dates Lenovo"s takeover last year of the former IBM PC Co., IBM had been supportive of Linux throughout its product line — including preloading it on Thinkpads — before the sale to Lenovo.
Lenovo"s two biggest rivals, Hewlett-Packard, Palo Alto, Calif., began offering Linux-based notebooks as early as 2004, and Dell offers Linux configurations on some of its PC clients.