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They do make them extremely difficult to buy on their website and the linux offerings are generally more expensive when you do find them. Maybe that makes sense
by gardnr 7y ago
They do make them extremely difficult to buy on their website and the linux offerings are generally more expensive when you do find them. Maybe that makes sense in some spreadsheet somewhere that takes long term support into account but when I look at a the same laptop, on with windows and one with linux. When the one with linux is $400 more, it's pretty clear that what the company wants to sell.
- brudgers 7y agoIn some corporate environments $400 for preinstalled Linux might be a bargain given the logistics of receiving, unpacking, reconfiguring, testing, repacking, and shipping laptops out across the organization. At the consumer end, I can only imagine what it can be like to support a customer who fears installing Linux on a Thinkpad. It’s not a customer I would pursue with discounts.
- tormeh 7y agoIf I could buy a Windows laptop, and be absolutely sure that it's the exact same hardware used in the corresponding Linux model, then sure, I'd save those 400 USD. As it is with laptops, the Windows version might have a Linux-unfriendly network card or something silly and the fun begins. That's why I chose a Dell with Linux pre-installed. Besides, it comes with support, including automatic BIOS upgrades.
- brudgers 7y agoMy comments are about Thinkpads. And I am assuming Fedora or another stability motivated distro just to be clear. Dell is also an option. Historically, I’ve seen discounts for selecting Linux. But it’s also been an older version based on when I’ve shopped. That probably varies relative to model introduction and distro release cycles.