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No Demand for Linux in the UK?

Posted by Zonk on from the we-like-tea-not-penguins dept.

eldavojohn writes "If you're a Linux user in the UK looking for a Linux box, you're not going to get it from Acer. The computer maker has started releasing Linux installed machines in Singapore but cited 'no demand' as a reason for not releasing the same computer with Linux installed in the UK. From the ZDNet article: 'Before the launch of the Acer Aspire in Singapore, there had been no suggestion that any major manufacturer other than Dell was even considering releasing Ubuntu-based products. However, Acer president Gianfranco Lanci did tell Financial Times Deutschland that "the whole [PC] industry is disappointed with Windows Vista". Lanci claimed that Microsoft's new operating system had not boosted PC sales, due to concerns over its stability and overall maturity.'"

3 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe... by u-bend · · Score: 5, Funny

    They just don't want Linux on an Acer.
    Not a troll, just saying.

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    u-bend
    1. Re:Maybe... by danbert8 · · Score: 5, Informative
      From the linked wikipedia article:

      "Lunix", however, is sometimes used as a mocking respelling of "Linux" in humorous contexts. I think it means exactly what he was using it to mean.
      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    2. Re:Maybe... by teh+kurisu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Much as I would like to believe that it's a lack of demand for Acer computers rather than Linux, I suspect it has more to do with the fact that buying it with Windows pre-installed basically amounts to getting a virtually free copy of Windows, which as a monopoly OS is always nice to have. Linux, on the other hand, is almost universally a free-as-in-beer download.

      Better to buy a computer with Windows and then decide you want Linux, than buy a computer with Linux and decide that you need Windows.