Linux Pre-Installs In the UK Hit 2.8%

schliz alerts us to a story out of the UK PC distribution channel. It seems that the percentage of systems pre-installed with Linux has gone up 28 times since Vista shipped, from 0.1% in January 2007 to 2.8% last June. Still not huge numbers, but Apple did OK for years with similar market share figures. Linux's headway comes in the face of the marketing money that manufacturers pass out to distributors, money that has historically been important to their profits: "In the late 1990s competition was so keen that distributors were said to sell at or below cost and take their profit direct from the marketing funds they received from vendors. Vendors nowadays keep watch to see their marketing funds are actually spent on marketing, but distribution runs on single figure profits and vendor marketing funds are a crucial aid."

Comments

Re:Does that mean, these machines had Linux on

[syousef]

If I have to report a pre-existing condition to the insurance company, I wouldn't have to report anything because all I have is existing conditions, if any.

But, if I do have any pre-existing conditions, that means I had them before they existed, which means I had them before I was born, and therefore...I've gone cross eyed.

My wife and I had different health funds. We were going to go with her's but ended up going with mine. The reason was that hers considered any genetic condition or condition diagnosed at birth (but not resulting from it) a pre-existing condition, and as such wasn't covered for the first year. In other words her fund said if our first child came out with a whole in his heart, tough titties for the first year you're on your own. We checked and rechecked and asked about mine and they had no such BS. She was pregnant (hence we were joining health funds). Guess which fund will never get another cent from us.