NewsForge: Mark of the Microsoft Beast

"If you've looked for a Linux laptop lately on any of the major OEM Web sites, you've seen it: the mark of the beast. The phrasing goes 'Dell|Lenovo|HP|Acer recommends Windows XP Professional.' What it means is that by virtue of a Microsoft marketing agreement, the OEM can make more money in the US by not pre-loading Linux than it could if it did. Things are different elsewhere.

"I looked for a Dell laptop with Linux preloaded and found this in addition to the mark of the beast: 'Dell does not officially support running Linux on Dell laptops. However, there are many great 'community-supported' resources available to help you get Linux running...'"

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