“Dell Computer Corp. said its sale of Linux-based personal
computers to Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp. was the first
time it has sold non-Windows PCs, although Dell has sold Linux
servers in the past.”
“Mike Prince, the chief technology officer at Burlington Coat
Factory, said he had gone shopping for Unix computers and never
looked seriously at Windows.”
“Kevin Arquit of Rogers & Wells in New York said that PC
makers are now offering Linux because the government has cleared
the way.
“Theoretically, personal computer makers have probably been free
to use other operating systems for some time,” Arquit said. “They
just didn’t dare do it because of the fear of retaliation by
Microsoft.”