For Now, HP Won't Expand Linux Lineup

Months after launching a pilot program in Australia to pre-load Linux on mainstream PCs, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer giant still hasn't seen enough to convince it to do the same in the U.S.

"While we have no additional Linux expansion plans at this time, we will continue to closely monitor demand for a standard, pre-loaded Linux PC offering for both consumers and business users in all of our regions around world," an HP spokeswoman says. The company offers Linux pre-loads on PCs in China and offers it on a case-by-case, customized installation for some customers of its business-class PC products. But no mainstream business PCs are pre-loaded with Linux in the U.S. and it's not on HP's public roadmap, either.

The spokeswoman said the company wouldn't discuss any plans for Linux PCs in the U.S.

HP continues to offer server products with Linux, and pre-loads Novell's SLED 10 onto its new, niche mobile Mini note. But the company is clearly happy to let Dell and Lenovo blaze the Linux PC and notebook trail in the U.S. Executives throughout the industry continue to talk about the Linux PC space as a niche for "enthusiasts," but the trend indicates that could be turning.

For example, earlier this year - - before Dell had even reached the one-year anniversary mark in its offering of Ubuntu on some Inspiron PCs - - the Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker expanded its Ubuntu PC lineup to include the Inspiron 1525. "The growth in Linux sales has enabled us to expand Linux onto more platforms over the last year," Daniel Judd, Dell's product group strategist, said at the time. Lenovo, too, has expanded its offering of ThinkPads pre-loaded with Novell's SLED 10. Another PC maker, Acer, is reportedly making noise about joining the party.

Behind the scenes, what are the real reasons HP won't start pre-loading Linux on PCs? Some might suggest it's because the company is tied too closely to Red Hat, which recently decided it would stay out of the desktop Linux business. Some might suggest it's because the company has been too distracted over the past year in negotiations with EDS over their pending merger. But more likely than not, HP is simply happy to keep doing what it's doing - - a Windows-focused strategy that pushed it to the Number 1 spot in worldwide PC market share.