Lenovo To Support SLED 10 In New Linux ThinkPads

Lenovo on Tuesday plans to release two high-end ThinkPad notebooks that will support Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 10. The operating system, however, won't be preloaded on the PCs.

The ThinkPad T60p Linux Mobile Workstations, which come in 14-inch and 15-inch models, will ship without a Microsoft operating system, according to Lenovo. SLED 10 copies and licenses can be acquired from Novell separately and then installed, said Raj Aggarwal, worldwide product manager for the ThinkPad T series at Raleigh, N.C.-based Lenovo.

"What we're trying to do here is release a Linux-enabled solution on a ThinkPad T60p, a mobile workstation that we feel fits current demand and market requirements out there today," Aggarwal said.

Currently, no tier-one PC vendor preloads any distribution of Linux on a notebook or a desktop PC. Some published reports had stated incorrectly that Lenovo would offer SLED 10 preloaded on the new ThinkPads.

"Let me be clear: We are not preloading," Aggarwal said. "What we're giving the customer is more choice in the ability to go to Novell and get the license and the operating system. We're providing the drivers and the utilities."

For the first time, though, Lenovo will provide Linux help-desk support for the new ThinkPads running SLED 10, including support for ThinkVantage technology, drivers, and some Linux configuration and hardware issues, Aggarwal noted. Waltham, Mass.-based Novell said in a statement that it will support "core operating-system questions and issues."

The 14-inch ThinkPad T60p Linux Mobile Workstation carries a list price of $3,099, and the 15-inch model is priced at $3,199. Lenovo will sell the products via the channel and its Web site.

The notebooks are targeted at the computer-assisted design (CAD) and engineering markets. The ThinkPad T60p with SLED 10 will support warm and cold docking while running the OS, and it can house up to 4 Gbytes of memory.

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