Best cheap laptop for linux?

[Chris Mohler]

On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 3:21 PM, Karl F. Larsen<klarsen1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dotan Cohen wrote:
>>> I have been doing a little sniffing around on the Linuxbased-PC-market,
>>> and have noticed an obsticle which complicates the selling of pre-
>>> installed linuxPCs.
>>>
>>> People using Windows just take what ever thrown to them by Microsoft,
>>> but Linux users don't just take any Linuxclone to their hart. Linux-
>>> people usualy have a purpose when they choose their OS. Some want Red
>>> Hat, some Suse, some Knoppix and some Ubuntu-this or Ubuntu-that. This
>>> makes it very difficult to industrialize an unifyed standard pre-
>>> installation routine, which produce CASH on the bottom line. Thats why
>>> they don't.
>>>
>>
>> Great, so let's just buy our laptops with whatever Microsoft throws at
>> us rather than ask for Linux - any Linux - instead.
>>
>>
>>
>    I think the solution is to ask the manufacturer to either sell the
> computer with no operating system, or the latest Microsoft product. And
> the cost of the package should be right for with or without the Windows,
> ie: $130.00 about less without.
>
>    This gives the buyer an idea what they are paying for.

Not that simple.

It's cheaper for a manufacture (let's say Dell) to sell the hardware
with windows pre-installed.  They get subsidized by the
spyware/malware/crapware that comes on your preinstalled OS.  Since
these companies do not have a linux product, the manufacturer gets no
such subsidy on a linux preinstall.

In other words - having windows preinstalled drives the cost *down*,
not up (at least for big manufacturers).

Chris