Hewlett-Packard began shipping its first ever notebook
computer to come pre-installed with the Linux operating
system.
The Compaq nx5000 was unveiled at the LinuxWorld Conference
& Expo in San Francisco during a keynote by HP vice-president
of Linux, Martin Fink.
"This is the year that Linux overtakes the Mac on the desktop,
and maybe my laptop will help accelerate that," Fink said.
IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky believes that this has already
happened. "Linux captured the number two spot as desktop operating
system in 2003," he said.
Although Linux has proved popular as a server operating system,
it has had less success on the desktop. In late 2000, IBM began
offering Linux preinstalled on its A20 and T20 notebooks, but it
eventually withdrew the Linux offering.
By 2007, the research firm estimates that Linux will have 6% of
the desktop market in terms of units, Kusnetzky said.
Starting at $1,140 (£630), the nx5000 ships with either Intel's
Celeron or Pentium processors, a 15in screen, and between 30Gbytes
and 60Gbytes of storage.
The Linux version ships with Novell's SuSE Linux 9.1 and the
OpenOffice productivity suite. The product can also be purchased
with Windows XP.
Robert McMillan writes for IDG News Service