In my world some computer lingo is equivalent ancient Ewok gibberish ‘the debian version 2.02 of the CGL spec what? But even in my hazy cyber connected jungle gym mind I must admit that the term Linux has grown. It has become a familiar term. When I first learned Linux I would have to explain to my peers what it was. Of course my peers are the artsy type who mostly stops listening when they realize it isn’t a new fashion line or shade of lime. Now I find these same people are going from saying ‘A different operating system than Windows? Why?” to,” Linux? The penguin right? I just picked up the Fedora live CD and was going to give it a try.” What the hell? Has the world gone mad? My artsy friends know about Linux?!?! Of course they do, Linux has never been as popular as it currently is!Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Calif, Palo Alto, all offer Linux based systems now on their on their note books or PCs. There are some system builders that are broaching having Linux on desktops.

So why would a computer company openly shun Linux? Well, you would have to ask Lenovo. Although they seem equally confused by what they are doing.

This Chinese computer supplier bought out IBM’s PC division some time last year. IBM has been a supporter of Linux – especially through the ThinkPad – and has invested over 2 million for a expanding the Linux development center in Brazil just months ago. In fact until recently the buzz was that IBM was canceling their contract with Microsoft and would not be using Windows Vista for their desktops. Translation – move to Linux.

Yet on Friday Frank Kardonski, the product manager for Lenovo 3000 series, indicated that Linux was no longer welcome in the Lenovo family. In an interview with CRN Kardonski stated, “We will not have models available for Linux, and we do not have custom order, either. What you see is what you get. And at this point, it’s Windows.” This of course followed the announcement of a 1.2 billion one-year contract with Microsoft.

But wait, there is more! Now of course Lenovo is denying any Linux rejection. They say that they will continue support for Linux customers. IBM just refuses to comment on any Lenovo plans in general.
So what’s up? Who knows? One thing is certain, to deny your customers and clients of such a major option as Linux compatibility seems rather like ‘cutting your nose off to spite your face’. Maybe that is the source for all the back peddling. Don’t mess with the penguin, man!