Acer gives mixed message on Linux line-up
Acer won't commit to pre-installing Linux on its line-up in Australia, despite hinting that it would do so in the UK.
The apparent green light in the UK is an about face from earlier this week, when an Acer spokesperson told ZDNet Australia's sister site, ZDNet UK, it wouldn't offer Ubuntu as an option due to a lack of demand.
Credit: Acer
Robin Tang, Acer Computer Australia's marketing manager said: "We currently have not committed any plan for PCs with Linux pre-installed."
However, in certain circumstances Acer can ship products with Linux. "We offer products that meet customers' specific computing needs, including the choice of OS. Linux has its following here and Acer Australia can ship PCs with Linux pre-installed when there is a requirement", Tang added.
"Acer is flexible in providing our customers the choice of OS during purchase. We work with our channel partners in configuring PCs to specification when there is a need."
Will we see Ubuntu in retail stores soon? "We cannot comment on how the demand will grow in the future," Tang said.
Acer's response is not unexpected and echoes the stance of Toshiba and industry analysts who believe that local demand for Linux on desktops is negligible.
In the UK, an Acer spokesperson originally told our sister site ZDNet UK on Tuesday that it wouldn't be offering Ubuntu as an option due to a lack of demand. It has since clarified its stance, saying that "at this moment in time Acer UK does not have a PC available with Linux pre-loaded, but we are looking at introducing one in the future."
An Acer spokesperson confirmed to CNET News.com that it won't be offering Linux in the US, for now.
However, resellers in Singapore have recently begun selling the Aspire 5107Z notebook with various flavours of Linux pre-installed, including Ubuntu. According to IDG, Acer shipped the notebooks with an unnamed version of Linux which was replaced with the Ubuntu or Linpus Linux distributions.
Meanwhile, Dell brought Linux back to its PCs this year, to the delight of its customers. The Ubuntu version of Linux is now available on five models in the US, and apparently there's more to come, according to Ubuntu inventor Mark Shuttleworth.
Paul McKeon, Dell's corporate communications manager in Australia confirmed that there are no plans to offer Ubuntu on Dell machines, for the time being.
Dell's US customers seem pleased so far, judging by the user comments on the company's Direct2Dell blog.
While sowing goodwill with a specific niche of customers is something Dell needs to do more of, Acer, on the other hand, doesn't need to offer Linux. The company is on a completely different trajectory than Dell.
The Taiwanese company came out of practically nowhere to take the mantle of third-largest PC vendor in the world in the first quarter of 2007. Its shipments for the second quarter were also impressive, up 55 percent worldwide, the most of any PC maker.
Erica Ogg of CNET News.com contributed to this report.