Dell Computer, the world's No. 1 PC maker, is no longer offering the option of installing Linux on its personal computers, citing a lack of demand for the alternative operating system.
Linux, a rival to Microsoft's Windows operating system, has grown increasingly popular for use in powerful computer servers but has struggled to gain acceptance in the desktop market.
"We started offering it about a year ago in anticipation of spill-over demand from servers," said Dell spokeswoman Sarah Lavender. "But we've seen pretty flat demand."
Because Linux is an open-source operating system, meaning its inner workings are freely available on the Internet, users who wish to install Linux on any computer, including those from Dell, are still free to do so.
Lavender said Dell actually stopped offering desktop and laptop Linux machines about six weeks ago, and that the company will still offer workstations and servers featuring Linux distributions from Red Hat.
"We're still big supporters of Linux, but for desktops it's just not there," she said.
