Just last week, we heard that Apricot Computers would be offering its PicoBook Pro with Linux or Windows XP, but evidently its marketing department caught wind of the same trend that MSI picked up on earlier this month. If you'll recall, MSI found that Linux-infused netbooks get returned four times as often as units with Windows XP, and while the official word is that Apricot "made this decision to ensure customers had a smooth installation of their operating system," our bets are that it's just sidestepping the potential headaches associated with selling something outside of the status quo. As of today, the Windows XP version (or only version, as it were) is going for £299 ($483) -- a full £20 ($32) more than the previously cheapest edition.

[Via Yahoo!]

While we're short on formal announcements, various retailers are displaying Lenovo ThinkPad X61 wares with Intel's latest chips inside. A Penryn T8100-powered X61 is on MacMall with 1GB of RAM and a 120GB HDD for $1,550, while a T8300 version goes for $1,610. Specs are otherwise the same as existing ThinkPads, and no tablet version is offered. It's starting to feel like laptop manufacturers are stringing us along here, instead of offering next-gen laptops to match Intel's next-gen chips, but it's still early in the game, and maybe we're just paranoid. In other news, Lenovo has begun delivering SUSE Linux-based ThinkPad R61 and T61 laptops, with prices starting at $949 -- quite the improvement on 2006's "efforts."

[Via Laptoping]

Read - Penryn ThinkPads
Read - Linux ThinkPads

We're not sure why Lenovo (and anyone else) is making such a big stink about the fact that it's going to be selling laptops bundled with SUSE Linux on there -- they did announce this deal almost a year ago. Still, actually snagging a Linux ThinkPad is easier said than done (namely because the machines apparently weren't made available to consumers and businesses), so put your tuxes on, the pre-loaded Linux party starts Q4 for anyone with enough cash to snag one.

It's been a week since version 3 of the GPL was released, and the ripple effect is starting to make some pretty big waves: Microsoft -- which has been essentially selling Novell's SUSE Linux since last year -- released a terse statement today claiming that neither it nor its customers are parties to any terms of the revised license. Furthermore, "to avoid any doubt or legal debate on this issue," Microsoft will decline to support any GPL v3 code that might be distributed with SUSE. Microsoft does have a point: since Linux remains under GPL v2 (and probably will for the foreseeable future), there's very little binding them to the terms of GPL v3 -- specifically, the patent protection terms that would essentially undo the major element of the whole MS / Novell agreement. How the inclusion of GPL v3 code with SUSE affects the overall license is another matter entirely -- one that will result in a lot of legal chest-pounding until the GPL finally gets tested in an American court.

Disclaimer: While the author of this post is a copyright attorney, its contents are not meant to constitute legal advice or analysis.

[Via CNET]

The adoration for Linux that has been flowing from Round Rock of late is both refreshing and curious, and Dell has just taken its respect for the open-source OS to another level by signing on with Microsoft and Novell. While Linux users have long griped (and protested) about Microsoft, it's been no secret that Michael Dell has a thing for Ubuntu, and now it sounds like Dell will be "buying SUSE Linux Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft," and moreover, "will be setting up a services and marketing program aimed at getting users of open-source platforms to switch to the new SUSE Linux offering." With the agreement inked, the Texas Powerhouse becomes the "first major systems provider to align with Microsoft and Novell in the collaboration," and judging by all the other recent Linux happenings in the Dell arena, we'd say this deal aligns perfectly with its current strategy.

We enjoy a good "Will it blend?" episode just as much as the next YouTube addict, and this one takes the meme to new heights. Tom Dickson is on the scene to entertain Novell BrainShare attendees with an IT infrastructure smoothie. Naturally, this involves a copy of Vista from Novell's best buddy, a SUSE figurine, Apple Mighty Mouse and a can of Red Bull. The addition of "blades" adds a bit of suspense, but the end result seem to match IRL interoperability quite nicely -- we keed, we keed! Peep the video after the break.

[Via Digg]