Lenovo Officially Adds Novell SUSE Linux to Thinkpad T60p Mobile Workstations
August 15, 2006 at 08:00:00 PM, by Thai Tan
Laptop Logic has exclusive information on Lenovo\'s Novell SUSE Linux offering and support!
In a surprising move, Lenovo is offering full support for the Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 (SLED 10) operating system.We had the chance to talk with Lenovo about this new move and gained some interesting insight into their latest offering. As most of you can probably guess, the decision to offer the Novell SUSE Linux operating system wasn't meant for your average user or even the average Linux user. Before we get into the reasoning behind this new option, let's go over the details regarding Linux availability:
- Users must provide their own copy of SLED 10: Lenovo does not pre-load the operating system.
- Special Linux versions of the Thinkpad T60p models are available: these have no operating system loaded on them.
- Once the Linux T60p is purchased along with a separate copy of SLED 10, Lenovo provides full support, drivers, and ThinkVantage Technologies (TVT's).
- Lenovo does not support SLED on non-Linux Thinkpads, although the drivers and TVT's will be available for public download.
So what prompted Lenovo to offer up full Linux support? This new offering is the result of several years of work, starting with Linux certifications and moving towards full feature & technical support. A system certified for Linux simply means it was tested with a certain distribution and most of the basics functions work. Unfortunately a lot of the features that are necessary for notebooks to operate properly can be missing or not fully supported in some Linux distributions: wireless, 3D acceleration, suspend/hibernate, modems, optical mice, integrated audio, ThinkVantage Button, Rapid Restore, Access Connections, and other unique Thinkpad features.
To resolve these issues with Thinkpads and Linux, Lenovo will provide "basic up and running support" for Novell SLED 10. Drivers and utilities are available on the Lenovo website and will be updated just like regular Windows drivers.
The two Thinkpads available for this special option are T60p models, in 14" and 15" screen sizes (2007-8ZU/9ZU model numbers). These two models are loaded to the hilt for a full professional workstation: 14" SXGA+/15" UXGA, Core Duo T2700 2.33GHz, up to 4GB RAM, ATI Mobility FireGL V5200 256MB GDDR3 graphics, 100GB 7200RPM hard drive, and the usual wireless & security features. Linux will also offer something Windows cannot: the ability to use the full 4GB RAM! So who could use all this horsepower in a non-mainstream application like Linux? One word: engineers.
3D Desktop (Enlarge Image)
A lot of graphic & CPU intensive engineering applications are designed natively for Linux, which can offer numerous benefits to the users so long as the hardware is there to back it up. Without proper software support, Linux can't really utilize the hardware a Thinkpad has to offer. Lenovo looks to change that with fully certified and tested drivers, as well as access to the popular Lenovo ThinkVantage Technologies like the Configuration Utility, Power Manager, and Access Connections.
Application Tiling (Enlarge Image)
When asked about the possibility of future Linux offerings and support in the Lenovo lineup, we were told that it is not out of the realm of possibility. Obviously this is a kind of test case, to see how popular this option is and of course how profitable. If things turn out well with this new option, we could be seeing "Linux" as one of the check boxes when you go to configure your next notebook. Perhaps we can see this in the future on the forthcoming widescreen Thinkpad T-series?
The Lenovo Thinkpad T60p's supporting Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 will be available for $3,099 for the 14" and $3,199 for the 15" models. The regular Thinkpad T60p models of the same hardware configuration are $3269 (14") and $3369 (15"). The lack of a Microsoft Windows operating system saves users $170! According to the Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop homepage, a license of Novell SLED 10 is only $50 with 1 year of support. Now that's cost savings you can take to the bank!
Read our in-depth Lenovo Thinkpad T60 Review!
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