Lenovo is doing something that many aren't.

At least in the U.S. and Canada, that is.

This was brought to my attention thanks to a Reddit post where a user (presumably a resident of Canada), had posted how Lenovo was shipping laptops with Fedora and Ubuntu at a cheaper price compared to their Windows-equipped counterparts.

Others then chimed in, saying that Lenovo has been doing this since at least 2020 and that the big price difference shows how ridiculous Windows’ pricing is.

When I dug in further, I found out that the US and Canadian websites for Lenovo offered U.S. $140 and CAD $211 off on the same ThinkPad X1 Carbon model when choosing any one of the Linux-based alternatives.

I think these manufacturers could do a better job in marketing these Linux-based alternative operating systems to general consumers, showing them how they can save big when opting for these instead of the pricey and bloated Windows.

      • IronKrill@lemmy.caEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        If I were to guess, I’d say they may get a discount but Lenovo could be reducing their margin to incentivize people away from Windows so they can stop paying out Windows licenses in the future.

    • alphabethunter@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      It’s crazy that “lobbying budget” and “buying lobbyists” is a thing said in the openness and not illegal. Thanks for sharing this report, it’s a great (disgusting) read.

  • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    The trick with selling Linux is not telling the user it’s not Windows. I used to refurb old laptops for old ladies. Throw a light version of Linux on there, show 'em the internet, maybe setup email, done. And I never got pestered to come back and fix shit.

    • Sixty@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      My parents bought laptops together around 2013 that they still use today, just with new batteries and SSD upgrades.

      Windows 10 was already pushing it, I had to do some funky things to stop Windows from overwriting old drivers with newer versions that broke stuff like the trackpads. Now they have Fedora KDE spin. The GUI is similar enough when all you do is use Thunderbird, Firefox, and the File Explorer.

      Changing OS was still scary to them, so I just brought over a live USB for them to test drive.

      • shalafi@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 month ago

        The test drive is brilliant! But for most of the folks I’m talking about, not going to give them a choice that will only confuse them. Not to be the high-handed, know-it-all IT guy, but sometimes you present a solution as a fait accompli. “There ya go! Here’s how it works. Any questions? Enjoy!”

        And BTW, YES to you! A fresh $20 battery, an SSD and Linux Light (or similar), new laptop as far as they can tell. We on the same page!

    • YerbaYerba@lemm.eeEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      My grandmother used Ubuntu for years. I setup autologin and put a Firefox shortcut on the Desktop. The next time a problem cropped up was when the LTS support ended

  • Kane@femboys.bizEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    This is fair, and might advertise a bit just how expensive Windows still is.

    Have other companies been doing this before, I’ve heard of Dell selling Linux laptops but not sure if they’re cheaper.