Lenovo now ship with Fedora

Wow. $211 is a steep discount. People are going to buy with Linux just to save money, some will try it (because it is there), and some may like it and stay.
At the very least, people may learn that Windows is no easier to install (or even harder).
- Windows is no easier to install (or even harder).
  I've installed both recent windows and common distros many times by hand (where unattended wasn't trivial) and found everything except latest windows 11 quite similar (including arch) and very easy. Current windows 11 afaik needs registry hacks but I've not installed one yet.

And you save money? Oh man, the path of least resistance just changed.
- I don't know if it's not scrolled enough but here we have another option which is "no os at all" and you save another 30€
  
  Shit like this gives me hope for the future

They always refused to reimburse the cost of Windows licences before this even if it was illegal in the country you lived in. I'm very surprised.
- I paid about $100 less to have my workstation shipped with Ubuntu instead of Windows 10 Pro 3 years ago. United States.
- The market is shifting...
  For at least half a decade I've been seeing computers - both brand-name laptops as well as custom built desktops - sold with FreeDOS as default, and you have to pay extra for Windows.
  The most important part is that you wouldn't get a pc with an instant desktop experience that would just let you just boot up and go to Facebook or whatever, so it had little chance of actually harming Microsoft.
  This may actually change things!
- This may help them absorb the tarrifs by advertising it at current rates while raising the price by 200 bucks.

$211?!
Surely that can't be US dollars, that'd be wild. The 24-hour clock also has me thinking this isn't the US.
Looking at the UK site, I'd 100% go for "No Operating System", then install Fedora Workstation anyway.
- It is -$140 on the US store, the -$211 is probably Australian dollars.
- Looks like $140 US
- It's removing 211 dollars from the price
  
  I know. It effectively means you pay $211 for Windows
  Which is is such a high dollar count that this simply cannot be USD, a theory further corroborated by the time being 24-hour format, which is uncommon in the US.
  I was simply curious to what type of dollar it is in the image. Australian, New Zealand, Canadian, something else?
  
  Windows 11 home costs more than $200???
  
  Oh thank you. I didn't see the tiny -.
  
  211 doll hair?
- For getting better support it might be worth it to pay the 25 £.
  
  I guess it would also signal to Lenovo that Fedora laptops are welcomed

It looks like (at least here in the U.S.) that this is the only model that allows selection of the OS. I looked at cheaper models of different product lines by them and they all include Windows 11.
I don't understand why companies don't offer more Linux options these days, there's zero excuse
- Partnership and contracts not to be confused with lack of excuse.
- Instal Windows everywhere and get cheaper Windows.
  Offer Linux and lose the offer from MS.
  So, offering linux was bad for business. Was. Bevause thanks to work communities did in Linux and marketing from Steam...and Proton, Linux stopped beimg a thing you'll easily lose clients over.
- Because no one buys Linux PCs. Dell used to sell multiple lines of laptops with Linux, but pretty much no one was buying apart from a few freaks.

Awesome, I wish more computer manufacturers did this and actually gave you the ability to choose the OS to ship your PC with, especially with how much cheaper it is to not include Windows with activation. Wow.
- Exactly. I currently have a notebook which is very well made. But it still sucks that I had to pay the windows license which is of no use : (

Would be nice if started with Linux as "included" and then added the 211 for windows.
- Marketing. Theyd never do that.
  Could also be a bulk licensing requirement. Ms pulled that shit with DOS.
  
  It's weird how the price drops when something "included' gets removed. Am I misunderstanding that word?
  
  Thought DOS was free
- honestly I prefer being able to subtract from the base price and have it actually be an improvement too
- If they did that sales would drop because people would switch to another manufacturer that gave them Windows for "Free".

Shipping it with Linux is the easiest way to convince a consumer that it does run Linux. :)

That's a funny way of sayin' that a Windows Home license costs $211.00.

$200???????
- $200 less (you save money not buying windows)
  
  Which makes the win11 pro license $297? That's obscene.

Is this a tariff thing? Like is it suddenly more expensive to license Windows, hence pushing OEMs to offer discount options?
Lenovo is at least partially Chinese.
- No, Lenovo has offered Ubuntu and at times other distributions preinstalled, for many years. It’s only on a small number of models.
  
  I don't think they did it at a $200 discount before.

you save 200$ by not having window$ in it?
- Depends on the country the computer is being sold in. Microsoft has different pricing structures per country and the OEM selling the computer pays down the line based on sales numbers. That's the main way MS Windows makes money. The price of Windows has always been part of the computer's price. It's a tiny minority of users who pay directly to MS for a windows license. Even businesses prefer the computer to come preinstalled with the OS.
  No, you don't get a cheaper computer if windows is cheaper in your country, final numbers are decided at the accounting level, not the point of sale. But, if they don't have to pay MS anything, they can offer a cheaper laptop for you, the end user.
  
  That's still money saved, the less money to M$ the better

I like this picture.
It's the usual upscaling method, but in this case, there is a way to get the price down from the default....

*$211 CAD

Fedora is better than Ubuntu?
- I'm sure there are opinions both ways. I think the reason Fedora is the headline is because it is the more recent addition. Lenovo has had an Ubuntu option on some machines for a few years now. Fedora is a fairly recent addition.
- Yes
  It has more up to date packages (while being reasonably stable), their implementation of gnome is essentially vanilla so its easier to build off of as a base (unless you like Ubuntus extensions and fonts but tbh you can always add those yourself)
  Their KDE edition (starting from the recently released version 42) is no longer a spin so it should get as much attention as Workstation (Gnome)
  DNF is arguably much better than APT and especially with the new improvements its seen
  Fedora handles snapshots much better (btrfs)
  There are more extensive third party repos on fedora
  They dont shove snaps down your throat
- Generally yes
- Ubuntu fucking sucks, every distro is better than Ubuntu
  
  I'm using Linux mint, I think it's build on Ubuntu. It's all i know, but I hear arch is awful for beginners.
- I switched a while go and haven’t regretted it.
- It depends. In my experience it’s less stable but has newer packages.
- I currently main Fedora. It is reasonably stable and reasonably cutting-edge. I'm happy about it.

I wish other choices in life were this easy.

It’s -$140 in my area. Additionally, the 2 other models I picked first didn’t have that option at all.

Interesting. Only Fedora seems to be available in Norway.
I'm still 2 years away from a new work laptop (my current one is doing just fine anyway), but when the time comes, I might go for this. Was thinking about going ThinkPad+Linux anyway.

Wtf I dont have that option when I look at the same laptop on the nz version of the website.
- Yeah looks like the AU/NZ version of their site does not have those options. Not that I'd be out buying a new laptop anytime soon, but a used laptop 😎

They will pay you to take it!

Now if only Asus did that as wel, then we'd be balling

Oh those price tags make me happy

Get the laptop without an OS
Install a trial copy of windows
Go to massgrave.dev.
- That's really cool, but the Spyware and AI bloat is still an issue
  
  Yeah, absolutely. Pretty much all of my devices are on some variant of Debian, but that's not always feasable for some folks, so with that method, at least you're not paying Microsoft through the nose for the privilege of harvesting your data.
- I'm pretty sure for most people the OS choice isn't about avoiding to pay, Linux simply is better. I also wouldn't switch to Windows if I got paid 200€.

That's why I bought my last two laptops from Dell.. In my country they offer a Linux version of their machines.

Lenovo's architecture sucks regardless what OS is on top. My opinion.

200 off is incredible
- It's 60€ in my region.
  
  The German store doesn't offer Fedora, but also gives 60 Euro off if you order no OS. I tried X1 Gen 10 and 13.
- I hope more OEMs start showing the price like this during configuration. People would probably think A LOT harder about using Windows if they were offered a $200 discount for trying something else...
- "By Grabthar's hammer... what a savings"
  
  He fit so much disgust and defeat into the delivery of that line. Absolute perfection.
- Aint no way people pay 211$ for that adware, spyware piece of shit operating system. Thats wild.
  
  When https://massgrave.dev/ exists it's even worse.
  I think this tax on tech illiterate people is getting too high.
  Should I start selling USB drives for $5? I don't wanna encourage Windows. But I feel bad for the normies. $211 is insane.
  MS literally allows massgrav on GitHub. They have for years. They do not give a fuck.
  Paying for windows at this point is a normie tax. And it's gotten too damn high!
  
  It’s even more wild because a few years ago, buying the OS on its own was half that price.
  
  Some time ago i checked some polish stores to compare W11 vs Linux / no OS prices and i found out that the difference isn't flat and it's actually about ~10% of product price (so the more expensive the notebook is - the higher the price of W11 is)
  
  When I was getting my PC they tried to upsell me for a 250€ windows license even if I insisted I didn't need one x3
- Wait, I had to do a double take. I thought they were charging $200 extra for Fedora and Ubuntu. They could consider sending some money to those distros for development which would still be cheaper than buying windows.

Let's see who considers the Linux options when they see they can get the same machine for 200 bucks cheaper. I hope other brands start considering doing this too.
- It's more probable people buying cheaper and then installing Windows afterwards - a lot more probable than starting their tech life from scratch.
  
  starting their tech life from scratch
  Lol that's an exaggeration
  
  Sure, and they'll be pirating it, a net benefit if it reduces Microsoft's monopoly.
  
  Then they could just not have an is preinstalled. No need for Linux first unless you don't already have a device to create the ISO with. (Which is something I'd expect most people to have access to if they know how to install windows)
  I really do believe that this is marketed towards people who want to use Linux.
  
  People who are tech savy maybe. Most consumers have no clue how to install windows (or any OS) with an iso though.
  
  Yep, get ISO from Microsoft's website (don't even need to sail for that part) then activate it using a super easy to find tool...
  
  You're really saying that they'd buy a laptop for cheap and install a new OS and aquire a key and all that? While I have your attention, are you interested in this bridge I have to sell you?
  Suggesting that the average end user is more likely to reinstall an OS and aquire a key than to just learn how to use the new OS is fucking laughable.
- I love it.
  Though some people will certainly take it wrong. The "iPhone is more expensive because it's better" people will happily pay their Windows tax, assuming they're even in the market for a Lenovo.
- Not only that. The software is so much better.

Oh nice, and down $200? Yes please
- They'd have to discount at least twice that amount for me to get the Ubuntu install, though.
  
  *use

This should be standard in stores. If people could save that much, they wouldn’t choose Windows haha
- Which is why it's never going to happen. Old people like me will remember the first EEE PC from Asus, the original netbook. Netbooks were small cheap laptops that were popular before smartphones were around. It ran Linux and it worked pretty well. Then Microsoft came out with a special version of Windows XP which could run on netbooks and they gave it away for free, just to prevent Linux from getting popular on consumer devices. So they're going to pull something like that again. And Lenovo know this, of course. This is likely just a negotiating tactic to get concessions from MS on licensing fees.
  
  Think you hit the nail on the head. God I hate how capitalism was applied during the induction of computers and the Internet. It ruined so much trying to force "scarcity" driven supply/demand on a technology that fundamentally removed the supply problem. At least in terms of software.
  Software never should have been allowed to be restricted by past limitations only to ensure profits could be made.
  But we force it on it. Only for the benefits of companies that serve to prevent innovation more than they produce it.

The year of the Linux desktop is upon us?
- Always has been
  
  🔫🐧
  
  No I think this time it actually is

Can't wait to see how they manage to fill fedora with bloatware too
- You'd still be able to just reinstall Linux, and save money in the process. And simply having the option available will probably help get Linux to some users that aren't overly tech savvy

I'm pretty sure they've been doing that for a long time. The other more business focused OEMs too.
- Indeed but it's rarely available to the general public. They don't mind selling 2000 units to a business with dedicated IT support. They (used to) totally draw the line at providing individual support to individual customers.
  In my experience (France), buy it while you can because it pops from time to time & disappears without warning.
  
  In my experience in Germany it's just available. Only for the business focused models, but still.

I thought they'd done this for years (on certain Thinkpads anyway)? Still I'd rather install my own than trust Lenovo to install it for me.
- Yes they have. They are a bit inconsistent on what's available, sometimes no linux version at all. The x1 gen 13 doesn't offer it last I checked.

One category "no OS", with also at least 211€ off, would be great. Don't need nothing on my device when I install Arch from scratch anyway. Or nc -lp 42069 > /dev/main/root and cat /dev/sda3 | nc 192.168.178.x -p 42069, recreate /dev/main/swap and reinstall /dev/main/boot. Or just nc -lp 42069 > /dev/nvme0n1 and cat /dev/nvme0n1 | nf 192.168.178.x -p 42069
- As available in France, tho only for €60 less.
  And you pay €30 for fedora (?)
  
  probably for the labour it takes to do the OEM install and verify that everything is up to date and works.. like audio and multi-monitor.

Where?
- Woah! Never seen this in France, ever. You can even get it os-free!
  The difference in pricing is concerning tho.
  
  “Système d’exploitation” feels like an apt description of Windows 11 😆
  
  Wait, "operating system" in French is "système d'exploitation"? That's particularly funny next to Windows 11 offers.