Apricot ditches "unpopular" Linux

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 22 Oct 2008 at 16:10

Apricot has ditched the Linux version of its new Picobook Pro netbook, claiming it was unpopular among testers.

The netbook was initially offered with a choice of either Suse Linux Enterprise Edition for £279 or Windows XP for £328.

However, the company has now dumped the Linux version from its line-up, and dropped the price of the XP model to £299.

Apricot claims people simply weren't responding to Linux. "It was decision from the testing Apricot has done with various groups," a spokesperson tells PC Pro. "The version of Linux that was being used just wasn't very popular, so the decision was taken to go solely with XP."

At least part of that unpopularity might be attributed to Apricot's decision not to offer a dashboard-type menu found on Asus and Acer netbooks.

Instead Picobook customers were simply presented with a fresh install of Suse Linux Enterprise Edition, potentially quite a daunting sight for somebody just looking to hammer out a few emails.

The fact that it was Suse Linux that was unpopular does potentially leave the door open for the netbook to appear with another Linux distro, but the spokesperson would not comment.

As for those who ordered a netbook with Suse Linux, they will be sent an email explaining Apricot's decision and offered an XP model at no extra cost.

Find out what life with Linux is really like, and read our in-depth guide to installing Ubuntu and Fedora, in this month's PC Pro, on sale now.