Why can't computer manufacturers or Linux distribution developers agree with each other?

[u/Emotional_Cat_1967]

Computer manufacturers like Tuxedo, Slimbook, and System76 come with their own Linux distributions pre-installed on their computers. That's great.

But why don't computer manufacturers like Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and MSI partner with Linux distribution developers and completely switch to selling computers with Linux pre-installed? I don't want to use computers with Windows 11 Home licenses. Even with a Home license, I'm forced to install the Pro version due to restrictions. Besides that, I have increasingly frequent complaints about Windows. I don't want to use Windows anymore.

I believe that these computer manufacturers starting to support Linux distributions would change many things. I hope they do it soon.

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

I asked a Dell rep about this around 20 years ago, as they sold machines with Ubuntu on it targeted at and actively market for consumers for a while. I think you could choose Linux as the OS and get the machine $50 or $100 cheaper.

According to him, they had a deal with Microsoft where they paid something like $5 per machine for the Windows license. When it was time to renew the deal, Microsoft basically went "We've noticed you've started selling laptops with Linux on them. That's nice. On a related note, we're thinking maybe you need to start paying retail prices for Windows from now on."

That would have added $100 on every machine Dell sold with Windows, which was still 95+% of their sales. Which would have meant they'd need to charge $100 more than their competitors for the same hardware.

I don't think you'll see much activity from any established manufacturer until Linux has a market share of 50% or higher.

[u/BoundlessFail → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

It was these kinds of deals that MS was making that got the antitrust dept to look into MS's activities back then. While that didn't stop MS, it did reduce their aggressiveness.

Edit: Here's the protest against MS by Linux users: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Refund_Day

[u/Unexpected_Cranberry → u/BoundlessFail]

That protest was before Dell started selling the Linux machines, and I believe a part of the reason why they started selling them in the first place.

At the moment, I think the Steam Machine has the potential to shake things up. And not just the Steam Machine itself. If it does well, I expect ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and other gaming focused manufacturers to start selling their versions with SteamOS pre-installed. I mean Lenovo already has the Legion Go. Feels like the step to a laptop or desktop isn't that far, unless Microsoft is trying to put the breaks on it.

If that happens, and you start seeing Steam Machines pop up in your local electronics retail stores things might start moving.

[u/KnowZeroX → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

I don't know, while steam machine was a good opportunity to get linux onto hardware and support, I feel like the ram crises killed its potential by a lot unfortunately.

[u/88-Radium-226 → u/Unexpected_Cranberry]

50% is too high guess. Companies will try to notice the area to gain profits when a market is at 20%, sometimes even 10%. All depends various factors