Lenovo to offer Linux on ThinkPads

CHINESE PC-maker Lenovo has reached an agreement with Novell under which it will pre-install Suse Linux on its popular ThinkPad notebook machines.

Lenovo will also provide direct support for the Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop operating system – the first time the company has taken responsibility for both the hardware and operating system.

Lenovo and Novell have a five-year history of joint R&D work, and Lenovo has for several years Linux-certified its ThinkPad notebooks.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Lenovo in delivering this pioneering Linux preload to the enterprise client computing market,” said Novell open platform solutions vice-president Roger Levy.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Lenovo in delivering this pioneering Linux preload to the enterprise client computing market,” he said.

Lenovo Notebook Business Unit marketing vice-president Sam Dusi said the two companies would continue to expand their Linux cooperation as the market demanded.

“Known for hardware and software based innovations like our roll cage and ThinkVantage Technologies, we continue our tradition of building the industry's best engineered PCs and delivering excellent customer solutions, such as SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell,” Mr Dusi said.


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Lenovo recalls 205,000 ThinkPad batteries

CHINESE PC manufacturing giant Lenovo has issued a voluntary recall of 205,000 battery packs used in its ThinkPad line of notebook systems over concerns they are potentially dangerous.

Lenovo, the world’s third largest PC manufacturer behind HP and Dell, did not announce the financial impact the recall would have on the company.

It said in a statement that there were concerns that the battery packs could ignite if the notebooks were subject to a strong physical impact – like being dropped on the floor – following several reported incidents in the US and Europe.

It is not clear how many of the faulty systems – which Lenovo produced in conjunction with Sanyo – have been sold in Australia.

The company said the recall was for battery packs used in the ThinkPad series R60, R60e, T60, T60p, Z60m, Z61e, Z61m and Z61p.

It is the second major battery pack recall Lenovo has been forced to issue in the past year. Last September the company recalled more than 500,000 lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Sony.

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