A Hewlett-Packard PC with Linux?

September 14, 2008 · Filed Under Technology

According to a recent story in BusinessWeek, Hewlett Packard has been exploring the possibility of using something other than Windows Vista for some of its computers. The article has some denials from HP spokespersons, but their denials seem weak and uncertain in wording, so odds are, they’re correct in some form or another.

Apple and Mac computers are grabbing increasing market share; at least some of Apple’s new sales are coming at the expense of companies like HP and Dell. It has to be frustrating to Windows OEMs like HP that they don’t really control the complete user experience the way Apple does. HP has a history of wanting to control the user shell more closely, so that loss of control must really irritate them at times.

The idea that HP might create its own operating system from scratch is crazy (and expensive and unnecessary), so they had no problem denying that rumor. Part of the article, confirmed by HP, was about their efforts to “innovate on top of Vista”, in HP’s words. That could simply be some tack-on applications, or added functionality at the BIOS level for certain functions, but I have a hard time believing that would solve a lot of consumer problems. It may even create a whole new set of compatibility issues.

The big question is whether HP is pondering the use of Linux on its consumer PCs. This is territory already explored by the successful Asus Eee PC. That tiny notebook offers both Linux and Windows — but it’s Windows XP. Microsoft has made it clear that XP is OS-non-grata its future plans, so the Linux option may be HP’s best alternative. This would turn the whole OS/PC world pretty much upside down, and MS would be none too happy to see one of its biggest partners defect to Linux.

There are plenty of Linux distributions that HP could use, so the engineering effort could boil down to making sure that high-quality Linux drivers are available (sometimes not a given). HP could push most of that work down to their chipset suppliers such as Intel and NVidia. Sure, they’d want to brand their Linux user interface with some sort of custom HP look, but that shouldn’t take long and wouldn’t cost much, more than likely. Some Linux gurus would probably volunteer testing and ideas for nothing, just to see it happen.

HP has tried to be a good partner with Microsoft in the past, and hasn’t always been rewarded with much loyalty for the effort. One example came to light in a lawsuit where MS told HP execs that Vista would require high-end video hardware, and HP accelerated a redesign of their product lines to support the new chipsets Vista needed. Then, Microsoft backpedaled and said that less-capable video chipsets, the ones in HP’s soon-to-be-defunct products, could be labeled “Vista Capable.”

Microsoft has some options to keep HP consumer products Linux-free. Microsoft will probably use the carrot of a price break or marketing money, similar to the way Intel appeased OEMs with the Intel Inside program. In essence, Microsoft can price Vista or XP in a way that “pays” HP to not use Linux. That may ultimately be an offer HP can’t refuse. Either way, MS needs to step up and do something it appears, or an HP box with Linux may become reality.

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