Dell Inc will soon offer more personal computers that use the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft Corp's Windows, said the founder of a company that offers Linux support services

As Dell Inc. approaches its one-year anniversary of selling laptop and desktop computers preloaded with Ubuntu Linux, the company is continuing to expand the fledgling program to new computer models and markets.

Dell has all but bowed to pressure from Microsoft to torpedo its Ubuntu line of computers. In case you are wondering, there are still lots of other vendors that offer a choosy range of machines preinstalled with Linux for your convenience.

VMware today inked a quartet of software deals with server giants Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Fujitsu Siemens. The agreements will infuriate Microsoft which is struggling to get its own virtualisation offering onto the market.

When Hewlett-Packard first announced that it had made SLED 10 its choice for a low-cost laptops, we were not very surprised because of the solidarity there is between Microsoft and H-P (Dell raises some doubts too).

The big news in the Linux realm for the past few months has been Dell's introduction of Ubuntu-preinstalled computers. Dell's not the only game in town, though -- there are also some Lenovo machines that are certified to work with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. You don't need assurances and certifications to get a good laptop system that will work with Linux, though.

Hewlett-Packard supports and offers only the Microsoft-taxed version of GNU/Linux to prospective users

"gNewSense DeltaH was released today, and we are pleased to offer preconfigured Workstations, Portable Systems, ThinkCentres, Laptops, and Servers, as well as fully customized Core 2 Duo, Athlon 64, Xeon, and Opteron computers, preinstalled with the latest gNewSense GNU/Linux operating system.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's Number 1 PC maker, will try selling pre-loaded Linux on PCs in several countries as it expands a test program -- evaluating a market that some competitors have already entered -- and moves its personal computer business into a new generation of form factors and functionality.