As major PC makers prepare to introduce Windows 7 systems on Oct. 22, upstarts like System76 are maintaining their focus on the Ubuntu market and preparing to preload Ubuntu 9.10 on a range of PCs starting Oct. 29. Here's a preview of what's to come.

I have sort of a love-hate relationship with Dell. On one hand, I appreciate that they occasionally sell Ubuntu machines, but I am really sick of their avaliability games. The number of avaliable computers, and the options that go with them, changes randomly from day to day. For new readers, I am not a fan of these variations. Today, the selection has moved from annoying to almost comical.

There's little question that Linux on laptops (and on PCs in general) is no longer nearly as complicated or painful as it used to be. The new problem is whether notebook manufacturers are going to readily offer Linux to consumers -- both regular folks on the street and corporate clients -- outside of designated niches.

Face it, now that the dam has broken with the OLPC, the EEE PC and now the prospect of Everex’s Cloudbook coming out in January at CES, Microsoft is really feeling the heat from Linux in this market. It also doesn’t help that people have reacted to Microsoft’s UMPC hardware offering with either loathing, disbelief ($1100 for THAT?!) or just plain ignored it.