Lenovo has inked an agreement with Novell to provide preloaded Linux on Lenovo ThinkPad notebook PCs and to provide support from Lenovo for the operating system.

"We have seen more customers utilizing and requesting open source notebook solutions in education, government and the enterprise since our ThinkPad T60p Linux announcement, and today's announcement expands upon our efforts by offering customers more Linux options," said Sam Dusi, vice president, product marketing, Notebook Business Unit, Lenovo.

The companies will offer SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell to commercial customers on Lenovo notebooks beginning in the fourth quarter of 2007. The ThinkPad notebooks with the Linux-preload will also be available for purchase by individual customers.

For the first time, Lenovo says it will provide direct support for both the hardware and operating system. Novell will provide maintenance updates for the operating system directly to ThinkPad notebook customers.

The two companies have a history of joint research and development spanning more than five years. For several years Lenovo has Linux-certified its ThinkPad notebook PC line and provided customers with the necessary tools to optimize the Linux experience on a ThinkPad notebook. Lenovo continues to the offer Help Center support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 that started with the ThinkPad T60p mobile workstation notebook.

Notebooks in the ThinkPad T Series feature the latest technologies along with Lenovo's newest innovations, such as a Top Cover Roll Cage for extreme durability, ultra-fast wireless connectivity with Ultra Connect II and maximum battery life along with the Battery Stretch tool. Customers also benefit from the business applications delivered in SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, including the OpenOffice.org productivity suite, an email client and web browser.