Linux Laptops: The Ultimate Birthday Present?

My brother-in-law wants to buy his daughter a cost-effective laptop for her 13th birthday. As I made my recommendations, I realized the terrible bind consumers currently face. He’s frustrated with Windows, too price sensitive to buy a MacBook and vaguely familiar with Linux. Here’s where the conversation went, and how you can help his decision process.

When my brother in law reached out to me, he had the following perceptions:

So, what’s a consumer to do? Stick with Microsoft — even if you don’t want Windows? Stretch your budget and buy a Mac? Or is Linux really ready for consumers?

Fact is, most consumers don’t know about Linux or OpenOffice. But that’s changing. The conversation shifted gears when I showed my brother-in-law my Dell desktop with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, and I also showed him my son’s Asus Eee PC — the sub-notebook with a seven-inch screen.

Lingering Doubts

He was impressed but also had some concerns. Could a Linux system connect to his home printers? Would his daughter quickly get up to speed on Linux? What about Microsoft Office support?

I showed him how easy OpenOffice and Ubuntu are to use, and also started printing away on my home systems. Then I described how OpenOffice comes with most Linux systems — at no extra cost — or is freely downloadable from the Internet.

He was floored.

Many consumers are happy with Microsoft Office — really, they are — but it’s clear that some consumers want an alternative. If only more of them knew about OpenOffice.

Enter Lenovo

I nearly had my brother-in-law convinced that a laptop with Linux and OpenOffice is the way to go. But entry-level systems (from Dell, System76 and ZaReason) didn’t offer much (if any) savings compared to a Windows laptop.

I told him to stop thinking about head-to-head price issues. I assured him that Linux will run better and faster, and requires less memory and processing horsepower.

Sticking With Windows?

Then he stumbled upon a great deal for a Lenovo ThinkPad, pre-loaded with Windows Vista and 4GB of RAM for about $750 or $800. I don’t have all of the machine specs handy, but it certainly sounded like a good deal — and it was a one-time offer from a friend in the business.

So, it sounds like he’s going with the ThinkPad with Vista. But I mad one final pitch for Linux and OpenOffice: If he purchases a Vista-based laptop and his daughter doesn’t like it, my brother-in-law agreed to give Linux a try on the system. Also, I think he’s willing to put OpenOffice on the ThinkPad, and bypass Microsoft Office entirely.

Note: If you want to steer my brother-in-law to a Linux system, there’s still time to act. But don’t bother bashing Windows. Make your case by describing a specific entry-level Linux laptop with WiFi and OpenOffice.