I didn’t even read the article, only grabbed the title and link from OSNews, since I’m not interested in netbooks hence you see no replies by me in this whole thread, expect for bringing the news. So if that was wrong, my apologies and OSNews should correct its title
The problem is that windows ensures that most netbook comes with their OS. This has been necessitated by the demand(not the geeks and the industry type demands)of the mainstream consumer. Most off-the-street and home consumer prefer Windows.
In addition, Most guys expect Linux to be shipped with the common software such as Firefox. What are the chances of getting a Linux netbook at volume outlets such as Bestbuy and Warlmart store as compared to Windows Netbook? Definitely the first three netbook you will see are all running on Windows. Microsoft has ensured they Merchandise well, from shop arrangement to offering retailers marketing resources.
Novell openSuSE community manager Joe Brockmeier acknowledges this and say this is Linux Biggest hurdle. So,Novell has to think of new strategies or copy its competitors so that the high return on Linux netbook shouldn’t remain a myth