India to get Linux-based PC - from IBM

IBM in India has launched a desktop computer sold pre-loaded with the Linux operating system, according to the daily newspaper The Times of India.

The move comes a month after Hewlett-Packard launched a Linux-based notebook in Thailand, as part of a Thai government drive to make a cheap 'people's notebook' available to all.

It also follows a comment made last week by the Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam in which he supported more widespread use of open source operating systems.

The IBM NetVista A30, the first Linux desktop sold by Big Blue, is aimed at small and home offices and will be available in several cities across the subcontinent.

Another report in the Australian daily the Sydney Morning Herald had an IBM spokesman saying that the desktop is unlikely to be sold outside India.

The NetVista A30 is IBM's entry model desktop in the Asia-Pacific and features an Intel Pentium 4 processor, lower-cost integrated graphics chip and a CD-ROM drive instead of a DVD or CD-RW drive.

Despite the use of the open source Linux operating system, which is cheaper to buy than a Microsoft Windows licence, the IBM Linux PC will still cost about US$850 (39,000 rupees) including taxes, said the report.

"It is the first time that a commercial desktop vendor has introduced an entry level desktop that is certified on Linux," Alok Ohrie, an IBM vice president was quoted as saying.

IBM's Asia-Pacific office in Singapore is unable to give more details at this time.