A laptop that runs a variant of the Linux open source operating system such as Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, Red Hat or Mandriva. While a Linux laptop can be purchased with Linux already preinstalled, in many cases a user will need to purchase a laptop that doesn’t have an operating system preinstalled or a laptop with a version of the Windows operating system and then install Linux on top of it.
In the latter case, both Windows and Linux can reside on the same machine in what is known as a “dual-boot” scenario. PC manufacturers that offer pre-installed Linux laptop computers range from the well known like Dell and HP to less familiar companies like System76, ThinkPenguin and LinPC.
See Linux and operating system terms in Webopedia, and learn more about Open Source in Webopedia’s “Did You Know…?” section.
