Intel Doubles Down on Linux, Jul 20, 2005

Aside from writing Linux software—it wrote Linux drivers for Centrino, for example—Intel has also worked on broader efforts, such as assisting resellers in emerging computer markets by creating kits for building Linux desktops.

IBM, having thrown open its Power chip architecture, is becoming the new pied piper for open-source chips.

"We need a free BIOS, because if we don't control the BIOS we don't control our computers," said Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation

Creating a low-price notebook is usually an exercise in managing component costs. Manufacturers pick less-expensive parts and sometimes choose to offer the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft's Windows XP.