PC makers have long been reluctant to preinstall Linux on their computers on a large scale because of concerns about offending Microsoft Corp. and uncertainty over which flavor of Linux to install or whether the market size justifies the cost.

Most vendors have only been willing to make moves similar to Hewlett-Packard Co., which in June said it would certify SLED 10 for six notebook models by the end of the year. Customers large and small would only be able to buy the laptops without Windows installed and still would have to install Linux themselves.

But with Lenovo, enterprise customers give their configuration preferences and other software requirements to Novell, which will build a custom version of SLED 10 for them and send it to Lenovo, which then installs it onto the laptops. Lenovo will also install other applications, including EDA or CAD applications, and ensure that they don't break any drivers or crash the operating system, Iori said.

With the electronic design industry still mostly concentrated in the U.S., the notebooks will be targeted mostly at American business users, he said.

Even so, Novell is also testing similarly configured notebooks with workers in other specialized industries where Linux is widely used, said Justin Steinman, director of product marketing for Linux and open-platform solutions. Those industries include automakers and financial services.