More bets on Linux laptops in Australia

Victorian system integrator Remora today announced it had added the laptops to its range after entering a deal with California-based UNIX platform notebook developer, Tadpole Computers.

Currently the Linux notebooks are only available with Intel processors, but Remora said it planned to make a version offering AMD's (Advanced Micro Devices) Opteron processor available by the end of June.

"Based on the strong growth we are experiencing with laptop sales here in Australia, and the increasing adoption of the Linux operating environment, we expect this business to grow rapidly during the following six months," said Remora CEO Robert Silver.

The notebooks will be supported by Tadpole Computer's local distributor, Alstom IT.

The most basic model in the notebook range, the TALIN, is a 2.4GHz system preinstalled with Sun Java Desktop system and StarOffice.

Remora claims the TALIN could provide businesses with an attractive, cost-competitive alternative to those built on proprietary operating systems.

However the TALIN, priced at AU$2,470, is in some cases marginally more expensive than consumer entry-level systems offered by mass market providers such as Dell.

Remora is also offering laptops based on three other UNIX derived operating environments: a range of SPARC/Solaris notebooks targeted at Solaris developers, a high-end UNIX workstation and a portable version of Sun's SunRay thin-client.