HP this week became the first major PC maker to offer a Linux-based notebook computer. The Compaq NX5000 ships with Novel SuSE Linux 9.1 pre-installed and OpenOffice, an open-source application suite that includes word processing and other functions. An identical notebook is offered with Windows XP Pro, Home and Windows 2000 edition.

The system is available from 1.2GHz Celeron to a 1.8GHz Pentium M processor and a maximum of 2GB of 266MHz DDR SDRAM. It will run for 4 hours on the standard six-cell Lithium-ion battery or up to nine hours with the optional MultiBay battery.

The optical drive bay supports a removable DVD+RW, DVD/CD-RW or DVD unit even though a lack of drivers will not allow a DVD+RW drive to run under Linux at this time.

“Linux is a key part of the HP Adaptive Enterprise strategy as it is central to HP’s unique approach to IT standardization,” said Martin Fink, vice president, Linux, HP. “Today’s announcement of our expanding Linux customer base, new products and services, along with the world’s first notebook PC pre-installed with Linux, marks our continued momentum in the Linux market and with our customers.”