A Reddit user flagged the move after spotting Lenovo selling the ThinkPad X1 Carbon cheaper with Fedora or Ubuntu rather than Windows. Other users chimed in, noting that Lenovo has been quietly doing this since 2020, but the hefty price difference now highlights just how absurd Windows licensing costs have become.

On the US and Canadian Lenovo websites, the same laptop model can be ordered with a Linux distribution instead of Windows, saving a tidy sum. Not every Lenovo laptop offers the choice yet. Ranges like ThinkPad, Yoga, Legion and LOQ still have patchy Linux support, and buyers have to dig through the operating system filter on Lenovo’s site to find eligible models.

Dell also offers Ubuntu-certified machines, but it does not knock cash off the price for ditching Windows. Lenovo’s decision to pass on the savings to Linux customers makes it a rarer beast among the big grey box shifters.

Some reckon manufacturers should push Linux options harder, rather than leaving them to geeks and niche buyers. Otherwise, we might need to dust off Windows Refund Day, the 1999 protest where Linux users demanded cash back for unwanted Windows licences. Microsoft ignored it, PC makers panicked, and a few grudging refunds were eventually handed out. Not much has changed.