[ZanyProgrammer]

Citation Needed. I live in the Bay Area, and cannot find an x86 laptop with desktop Linux preinstalled at Central Computers, Frys or Best Buy. Is System 76 what you mean, or ordering online from Dell for the XPS 13? Because that is not my definition of easy, certainly not compared to walking into a retail store.

[joshuapants]

Ordering something online is far easier than going to a retail store. I can drive for a few minutes to get to a Best Buy, look around to see if what I want is in stock, tell the salesperson who has been hounding me for the past 10 minutes that I'd like to buy it, wait in line at the register, then drive home or I can go online and be done with it in a few clicks.

[dagw]

Thinking mainly of System 76 and the dozens of other similar companies around the world. Sure not quite as easy as walking into a retail store, but on the other hand I don't know anybody who bought their (non-Apple) laptop at a retail store.