The dearth of mainstream Linux laptops certainly has nothing to do with the quality of the software--it is simply a result of unholy market pressure from Microsoft coupled with a ton of marketing.
No big manufacturer is going to go all-out on Linux: too much risk and uncertainty; big corporations rarely endorse such risk-taking. Instead, they want to sell some Linux computers but still maintain Windows. This gives Microsoft a lot of leverage in the market.
A perfect example would be netbooks--a while back, there were Linux netbooks available and they were threatening to become successful. I think Microsoft first lowered the price of XP and extended support for it and then threatened and cajoled OEMs into stopping selling these netbooks. A cursory Google search revealed, among other things, this[1] article about Microsoft's tactics.
The other thing is that compared to the obscene amount of marketing behind Windows and Mac OS, Linux is driven almost entirely by word of mouth. Since there is no really heavy backing, Linux is at a disadvantage even ignoring vaguely anti-competitive practices and bullying on the part of the established players.
Edit: Here[2] is another article with more details that explains exactly what I was getting at about Linux netbooks.
I agree proprietary $$$ (marketing and otherwise) are a big part of the story. I'm reticent to say it is the entire story. That's very disempowering. Even if it is the entire story, the inability to successfully counter MSFT/AAPL/et al $$$ (not necessarily with more of the same of course) still points to some kind of gap in the FLOSS ecosystem.
No big manufacturer is going to go all-out on Linux: too much risk and uncertainty; big corporations rarely endorse such risk-taking. Instead, they want to sell some Linux computers but still maintain Windows. This gives Microsoft a lot of leverage in the market.
A perfect example would be netbooks--a while back, there were Linux netbooks available and they were threatening to become successful. I think Microsoft first lowered the price of XP and extended support for it and then threatened and cajoled OEMs into stopping selling these netbooks. A cursory Google search revealed, among other things, this[1] article about Microsoft's tactics.
[1]: http://blogs.computerworld.com/microsoft_strikes_back_at_lin...
The other thing is that compared to the obscene amount of marketing behind Windows and Mac OS, Linux is driven almost entirely by word of mouth. Since there is no really heavy backing, Linux is at a disadvantage even ignoring vaguely anti-competitive practices and bullying on the part of the established players.
Edit: Here[2] is another article with more details that explains exactly what I was getting at about Linux netbooks.
[2]: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/why-the-linux-netbook-...