>The only way to seriously increase Linux desktop adoption is for availability of Linux pre-instsalled computers to significantly rise
I don't know if there's a term for this, but ironically, that's like a self-destructive goal. Most people who use Linux currently would wipe the hard drive as the first thing if they bought a laptop that came preinstalled with an OS. So if everyone became an enlightened linux user, everyone would start wiping their drives right after buying the machine, invalidating the need for preloading in the first place.
No it's not. Let's say I buy a Dell with Ubuntu on it, that alone is a good indication that many other distros would run just fine. If I buy a laptop with Windows there are absolutely no guarantees for being able to run Linux without issues.
Some users. Most users aren't going to install any OS on their own, no matter what OS. They are the majority. And to gain adoption among them, Linux should be preinstalled.
I don't know if there's a term for this, but ironically, that's like a self-destructive goal. Most people who use Linux currently would wipe the hard drive as the first thing if they bought a laptop that came preinstalled with an OS. So if everyone became an enlightened linux user, everyone would start wiping their drives right after buying the machine, invalidating the need for preloading in the first place.