Acer top in Middle East

Acer Computer, the world's fourth largest IT vendor, closed Q2 of 2007 with a growth rate of 35.2%, says Al Bawaba.

In the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, Acer maintained its second position in the global PC market, and strengthened its top ranking spot in the notebook sector with a 38.1% growth rate (Q2 2006 over Q2 2007) and a 20.3% market share.

The figures recently posted by Gartner on the performance of the PC business for the EMEA region indicate that in the second quarter of 2007, the PC industry grew by 12.8% year-on-year.

Some of the biggest names in computing are pushing harder for the Linux open source operating system as an option for desktop PCs, says CNNMoney.com.

Dell, Lenovo and IBM are stepping up Linux-on-the-desktop efforts with products that cater to companies and consumers looking beyond Microsoft's Windows, the OS that runs more than 90% of the world's PCs.

Analysts say the moves show that Linux and other open source software products are finally ready to compete on the desktop. The moves could push PC leader Hewlett-Packard to beef up its Linux offerings, analysts say.

Asustek aims to take the number three spot worldwide, in the next six years, for its notebooks, says TechSpot.

The CEO of Asustek said over the course of the next three years, its notebooks will push the company into the top five, then continuing on from there the three years after.

It plans to do this by sticking to "mainstream" and high-end units, so it won't be likely to get engaged in price wars with companies like HP and Dell, who offer sub-$600 notebooks.