[This is pure speculation; we don't have any insiders or "ninjas" feeding us information.]

Best Buy is going to stop selling Linux Netbooks.  It would be a surprise if you saw them there after the holidays.  Right now is the time when people begin shopping for holiday gifts and for many a netbook or notebook are high up on the list.  At under $400, netbooks seem very attractive but when they have Linux installed there’s a layer of complexity.  Best Buy won’t want to deal with the return that will happen as a result of people buying them even with their restocking fee.

Walmart stocked the Everex Cloudbook but stopped after customers just couldn’t figure out how to use them.  In fact, when you go on the Walmart website for the Cloudbook they have this disclaimer:

The Cloud book is great beginner’s laptop, installed with some of the most popular applications from Google, Mozilla, Skype, and OpenOffice. This is a Linux based PC and will not perform completely like a Windows based machine. It can perform basic activities such as E-mail, Web Browsing, Music and Pictures.

Please Note: To navigate through certain initialization screens, press and hold the “Alt” key and the Left Touchpad Button, while using the Touchpad to move the window. Click here for additional information.

When you have to put that kind of warning on a product it doesn’t bode well.  Now there are presumably thousands (tens of thousands?) of people that will be perfect fine with a Linux netbook but it doesn’t appear that now is that time.

To better make the point consider Best Buy is now selling the Asus Eee 900A for $279 when the best price on Amazon is $329.  Snatch them up while you can and maybe you can install XP on it from a USB thumb drive.

1. Computerworld Teases Consumer Reports On Netbook Reviews

2. Netbooks To Die Slowly In 2010….Get Reborn As Thin Notebooks

3. Walmart Proves Netbook Ignorance

4. UK Retailer Recalls Netbook Off Shelves

5. Linux Fanboys Fear Windows 7