Australian users will not be offered versions of Lenovo’s new IdeaPad netbooks with a Linux OS or an 8.9-inch screen, at least not initially.Models slated for Australia will have Windows XP and 10.2-inch screens.

The GTK+ 2-based LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) first emerged in late 2006 when two Taiwanese Linux distributions adopted an early version. LXDE is touted as being fast, fast-booting, compatible with old computers, and designed so that “every component can be used without LXDE,” say the developers.

A $12 computer of sorts - a cheap keyboard and Nintendo-like console - already exists in India, where people hook the devices to home TVs to run simple games and programs. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology students hope to soup up these 1980s-era desktops with rudimentary Web access and more.