Acer appears to be joining the ever-growing list of companies that are backing Linux, a list that currently includes Asus, Dell, HP, and others. Acer has even gone beyond many of the companies on the list by not only announcing a computer of theirs that will run Linux, in Acer’s case the  Aspire One UMPC, but also saying “Microsoft has a lot of power and it is going to be difficult, but we will be working hard to develop the Linux market,” according to CNet.

OK, so it is great to see Acer’s support for Linux, but what does that quote, which is from Acer’s Vice President of Marketing, mean? Although it is hard to be sure it is more than just press, I suspect that it means two things:

1. Acer probably has a bias against Microsoft – “Microsoft has a lot of power” certainly seems to imply that Acer feels pressure from Microsoft to use Windows
2. We will probably see more Acer computers running Linux in the future.

Whatever this quote may mean exactly, it is good to see that Linux has another backer. I just wish the name Acer didn’t sound so much Asus – I have trouble keeping them straight!