Part of this has to do with the cost of Ubuntu. I'm not talking paying developers to make sure it works on the machine, but the actual cost that Canonical charges for the ability to use the Ubuntu logo and becoming "certified"; It's not a trivial amount of money by any stretch.
Anyone can preinstall Ubuntu on a machine and release it, they just can't say it is Ubuntu specifically or use the logos.
And I don't advocate not paying it or not becoming certified, we are considering it currently but I can say that management has balked a few times when we've brought it up has been due to the amount of money required up front.
The company I work for. We are a fairly small ODM, and while I don't want to say our name I'm not hard to find on the Internet, and I know I bragged about getting my job (I get paid to work on Linux, still can't believe my luck)
I imagine the concern on Canonical's part is that they will field a significant part of the support flood from new users. Of course, the OEM/ ODM will probably get the bulk of support traffic (with some falling on the retailer), the "pilot" from the netbook/ubuntu probably gave them insight. If they structure the deal correctly, and have an auditable way for the ODM and Canonical to determine the support costs/ unit sold that could be a way to get the deal done. Tell those business coworkers of yours to keep iterating on the deal they are presenting Canonical. I can't believe there's not an equitable way to get that deal done.
Anyone can preinstall Ubuntu on a machine and release it, they just can't say it is Ubuntu specifically or use the logos.
And I don't advocate not paying it or not becoming certified, we are considering it currently but I can say that management has balked a few times when we've brought it up has been due to the amount of money required up front.