Linux can already run on the processor, it's just x86.

The processor was built with new windows kernel features that allow the OS to issue "hints" to allow the processor to make use of special power states.

Basically if you use it with Windows (for which it was designed), you'll get good battery life.

If you use it with Linux, you'll get poor battery life because none of the advanced features exist in the Linux kernel.

The conspiracy theorist in me wants to believe that this statement was actually a calculated move by Intel, designed to goad Linux hackers into getting the OS to support these features sooner.