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$200 Linux PCs On Sale At Wal-Mart

Posted by kdawson on from the testing-the-holiday-waters dept.

Placid sends in a Wired blog entry on Wal-Mart's new sub-$200 Linux-based PC. Wired calls it "a custom distribution of Ubuntu Linux," and the AP identifies the distro as gOS, made by a small company in Los Angeles. Wal-Mart began selling Linux PCs in 2002 but they have been out of stock for a while. From the Wired blog: "It has a 1.5 Ghz VIA C7 CPU embedded in a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. Normally, this would simply mark it as unacceptably low-end for use with modern software. By using the fast Enlightenment desktop manager (instead of heavier-duty alternatives like Gnome or KDE), the makers say it's more responsive than Vista is, even on more powerful computers."

12 of 537 comments (clear)

  1. "Modern" software? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What is this "modern" software they speak of? Just how much horsepower do you need to browse the Web, type something in a word processor? Is there some sort of super Solitaire with realtime physics simulation and ray traced graphics that I don't know about?

  2. Oh great! by eneville · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great! Now more people want help on the linux forums.

    --
    Why UNIX?
    1. Re:Oh great! by Selfbain · · Score: 3, Funny

      We'll probably need more people then to keep up the level of mockery people have come to expect.

      --
      Well, it has never been successfully tested.
  3. Re:On the Contrary ... by Snorpus · · Score: 4, Funny

    If memory serves, it wasn't all that long ago (1970? 1971?) that 1.5GHz, 512MB, 80GB would have been the specs on a pretty high-end machine.

  4. More .... by Ancient_Hacker · · Score: 5, Funny
    • More responsive than Vista!
    • More responsible than Congress!
    • A better parent than Britney!
    • More reliable than IE 1.0!
    • More secure than walking down an alley in the South Bronx at 2 AM!
    • More fun than a root-canal at the Albanian Dental School!
  5. Re:Interesting by langelgjm · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yeah, I've been thinking about a new machine for my parents for a while now, though this isn't much of an upgrade from what they currently have (though I'm sure it runs faster.) Then I saw this:

    Even at the low end, however, image is everything. The gPC is built using tiny components, but put inside a full-size case because research indicates that Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated they equate physical size with capability.

    I think it's silly, because I'd rather have desk space, but I have to admit my first thought was, "That's what SHE said!"

    --
    "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
  6. Re:On the Contrary ... by sqrt(2) · · Score: 2, Funny

    I bet windows XP or 2000 would install on this thing and run just as fast as this Ubuntu variant they're using and then you'd have access to much more software (and more FAMILIAR software). That is, assuming you could get drivers for everything. I'm not sure exactly what the situation is on that but there doesn't seem to be any reason it all wouldn't be supported by XP (2000, might take some work). Vista though, forget about it. There's not a single component of that computer (maybe the keyboard. maybe) that would be powerful enough to handle Vista. Who cares though, most people don't need Vista.

    And the default desktop looks very nice, a huge improvement over the Ubuntu design ;)

    --
    If you build it, nerds will come. Soylentnews.org
  7. Re:On the Contrary ... by Albanach · · Score: 4, Funny

    i think you're off by about 3 decades.
    Actually I think this is the first, real life example of the Y2K bug actually affecting something. He's just rolled over to the epoch.

    It may have taken almost eight years, but at last the $billions spent have finally been justified.
  8. Re:Only terrorists and hackers use Linux by CatsupBoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    The year of Linux on the desktop is never.
    Uh... you spelled nigh wrong.
  9. Re:Summary missed the most part: Case by jeblucas · · Score: 4, Funny

    Even better than that, the computers being sold as 'green PC' meaning thats the mfr's product name, and has nothing to do with being enviromentally conscious.
    Not only that, I heard that Alienware PC's are in fact, not made by aliens at all.
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    blarg.
  10. Re:Let's get some data by Nullav · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I miss my Garfield cursor. This thing can't even run Bonzai Buddy. And what am I going to do without Weather Bug? Worst machine ever. I'm going back to Windows."

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    I just read Slashdot for the articles.
  11. Stop crushing my dreame. by Medievalist · · Score: 2, Funny

    Even better than that, the computers being sold as 'green PC' meaning thats the mfr's product name, and has nothing to do with being enviromentally conscious. Not only that, I heard that Alienware PC's are in fact, not made by aliens at all. Oh my god. Please don't tell me anything about the Keebler Elves, I don't think I could take it.