Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

$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."

3 of 537 comments (clear)

  1. A 1.5 GHz Via?! by SlappyBastard · · Score: 0, Troll

    Wow! Are we trying to convince people that Linux sucks?

    --
    I scream. You scream. I assume that means we're both acquainted with the problem. We proceed.
  2. No, really? by Computershack · · Score: 1, Troll

    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."

    You don't say.... Doesn't take a genius to work out that if you use a desktop manager about as feature filled as Windows 3.1 was, you're going to end up with a fast desktop. However, I suspect someone booting it for the first time is going to look at the desktop and wonder if they've bought a "My First Computer".

    --
    I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't looking good either. - Scott Adams
  3. Re:On the Contrary ... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 0, Troll
    Or put the other way: you can have an old OS which will open Word/Excel files if needed, run the best home accounting software on the market, and can handle quite a few games, or a new OS which can do none of these things.

    Anyway, XP, an old OS? Seriously?