Wal-Mart’s $200 PC - sold out ( 10,000 sold...running Linux Ubuntu )

ZDNET ^ | November 13th, 2007 | Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

About two weeks ago, Wal-Mart began selling $200 Linux-based PC.  The initial run was around 10,000 units.  Now Wal-Mart is sold out.  Has Linux now found a niche?

The system sold by Wal-Mart was an Everex’s TC2502 gPC and is the first mass-market $200 desktop PC.  The spec of the system is very low - 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU embedded onto a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?hard drive - but this doesn’t matter because the system does pretty much everything that your average PC users wants.  With the gPC you can surf the web, send and receive email, work with word processor and spreadsheet documents, chat with friends, keep a blog updated, edit photos and pictures, even burn DVDs thanks to the built-in DVD burner.  About the only thing that your average home user won’t be able to do with this PC is play games on it.

One thing that interested me about this PC is that it is shipped in a tower case when the components would fit into a much smaller case.  I wondered why this was the case until I came across a write-up on Wired:

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.

That “Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated” bit is a tad worrying because I do wonder whether someone who equates case size with capability should be put in charge of a Linux system.  The reviews seem pretty positive though.  Maybe Wired have underestimate the kind of person who shops at Wal-Mart.  Positive reviews far outweigh negative ones.  However, the comment that stood out was this:

when you want to jazz it up, just spend 10 bucks for a new linux distro

Interesting comment, eh?

Now here’s what’s interesting about this PC.  It doesn’t have what it takes to run Windows Vista, but it has more than enough power to do pretty much everything that users want from a PC.  As hardware costs have plummeted, and the power that can be squeezed from components increased, the cost of having Windows installed on such a PC becomes too high a proportion of the cost of components.  For example, if you wanted to load Windows Vista Home Basic onto this system (not that I’d suggest that you tried - the PC just couldn’t cope with Vista), you’re adding between $60 and $90 to the cost of the PC (depending on what the vendor pays for an OEM license, if you do it yourself, expect to pay the higher price in this spectrum).  In fact, Wal-Mart do sell a similar system with Home Basic pre-installed (this system has an extra 512MB of RAM, a SATA 150 drive instead of an ATA 150 hard drive, and comes with a keyboard and mouse) for $298.  Add Microsoft Office to that cost and the price of software doubles the price of the hardware.  By installing Linux and OpenOffice, the total cost of the PC is kept as low as possible.  While the price of hardware has fallen dramatically, the price of Windows hasn’t.  This could be Microsoft’s Achilles’ Heel.  This low price point will appeal to many.

Has Linux finally found a niche in which it can compete against Windows or will the interest in these kinds of systems be limited?  I think that Linux might well have found a good niche.  Sure, these low-end systems will never appeal to those who want power at any cost (and who don’t mind if their systems belch black smoke to achieve that power) but for people looking for a very cheap PC at a rock bottom price (this system is so cheap that I doubt you could build one for as good a price if you added shipping charges for the components into the deal), this must be a pretty irresistible deal.

Maybe a more relevant question is not whether Linux has found a niche, but whether Windows has outgrown the average user?

Thoughts?

[AppyPappy]

I doubt many of them can tell the difference. They get email and a browser along with basic word processing. That’s 90% of what they do. The only thing they can’t do is run viruses.

[Red Badger]

Soon 9000 knuckle dragging mouth breathing slugs will return their PC’s to Walmart because they “don’t get that linus thang”

DU goes silent for a week...................

[NormsRevenge]

I worked on Osbornes and Northgates in my “yout’”,, and Sperry Rand Univac too before that.. my first computer was a Mac. but a windows user for years

[RolandBurnam]

“Soon 9000 knuckle dragging mouth breathing slugs will return their PC’s to Walmart because they “don’t get that linus thang”

LOL... you are so right... “billy bob, get the truck started we gone go walmart and trade this linus pc for a futon”

[silentreignofheroes]

“research indicates that Wal-Mart shoppers are so unsophisticated they equate physical size with capability.”

These folks are nuts,,,The more air circulating the cooler the machine runs..

[nostrum09]

When you look at some of today’s newest games, if you want to play them at the highest resolution and with all of the graphical goodies turned on, it’s not uncommon to see hardcore gamers spending $1,000 alone on two graphics cards for the best performance (not to mention all of the other components needed for a top-end rig).

This computer will certainly plan less taxing games, but not all of today’s latest (ignorning that it’s running Ubuntu, on which most games won’t work anyway).

[BlabItGrabIt]

I’ve been running Gutsy Gibbon Ubuntu for a few weeks now (and Feisty Fawn) before that and have NO complaints. The new compiz video interface is sweet, and I have never had a system crash. Oh, and it is totally free to download and takes about an hour to overwrite your Windows system.

Anyway, that scuba-gear. Frank sold me a Calypso J regulator...

[gridlock]

The Everex system I bought back in 1989 had the best manual I have seen for a PC, before or since. I hope they still have good technical writers, because they are going to need them to explain Linux to WalMart shoppers.

[BlabItGrabIt]

This is obviously a ploy by Microsoft to get everybody turned off of Linux when all these machines crap out at once!.........

So this was the funniest thing to happen to you since the hogs ate your sister!

[gjones77]

That may be true in most systems, but a system with those components doesn’t run hot at all, the hottest component in most systems is the CPU, and that uses a Via C7 which is made for much smaller embedded systems, it uses lower voltages and requires minimal cooling.

So they could squeeze that into a much smaller form factor.

[montag813]

My 6-year old uses Ubuntu. It’s great.

[montag813]

I hope they still have good technical writers, because they are going to need them to explain Linux to WalMart shoppers.

My 6-year old son used only Windows XP before Ubuntu and needed no explanation at all.

[Oberon]

And you know what? It may not run Vista...but it’ll run XP Pro, no problem. =]

[padre35]

No kidding, and these:

“The spec of the system is very low - 1.5 GHz VIA C7 CPU embedded onto a Mini-ITX motherboard, 512MB of RAM and an 80GB “

Are very low specs? Sheesh, 4 gb/186 mb 393 mhz runs fine for me at least, and I’ve played with Ubuntu (dapper drake) and it is very solid, even on an older box.

Heck open office runs on really old stuff as well, IMO, WalMart may have a hit on their hands if they can also watch movies etc and the “knuckle draggers” learn that you can emulate Windoze and maybe play games with the Wine program.

I may dust off the old Win 3.11 lappy out and see if the ethernet card still works...after I slug some geritol and take a nap...:)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

On the Operating System:

*********************

• gOS. gOS is an easy-to-use, Ubuntu-based distribution designed for less technical computer users. Its main features are the use of Enlightenment as the default desktop and tight integration of various Google products and services into the product.

***************************

From :

Everex TC2502 Green gPC w/ Via C7-D Processor

************************EXCERPT*************

$199.00

Step up to the Everex GC3502 for Double the Memory and Windows Vista Basic

Out of Stock Online

--OR--

Not Sold Online

In Limited Stores

Check Local Store

Availability:

• • Online - IN STOCKCOMING SOONPREORDERS SOLD OUTOUT OF STOCKOUT OF STOCK

  **************************************

  Item Description

This exceptional value is built around a Via Technologies processor designed for low power consumption. It runs on the gOS operating system and features the OpenOffice.org 2.2 software suite that gives users the ability to create word processing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. Additional highlights include a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, Ethernet port and stereo speakers.

Key Features & Benefits:
	1.5 GHz Via Technologies C7-D processor
		Delivers energy-saving performance
	Preinstalled Software: OpenOffice.org 2.2 (includes WRITER, IMPRESS, nMATH, DRAW, CALC and BASE)
		This is the latest version of the leading open-source office suite, which includes upgrades to its word processor, spreadsheet, presentations and database software
	gOS Software Applications and operating system
		Enables you to use the supplied OpenOffice.org 2.2 software suite
	DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive
		Lets you play DVDs and burn your own CDs for entertainment and data backup
	512 MB of DDR2 system memory
		Offers good performance and is expandable to 2 GB
	10/100 Mbps Ethernet
		Connects to a local area network or broadband Internet devices
	80 GB hard disk drive
		Provides space for documents, games, photos and music

[posterchild]

Paid $465.50 for a 40MB hard drive from a Computer shopper vendor in 1989. Pathetic I still remember the price and the occasion. Several people on my dorm floor had to come by and behold the miracle of 40MB:)

[untrained skeptic]

Before anyone goes out and buys the thing to get a relatively inexpensive mini-ITX motherboard with CPU and RAM, the review I saw where they actually looked inside showed an micro-ATX motherboard, not a mini-ITX.

It is still a good price for the components, but you can't throw away the case and put it in a tiny mini-ITX case.

[Gorzaloon]

The Everex system I bought back in 1989 had the best manual I have seen for a PC, before or since. I hope they still have good technical writers, because they are going to need them to explain Linux to WalMart shoppers.

There should be no reason to have to explain anything. Most service calls and shop visits are now for malware removal, viruses, etc..

Take those away, and the only thing left is a hardware failure. I have a few linux machines now (Debian) and there is really not a lot of thinking or understanding to do after they are set up. I just turn them on and use them. Crashlessly.

[gridlock]

My 6-year old son used only Windows XP before Ubuntu and needed no explanation at all.

Well, of course! He's six years old!

[Eye of Unk]

Walmart is increasingly becoming a deciding factor of consumer buying trends solely on their pricing strategy, currently the trend of direction in the HD-DVD vs. BluRay format wars is now tipping in favor of the HD format with the sales strong of $99 HD-DVD players.