Posted on 07/19/2007 8:47:49 AM PDT by N3WBI3
Looking to get a jump on the lucrative back-to-school shopping season, Wal-Mart has begun selling a sub-$300 PC. The Everex IMPACT GC3502 comes with Windows Vista Home Basic and OpenOffice.org 2.2 installed on a system that includes a 1.5GHz VIA C7 CPU, 1GB of DDR-2 SDRAM, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and integrated graphics, as well as a keyboard, mouse, and speakers.
The Everex machine will be competing for Wal-Mart shelf space with the low-cost Dells recently introduced to the world of brick-and-mortar sales. The retail giant currently sells the Dell Dimension E521 for $498 alone or bundled with a 19" LCD monitor and slightly faster Athlon 64 X2 CPU for $200 more.
Cost aside, the two centerpieces of the Everex offering are the inclusion of OpenOffice.org 2.2 and the absence of crapware typically bundled with low-cost PCs. Including OO.org instead of Microsoft Office or even Microsoft Works allowed the PC manufacturer to shave a few additional dollars off of the PC's price, and according to OO.org marketing project lead John McCreesh, the open-source office suite passed all of Everex's tests "with flying colors."
Users accustomed to being bombarded with trialware offers and seeing their would-be pristine Windows desktops littered with shortcuts to AOL and other applications will likely be pleased at their absence from the GC3502. "In creating the eco-friendly GC3602, our main focus was to build a no-compromise, back-to-school PC with all the software applications a typical student would require, without resorting to bundling frivolous trial versions or increasing prices 30 percent," said Everex product manager Eugene Chang.
While the price may be right for budget-conscious shoppers, the replacement of familiar brands like Intel, AMD, and Microsoft with VIA and OpenOffice.org may give some would-be buyers pause. And as the price and specs indicate, the machine is going to find itself on the very low end of the performance spectrum. That said, for basic word processing, e-mailing, listening to music, watching video, and web surfing, the machine should be adequate, and Windows Vista Home Basic doesn't have the graphical overhead of the other versions.
I congratulate them on installing Open Office. I’ve used its documents within MS Word—smooth as silk. I’ve used it across platforms.
Too bad about Vista. I’m sorry, but that’s “crapware.” I say this as a person who used Windows exclusively from Win 98 to XP. I’m done. Linux for me (Kubuntu).
Crapware is a technical term that includes AOL, and all the other click here to try this programs some OEMs put on their image for you..
When I saw the headline, I thought it would be a Linux box. I expect they’ll sell a boatload of Vista machines at that price. It looks like the everex site has been slashdotted.
Owl_Eagle
If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.
So, it's intended for users who like to work in slow motion, I presume.
They also have an Acer Laptop for less than $300 or rigth at $300.
Yes ....
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Note: you need to supply your own CD-ROM drive, monitor and keyboard.
B4L8r
I have to admit, I'm a little challenged when it comes to hardware, does it need a video card and is 256MB RAM enough? It' just for playing games and surfing, no number crunching or heavy applications.
Owl_Eagle
If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.
Games are the driving force of the top end computers.....some can be had with multiple 600$ video cards and go for over 5,000$....
Someone presently will be by to explain that this is bad for us.
Owl_Eagle
If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.
Those things are total crap. I love people I know buying them though, because they generate revenue for me lol. I've worked on 3 in the last few months that belonged to people who hadn't had them long. In every case, the issue was rooted in their terrible OS installs. They are loaded with crapware, and they have XP running on a FAT32 file system. LOL!
Owl,
It all depends on the game some will not run on this and others would... What kind of games are we talking
What age are the kids,...and do they have friends with gaming consoles,...etc...Do you have a Fry Superstore or a Micro Center Store in PA?
While most of the games they play are actually on line (on the Pop-Tarts.com site, etc.) they do occasionally get one thats on a disc.
Does that make sense?
Owl_Eagle
If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.
It doesn't come with the eye candy, just the basic XP-like interface.
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