$298 Wal-Mart PC features OpenOffice.org, no crapware

arsTechnia ^ | Published: July 18, 2007 - 05:00PM CT | By Eric Bangeman

[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.

[N3WBI3]

OSS PING

[Clara Lou]

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).

[N3WBI3]

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..

[PAR35]

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.

[End Times Sentinel]

So, I'd need to buy a monitor, but would this be a good thing to get for my kids (8&6) to screw around on the internet and leave the other P.C. for the wife and I? Or is there an even cheaper alternative?

Owl_Eagle

If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.

[TChris]

Windows Vista... 1.5GHz VIA C7 CPU

So, it's intended for users who like to work in slow motion, I presume.

[Red_Devil 232]

They also have an Acer Laptop for less than $300 or rigth at $300.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Or is there an even cheaper alternative?

Yes ....

MT-100 Low-Cost Linux PC
$139.00

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

For a limited time MadTux is offering a value-oriented PC that includes the following features:

• VIA C7 1.5GHz processor
• 256MB DDR2 RAM included
• 13.5GB Hard Disk
• 100Mbps fast-ethernet port
• 128-bit 3D/2D Graphics engine
• Full-featured AGP v2.0 compliant 4x transfer mode AGP controller
• UltraDMA EIDE controller
• Memory expandable to 2GB
• Two 32-bit PCI slots
• Two IDE connectors onboard
• VIA VT1612A 6-channel audio codec, Intel AC'97 compliant
• Two PS/2 ports for mouse and connector, one serial, one parallel ports, one VGP port, one LAN port, four USB 2.0 ports and audio jacks

Click here to compare this PC with our other offers.

The low-cost PC comes with a 30-day "No Questions Asked" warranty. This warranty does not cover mutilation, abuse or misuse, complete or total destruction of the computer or related parts in any form, “acts of God” (such as fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, hurricane and all other such forms of damage), upgrades, hardware changes, hardware enhancements made by the end-user, customer, or third parties, or any and all software related issues.

The image shown here is a representation only. Actual case may vary in style/color.

Note: you need to supply your own CD-ROM drive, monitor and keyboard.

[Kevmo]

B4L8r

[End Times Sentinel]

Thanks Ernest!

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.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It' just for playing games********************

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$....

[1rudeboy]

Someone presently will be by to explain that this is bad for us.

[End Times Sentinel]

Thanks much for the advice FRiend! Sounds like just the thing to get them off the adult P.C.

Owl_Eagle

If what I just wrote made you sad or angry,
it was probably just a joke.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

maximumpc.com/

And:

Dude, you don't have to get a Dell

[KoRn]

"They also have an Acer Laptop for less than $300 or rigth at $300."

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!

[N3WBI3]

Owl,

It all depends on the game some will not run on this and others would... What kind of games are we talking

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

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?

[End Times Sentinel]

We’re really just talking kids games at this point, Harry Potter, Pokemon, stuff like that. I’d assume, but I don’t know, that they wouldn’t require expensive cards, extra memory things like that.

While most of the games they play are actually on line (on the Pop-Tarts.com site, etc.) they do occasionally get one that’s 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.

[antiRepublicrat]

So, it's intended for users who like to work in slow motion, I presume.

It doesn't come with the eye candy, just the basic XP-like interface.