Ubuntu PC to be Sold at Wal-Mart?
Everex, a budget PC maker, will be selling a $300 dollar PC with Windows Vista Home Basic this fall at Wal-Mart in the United States. The interesting thing is that the same computer from Everex will also be available with Ubuntu later this year. Could Wal-Mart end up selling the computer with Ubuntu?
The GC3502 is based on Via’s “carbon free” C7-D processor clocked at 1.7GHz. It comes with 1GB of DDR2 533MHz SDRAM, an 80GB hard drive, and a DVD/CD-RW drive. I/O includes 10⁄100 LAN, VGA, six (6) USB ports, a modem, and headphone/microphone jacks.
Even loaded with Windows, the PC will include OpenOffice.
On the software side, both Linux and Windows versions of the GC3502 will apparently come with OpenOffice.org 2.2 productivity software. Eugene Chang, product manager, stated, “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.”
For a company trying to make their PCs as inexpensive as possible, ditching Windows makes a lot of sense. The cost of a Windows licence could be the most expensive part of a low-end PC.