Lindows continues its PC push

Software maker Lindows.com is taking another step along the road to the hardware business.

The company, best known for its consumer-oriented version of the Linux operating system, on Thursday launched a $449 desktop computer with a flat-panel monitor. It's the second such announcement from Lindows in just a few weeks. In July, the company unveiled a $169 network computer, the WebStation, which lacks a hard drive and a floppy drive.

The new machine, by contrast, is a full-featured system. The KooBox is built around a 1.2GHz Duron processor from Advanced Micro Devices and offers 256MB of synchronous DRAM (expandable to 1GB), a 20GB hard drive, a 56x CD-ROM drive, a 10/100 Ethernet connection, a 56K modem and 140-watt speakers. The 14.1-inch LCD (liquid crystal dispay) monitor has a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels.

The PC also comes with version 4.0 of the LindowsOS, the company's suite of Internet software and a one-year membership in the Click-N-Run Warehouse of applications.

"It is a complete system, so all you have to do is take it home and plug it in. At only $449, you get so much more than what our competitors offer for a similar price," Michael Robertson, Lindows' CEO, said in a statement.

Lindows also announced a deluxe version for $670. The higher-priced machine comes with AMD's XP 2000 chip, 512MB of memory (expandable to 2GB), a 60GB hard drive, a DVD player and a rewritable CD drive.

Consumers have other ways to buy low-priced PCs with Lindows software. Retailer Wal-Mart and PC maker Microtel have been selling Lindows-based desktops for less than $300.

The KooBox is manufactured by MicroTron 2000. It can be bought in the United States directly from the KooBox Web site.