Comments on: Photo: Wal-Mart's $498 Linux laptop

The company says its new notebook is the cheapest on the market among those that come preloaded with an OS and an office suite.

[obry2000]

looks ugly

at least they could've made it look a little more modern than a 1996-ish laptop...

[PCCRomeo]

Give it time...

In time they'll improve the look.

Ugly but courageous...

... That sounds like a description for Quasimodo, right? Anyway, I think Walmart is on the right track: to propose its (most probably computer-illiterate) customers a computer bundled with a Linux suite is certainly not going to please MS (Microsoft, I mean, not Multiple Sclerosis... Or is it?), but they say open source IS the future, so what?! Other retailers will probably do the same pretty soon...

[EmbSysPro]

A nice start...

While I will agree that this machine is not at the forefront of technology it does offer up a world of possibilities, even if it is only used in dedicated functions such as word processing, general accounting or music creation it would be worth it.

But it could also be a perfect fit for a VAR or an ISV to use to sell custom software/systems into vertical markets.

[tlshillam]

Need $10 Software, Not a $100 Computer

Linspire is a great competing OS for the micro-computer market. However regarding computers, its not the hardware that costs any substantial money--that's just the start. Its the software that really costs money. What we need is cheap software.

Project Management Software - $500
Diagram Program - $500
Picture Editing - $100
Office Suite - $500

That's great that I can purchase a $100 computer, but what about that software? Try 'rolling back the price' on a major office suite Walmart--now that would impress me.

[cpudrewfl]

my software is cheaper then that

Ever heard of P2P software irc and ftp. That is where I get my software

[interoperate]

Linux delivers for "What we need is cheap software"

I've good news for Todd Shillam - Linux can deliver the software you need, at no cost:

Project Management Software - use Planner cost $0.00
Diagram Program - use Dia cost $0.00
Picture Editing - use GIMP cost $0.00
Office Suite - use OpenOffice.org cost $0.00

I believe that all these are available using Linspire's Click-N-Run feature.

[Deedly]

Its available

As has been said before, there is cheaper software available for people who arent slaves to brand names. Just dont buy microsoft products, theres a reason they make billions every year and thats overcharging. Their products are (arguably) high quality, but when youre paying several hundred dollars to get something that only does a few functions (that are often never used) that cant be done by free software, I dont think the quality outweighs the price.

Unless you need those few functions that the microsoft products do better, just get the free things. Open-source is viable for most applications, though it sometimes takes a while to get used to.

In fact I prefer Openoffice to Microsoft Office, it just seems better to me.

In response to Andrew Banks' comment about downloading software:

It may seem hard to believe to a 13 year old script kiddie (or somebody who just acts like one), but some people buy software. It may seem like the perfect arrangement for a personal user, but many companies are concerned about legal giants like microsoft pounding at their doors.

Mouse over the pic...

...Comadore 64 joysticks

!!!HAHAHAHA!!!!1111
ROTFLMAO

This is the OS for the "Balance"??

Walmart figured a way to turn old Commodore 64's into COLD HARD CASH!

LINUX RULES

WINDOWS XP HOME OEM $75.00
MICROSOFT OFFICE STANDARD $100.00

THATS HOW MUCH MONEY GOES TO MICROSOFT WHEN YOU USUALLY BUY A COMPUTER THAT COMES WITH AN OFFICE SUITE.

WAY TO GO WALMART!

[Trane Francks]

If I weren't in Japan ...

... I'd pick up one of these just to have one. I think it's great to see a cheap Linux notebook arrive on the scene. Rather than fret endlessly over whether Linux is supported, pick up one of these and drop in your distro of choice, all the while safe in the knowledge that you'll have few problems getting it up and running.

This is a big step forward, whether you buy it and drop in a Windows installation, run Linspire or any other Linux distro. It's a bloody brand new notebook for under five bills. Hard to beat that.

trane

wow

You all have way too much free time (no offense). Seriously, do you think that anyone who falls within the targeted market for this laptop would be reading a cnet message-board? People, if you want to argue over these things then do so, but I can almost bet that no-one who has posted here has even looked at the laptop beyond the cnet images. Instead of bickering over "windows" this and "linux" that, try using the two for what they are good at (ill leave that up to you).

right, well...

*yes, I am aware of the irony in complaining about the very message board I am writing this on.
*oh, and Andrew Banks, run, the RIAA is knocking.

;-)

Over 1,900 software titles FREE Walmart? Hmmm...

Go to the website & see the ad and I quote:
"FREE 3-month CNR Service for 1-click install of over 1,900 software titles and automatic updates". 1,900 titles of what?
Sounds more like a bad late night TV ad to me, but hey they are Walmart. Any thoughts?

Linux/Windows... I use them both

I am thinking about buying this laptop to view computer based training videos. I ride a train to work everyday and just need something cheap... There is NO new laptop on the market this cheap.

[lingsun]

Pay $50 more and get Windows XP

The laptop has a great price but for $50 more you can get a different laptop that has Windows XP and an Athlon processor. Linux is useless anyway.

Linux is useless?

I have been using Linux for years and it is far from useless. While it is true in the early days it was a pain in the arse to get everything up and running, I believe if you try a DECENT distrobution (Mandrake, Redhat, SuSe, to name a few) you will discover everything installs quickly and you are not finding issues with drivers. The software is FREE... the applications are FREE (which on the most part is not true with Linspire).
If you are looking for a game machine...then linux is not for you. If you are looking for a workhorse that gets the most out of your available processor and memory...then give linux a try.
While I do not like walmart because of the super store ramifications.... I believe this might be a first attempt at bringing the laptop/notebook prices to a proper price range for what you get.

DrZ

Microsoft(ware) is just suitable for me

Software from Microsoft is not the only software in the world (although almost everyone uses it).
I use Windows 98SE and Windows XP Home myself and I'm pretty satisfied untill now. But: you can by a laptop with Windows XP for a few dollars more, but how about the (almost free) office suits (linspire + staroffice 7 for just $50 !) ?. Computer manufacturers and resellers will continue to sell more linux(based) systems in the future and a lot of courses are developed to get people ready for it. Microsoft will adjust software pricing (lower prices)and (because of its strength)will still be #1.

Kind regards,
Peter

Pay $50 more and be a slave to MSFT

For $50 more, you could get Windows XP. Then you'll have an OS that lets you:
-Enjoy the convenience of driver conflicts, system crashes, file corruption, and forced updates
-Become involved in the growing tradition of online identity theft as your machine is hacked and exploited by juvenile delinquents over the world
-Feel the thrill of viruses infecting your applications and compromising your system
-Run as a super-user all the time and have the opportunity to delete the contents of your entire hard drive.
-Spend quality time with your computer as you defrag, update, reboot, defrag, update, format, re-install, update, defrag...

...or you can use a useless OS like Linux.

i want more pics of this laptop

If anyone has pics of this laptop plz send them to my email [e-mail]. I mean pictures from all the sides like the right side, left side, bottom, and well you guys know the rest thanx.

At $498 still too much for the majority of Wal-Mart employees...

Go by a Dell over at Costco at least their employees make slightly more $

[johnzoet]

Excellent computer for most users

The majority of responses are from heavy
computer users.
However most users have very simple demands.
- Surf the internet
- Simple document processing

For these users this is an excellent laptop.

Just look what users actually use in for example
MS Word. Probably the most complicated stuff is
a table of contents and a header. Exactly the
same stuff as was already present in a word
processors on my Commodore 64.
Why do people need more and more processor
power ?
Because M$ crams each year more stuff in their
desktop applications that nobody uses anyway.
Wallmart proves with this laptop that people
simply do not use and do not need all this
complicated stuff.

[loumont]

not a cheap computer:

The operating software now called Linspire is it 5.0 not sure what is the latest version. I downloaded the trial version from the Linspire website. And it run good on my old computer 500mhz cpu pentium III. Linspire used to be named Lindows. microsoft jumped on the case forcing the company to change the operating system name to Linspire Yes it is linux base and it runs windows base programs like a charm. It is power hungry like windows xp. It needs at least 128MB memory. Uses 4GB of your hard drive. I do not have any software for apple or so but I bet it will run it as well. As far as 1.3Mhz proccesor It must be a pentium III on the high end. So I think that a company as large as or shall I say Corporation of Walmart and todays technology and a software I found at CompUSA for the value of $50.00 Walmart can come up with a lower price than $500.00 and one more thing. You can get software for that system I believe from Linspire and no one ellse.

[ryan one]

Need Pictures of New Walmart Linux Laptop also

please send pics to [e-mail]