Sensible Erection | Wal-Mart's $200 Linux box

Monday, 5 November 2007

quote [ Live better! Save money! ]

Runs UBUNTU. The same company, Everex, is planning a similar approach to marketing a sub-$300 laptop next year. More in extended.

WIRED's review of the OS:

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/11/gallery-the-200.html

Everex Plans Sub-$300 Laptop:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20071105/tc_nf/56501

[sci&tech] [by sua_sponte@9:20pmGMT] [+9]

Comments

eskimonoise said @ 9:44pm GMT on 5th Nov
I read somewhere that even though something like a shuttle case would be more than big enough to house the guts of 2 of these machines, they put it in a bigger case because research had shown that Wal-Mart shoppers equate the size of the system to its capability.
Even though that's fucking stupid, for some reason I'm not at all surprised.

Ronin.ca said @ 11:51pm GMT on 5th Nov
So basically the whole computer is behind that faceplate with the ports and the rest is just empty space? Nice...

erich wiess said @ 1:34am GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Insightful]

Not stupid. Just human. Size matters.
Marketers always concern themselves with “perceived value”, and although it may not make strict sense, they usually know what they’re doing. You’ll find that people selling software (a CD in a box) will often include lengthy documentation of some sort, often in the form of a small book. The added weight of the package translates into a sense of more value, and can provide a competitive advantage to a competing product, similar in nearly all respects, but feeling unsettlingly like an empty box.

Isosceles Lock™ said @ 1:39am GMT on 6th Nov
i'm all for oversized cases, my man-hands make working on all but the most spacious pc towers a real annoyance. also: lots extra space for blasted wires to dangle.

the true bad thing about this thing is that it will associate linux with generic wallmart crap computers.
you just know every poor kid asking for a computer for xmas will get one of these and feel like they just got a speak n' spell with a strip of masking tape across it proclaiming "highe teche gaming machine!"

Man Handler said @ 1:57am GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Funny]
Man Sized Hands?

Um, hey, you wanna meet for coffee sometime?

Isosceles Lock™ said @ 8:24am GMT on 6th Nov
oh my.

Narrenschiff said @ 9:50am GMT on 6th Nov
Nice handle.

Aidentas said @ 10:32am GMT on 6th Nov
Nice name too.

Nice. Balanced. Name.

Isosceles Lock™ said @ 11:38pm GMT on 6th Nov
thanks.

willrogers said @ 8:28am GMT on 6th Nov
+1 if you supply hot pics of your man hands.

Isosceles Lock™ said @ 11:42pm GMT on 6th Nov
sorry, 2257

:C

excellMint said @ 9:49pm GMT on 5th Nov
but it's still walmart

landsky said @ 10:14pm GMT on 5th Nov [Score:1 Informative]
Almost the Google PC: Everex gPC available at Wal-Mart

Everex's $199 green PC: attention ignorant Wal-Mart shoppers

Rojo^ said @ 1:02pm GMT on 6th Nov
When I read, "attention ignorant Wal-Mart shoppers," the first thing I thought was some soccer mom buying her kid this $200 PC and that World of Warcrack game her kid's been bugging the piss out of her for. I feel marginally sorry for the snotty bitches at the service desk handling returns when the technologically impaired find out their Quicken won't load.

happyman said @ 11:36pm GMT on 5th Nov
Hmmm, I dunno. I still remember Wal-Mart selling Starcaster by Fender... A cheap version of the Squier Strat which is a cheap version of the Mexi-Strat which is a cheap(er) version of the American Stratocaster.

It sounded like a cat dying, when I tried it out of curiousity.

structured_spirits said @ 12:45am GMT on 6th Nov
Yeah that VIA processor bothers me a bit.

zentrix said @ 2:12am GMT on 6th Nov
Wow, if this is really a mini-itx board with a C7 processor then this would be a good way of getting a cheap server/gateway. Just buy/build a new case.

The C7 has hardware AES (faster than you're ever gonna need), it has RSA helper functions and hardware RNG.

-_- said @ 2:17am GMT on 6th Nov
*dreamily cradles chin in interlaced fingers*

Ooooh nerd talk ... tell me more, tell me ... everything!

zentrix said @ 11:45am GMT on 6th Nov
Oh I'll tell you more alright. Right now I'm writing this, portable, multi-threaded, yet event driven socket library. I'm writing it in C and assembler, *oh yeah* going all the way down, down to the lowest level for speed, then slowly, every so carefully, *mmm* abstracting away the complexities, *you know how I like it* presenting a high-level interface smooth as silk, *oh baby* with syntax so DRY, *yeah, say it!* it will make you wet.

Yeah, you like that don't you? You're a dirty boy, I know you are. If you think you can handle me, all of me, Just put that cute little (IP) number of yours down in a comment and leave your port 79 open tonight.

theolypse said @ 12:25pm GMT on 6th Nov
Assembler isn't the lowest level. You fail.

revchoppy said @ 1:46pm GMT on 6th Nov
nitpicking isn't funny. You fail.

theolypse said @ 1:59pm GMT on 6th Nov
Nitpicking is vital to nerdery.

revchoppy said @ 2:02pm GMT on 6th Nov
and devastating to comedy.

theolypse said @ 2:18pm GMT on 6th Nov
Nerds are funny?

cache22 said @ 2:43pm GMT on 6th Nov
By definition.

theolypse said @ 2:46pm GMT on 6th Nov
Which they would pick nits from.

revchoppy said @ 2:29am GMT on 7th Nov
From which they would pick nits.

Don't end a sentence with a preposition.

revchoppy said @ 2:28am GMT on 7th Nov
You don't get points well, do you?

RhesusMonkey said @ 3:02pm GMT on 6th Nov
01000111
01101111
01000110
01110101
01100011
01101011
01011001
01101111
01110101
01110010
01110011
01100101
01101100
01100110

:D

EPT said @ 7:57pm GMT on 6th Nov
It's a boat!

RhesusMonkey said @ 12:45am GMT on 7th Nov
It's a schooner!

Ronin.ca said @ 2:43am GMT on 6th Nov
The link to the OS? It is giving off a screaming 7 bytes a second to download the fricking torrent file.

boshk said @ 2:46am GMT on 6th Nov
wall-mart hates america

todde said @ 3:45am GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Insightful]
Actually, they do.

ring riot said @ 3:48am GMT on 6th Nov
Wal-Mart hates you.

maryyugo said @ 4:59am GMT on 6th Nov
as if the cost of the box has been the issue preventing people in non-third-world countries from using a computer... do you use your new $1500 wide screen tv for a monitor?

benjamander said @ 6:01am GMT on 6th Nov
I was reading through these comments when I had to go to class. I returned to find these little irregular holes in the LCD screen right where your comment had been sitting for 2 hours... Your stupidity burned right through my computer screen...

You owe me $1500.

maryyugo said @ 8:19am GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Funny]
bill me, goofus.

Sezeroth said @ 9:46am GMT on 6th Nov
Now is that really his fault, or yours. There's a thing called a screensaver.

theolypse said @ 12:27pm GMT on 6th Nov
I HAS SHEEPS WITH ELECTRICS.

maryyugo said @ 8:20am GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Insightful]
the windows version with 1gb instead of 512mb is $100 more. big fucking deal.

umm...weird said @ 10:49am GMT on 6th Nov
I fucking hate Wal-mart.

RhesusMonkey said @ 1:10pm GMT on 6th Nov [Score:1 Interesting]
Shameless plug:
www.koolu.com

This is essentially the exact same thing, in a much smaller box. Maybe not a direct desktop replacement for the gamer enthusiast, but if you want something for just pure internet appliance, this thing goes pretty much anywhere. You can even mount it behind your super-awesome plasma TV.

Aaaaaand oddly enough I know one of the people behind Koolu, who also happens to be an SE'er. So give some love folks.

tamp said @ 6:36pm GMT on 6th Nov
Open Office and Portable Apps rock. Linux does deserve elevation/market share.

taeyn said @ 3:15am GMT on 7th Nov
i hate you so much. especially when you're right.