http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
I am a linux supporter, but XP wouldve been the best choice, since these people would go in, and buy their software. As far as I know, barely anything in Walmart is Mac compatible, and I haven't seen any linux software there either.

Linux is a total hassle for my Mom, who knows not much about computers. SHe prefers XP.]]>Mar 10th 2008 7:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 8:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Don't forget the cost of adding another stick of RAM to run Windows properly.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Linux is still a mystery to many users.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
This PC has 512, correct? XP runs BEAUTIFULLY with 512. 1GB is more of a luxury for XP, whereas it is a necessity with Vista. 256-512 was the standard for most of XP's reign.]]>Mar 10th 2008 10:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/And back then we ran Office 97 or 2000. Needless to say...RAM requirements have gone up.]]>Mar 11th 2008 2:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
No, it does. I use XP machines with modern software using 512 very often (VERY often). And it sure as hell is enough for the average Walmart computer buyer. It'll run mail.aol.com like a demon.]]>Mar 11th 2008 3:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 3:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 9:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Do that for your proposed $100.

OR use it as it comes. You need office? Guess what, comes with it. OpenOffice is not MS Office you say? Well, if they can't tell the difference between windows and Linux... Seeing as how OpenOffice can natively open and save those formats... Gee Wiz.

Looks like that $200 machine isnt so bad]]>Mar 13th 2008 7:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 10:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 2:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
more often than not, you get what you pay for. enjoy that lead paint from china.

just remember that someone, somewhere is paying for your "savings". sometimes it's a child in china making the toy, sometimes it's your child getting sick from the toy.]]>Mar 13th 2008 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Linux, by itself, is just the base for the more robust systems you are familiar with with graphic interfaces (windows, menus, etc). At it's core (called a kernel), it's all text-based, where you enter commands to execute programs or make changes. There are Windows-like interfaces for it, the most popular being Gnome and KDE. But you cannot run Windows or Mac programs on Linux, since it is different (You can through software emulation but that's another story).

The other big thing is, Linux is Open Source, which means its code is available for anyone to see, reuse, and modify, as long as they give credit and in turn keep their source code open as well. So for an end-user like you, this means that there are several Linux 'distributions' avaialible for free download. A distribution is a package of the base Linux kernel, a graphical interface, and several open source applications, like Mozilla Firefox and OpenOffice. Perhaps the most famous of these is called Ubuntu, and is available here: http://www.ubuntu.org

The most compelling reasons people use Linux are: A) Openness B) Security C) Flexibility and D) Price (Free!)

That is just the VERY basics though, there is much more to it. I suggest you go to the Ubuntu site and brows around there, and venture to their forums.]]>Mar 10th 2008 7:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 7:54PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
it is ubuntu.com
not ubuntu.org]]>Mar 10th 2008 7:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.ubuntu.com]]>Mar 10th 2008 7:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Good summary, but I hate to point out that the 'kernel' you talk about isn't what you think it is. The kernel is simply the core of the operating system. You, as a user, never do anything with or in the kernel. The 'text' based 'thingy' you are talking about is called a shell. The simpler shells in Linux are text based. A 'windowing' environment is a 'graphical shell'.

Mind you, this is no different in any of the Microsoft OSs. The 'basic' bootup mode for Windows has been a command prompt since the very first version of Windows. I haven't used Vista, but even upto XP, you need to boot into 'Command Prompt Only' mode if things get really screwed up.

This information is undoubtedly confusing for a newbie, so it's best not to mention anything about the shell, rather than call the 'kernel' the 'shell'.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 9:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Hahaha! Perfect. =)]]>Mar 10th 2008 10:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
I wouldn't ever consider popular versions (distributions) of Linux to be harder than Windows to use.

It's just different.

If your first PC is a Windows machine, you'll learn crazy things like, click on Start to shut down. And running with Administrator privileges all the time is ok (this is insane if you know anything about security).

Personally, I like the fact that in most linux distros, you can open the package manager (just a fancy name for a program that installs programs for you) and search for what you want to do, it automatically returns a list of applications you can use and to install them, you just check the box next to the name and click "Apply"

Now, if you LIKE digging though websites to find a program for a specific need, and you LIKE having to just trust the web host that they're not going to install crap all over your computer when you download and run the installer, then, well, Windows must be great.

So, no, Windows is not easier, it may just be more familiar. Easy and familiar are not synonyms.]]>Mar 10th 2008 11:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
You are fucking insane.]]>Mar 10th 2008 11:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Linux probably won't fail.

Windows cannot possibly fail.]]>Mar 11th 2008 12:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 5:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux]]>Mar 13th 2008 11:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
1. Most Linux users won't shop at Wal-Mart.
2. Most Wal-Mart shoppers won't use Linux.
]]>Mar 10th 2008 7:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 8:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
That is exactly the case, it was true when Wally World tried it with Lindows (Linspire), and it is true now. Many "thought" the problem was (and may have been true to some extent), that the "Lindows" name confused consumer. But the fact is, they person buying this hunk of junk doesn't know enough to read the label and make an informed choice. Those that do know enough, aren't buying this hunk of junk.

@I.E

You can scoff all you want at his "deduction" but tell me this... why is it all the people involved in the decision to put this on the shelves couldn't figure that out? It may be "obvious" but apparently not to some.
]]>Mar 11th 2008 8:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 8:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Nothing against macs/linux... My next laptop (when my crappy windows laptop finally dies) will probably be a macbook..]]>Mar 10th 2008 9:15PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 9:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
There are ALOT of people who buy Macs (with OS X) because it looks good, not because they've done research on the OS! You're statement is false, provided that you were supposed to start with "Typically choices like Linux and OS X ARE* for."]]>Mar 12th 2008 5:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
I am currently having linux issues, trying to have a windows box print to a fedora box.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:05PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 11:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
That tells me this is a wise move.

The other person (my cousin) didnt realize the Linux aspect, but Ive helped him get it working better for him, and he likes it now.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
Keep in your very narrow mind that MOST people are used to Windows or MacOS. Linux is a foreign operating system to even basic users. By basic users I mean people who don't use a computer very much (I have very wealth millionaire clients in their 40's who don't use computers much, at all). And most people are used to Windows--period. Whether from seeing it at the office place or anywhere else, MOST people see are used to seeing the Windows OS.

Even though Linux might make sense to standard and more advanced computer users, the interface is still foreign and difficult to find true support for it.]]>Mar 10th 2008 11:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/enough said... ]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/
windows is for losers.

i deserve the low ranking about to hit me.]]>Mar 10th 2008 8:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 8:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 9:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 10th 2008 11:00PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 12:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/10/wal-mart-is-pulling-plug-on-in-store-gpc-experiment/Mar 11th 2008 1:11PM