Walmart launches Green Google PC for $199
About 600 Wal-Mart stores will carry the $199 Linux-powered “Green gPC” made by Everex of Taiwan, Wal-Mart said. It was available online on Wednesday. A comparable Everex PC that comes with Windows Vista Home Basic and more memory costs $99 more, or $298, partly because the manufacturer has to pay Microsoft Corp. for a software license. Both computers come with keyboard, mouse, and speakers, but no monitor. The variant of Linux on the gPC is called gOS and is derived from the popular Ubuntu variant. It’s heavily oriented toward Google’s Web sites and online applications, like YouTube, Gmail and the company’s word processing program, all of which can be used only when the computer is connected to a broadband line.
Google’s push into desktop applications is relatively new, and gOS, the Los Angeles-based startup behind the software, sees it as crucial in overcoming consumers’ reluctance to leave the familiar Windows environment. The gPC has a low-end processor from VIA Technologies, plus 512 megabytes of internal memory, an 80-gigabyte hard drive and a combination DVD drive and CD burner. Everex says the processor is very energy efficient, meriting the “Green” part of the name. I’m wondering, when are we going to see Google logo on every product we buy? The giant is growing bigger and bigger every day…
Source: AP
Comments(34)
Google FTW !!!
Dont Trust Cheap Computers XD but yes Google FTW if they actually make it run well
the computer’s specs sound lame…. its ment to be a new pc lol
old news about the pc but new about the google bit :p
I think half of the world would shut down if google went offline…
with a graphics update could it be a decent Media Center?
Does anyone believe that these type of pet projects make one difference to global warming effect.When the big players aren’t playing ball.Its like the solar house i saw on the bbc to use a different power source.When china is over polluted and usa non committal.
As a Media Center?
I would think it would be fine to play avi’s and such.
I currently use an old laptop to do so.
It’s hooked up with RCA cables. Not Hi-Def, but looks nice.
Sound could be a little better. Only able to do 2.1.
Tuner card? Depends on the processor.
Umbrella Corporation
Cheap generic pieces of crap!Green?Polluting the world
1.5 ghz processor, 512 MB ram(shared), UniChrome “Pro” integrated graphics, no AGP (much less a PCI Express slot), 80 gig HD, generic keyboard and mouse included(but no monitor)? WOOOooo! Gotta get me one!
Lol I could build something way better for alot cheaper even in US$. Dam commercial nubz.
Yeah…….. Google should be good, but the pc being $200 seems a bit… different from today’s market… Very slow… I bought a PC for $900 after taxes and everything, and it’s 4 times better everyway you look at it
And I used to work at Wal*Mart, and I bought my pc at Future Shop, cduz it was twice as fast as the one my store was selling 
But the only downside to it is that at Futureshop, they don’t give you the OS discs and everything when you buy the computer, which is sorta illegal but they get away with it! lol
@12 Bet you can’t…
@14
On Pricewatch, I was able to build the following:
AMD Athlon 64 3200 — Onboard sound/video, but with a PCIx16 if you wanted to upgrade.
1 gig ram
200 gig SATA drive
Case, Keyboard, Mouse.
All for $200.58, shipping included.
I went over by $.58, but it’s definitely a lot better system than the Google one and is upgradeable.
If you wanted to spend a little extra ($223.57 total) for the system, you could have a dual core Athlon instead.
I second that Bet,
If I were you @14 Andrew, I’d be building and selling, make yourself some xtra £$€ for the christmas period
:)
I forgot the CDR, but if we cut the size of the HD down a bit, we can put in a CDR/DVD player and if we make a couple of other changes, we could fit in a DVD burner even.
sounds like some nice hardware, but what kinda OS would you be running. Sure you could use some free OS like UBUNTU but then your pc would be lacking a little.
I think it’s great that google is taking this chance. Sure it’s kind of crappy, but it gets the job done. believe it or not there are still some people that don’t have a PC. This is a good start for them.
google is a lame communist company who support the chnese regime and bow down before censorship
NEVER TRUST A RUSSIAN. PERIOD.
The deal breaker for the Google PC is this:
VIA Chipset
It’s a piece of crap. Reported nothing but problems on various tech sites. Andrew is right,take that $200.00 and build yourself a better comp. You can find some pretty comprehensive guides on how to do so.
Nice, but I’d rather stick with my setup… E6750, 2 gig ram, 1TB hd, 8800GTS
the proposition of a ‘green’ computer is one of questionable validity in itself. however, in a world where the majority of computer resources go virtually unused, the notion that a new computer could be made ‘green’ is utterrly absurd. it takes something like 2 tons of raw material to mfg a new machine. see the following:
http://www.ciber-runa.net/guide/BetterUpgrade–ActivistGuide.html
Wow @22, you brag so hard. Your penis is very small right? Thanks for sharing. Your parents buy you that? Oh no maybe it was ‘your own money’ aka part of what they give you for college. Kids…
Well from this I can conclude that at least 15 or so of you are “hard core” gamers with your bleeding edge kit and couldnt live if you had to go back to a pc thats 3 years old to do anything on it.
The only issue about this is the quality of the hardware and how well they tweaked there ubuntu base system to use the hardware(might also be a reason for lack of upgrade ablility?) Think back to the time of e-machines, alot of us said they were crap but most of the people who got them were happy with them because they knew nothing else or had any technical knowledge same with this kit.
Now the whole “green” thing gets a little old but hey look at breast cancer pink its still going strong as a business model maybe green will to…
Where is a link do get this pc:)
What a great IDEA . Go linux ! screw microshat, I thought I would never see the day where malwart sells computers without microc0ck.
Hmm, a retail Linux box…dont know how well that is going to go over…I tried Ubuntu once and switched back to Windows cause it took around 4 or 5 hours to figure out how to update my graphics drivers, which still didnt work properly afterwards…
The learning curve for Linux is just too much! Plus, Ill take the static OS over the dynamic one any day, which allows for a standard in PC’s causing much better third party support.
Ill change to Linux the day they make Winux!
@14, don’t forget that you have to get linux to run on it, bundle extra software, beta test, and pay someone to assemble/test every one, then put every one into the custom retail packaging you had to pay another company to make. You’ll also need to set up tech support lines for the noobs that buy it, and get ready for warranty repairs/replacements. Try doing that and building in a 30% margin for Walmart to carry it (i.e., Walmart will pay you about $154 each, you pay shipping). There’s a lot more in developing a product for retail than one guy willing to take a weekend to make it work for himself. This is an impressive price point.
Wal-Mart doesn’t make 30% margins on computers. The computer industry is a cut-throat industry. Wal-Mart sells computers for cheap, but makes a killing on things like paper, mouses, keyboards, mouse pads, some monitors, etcetera. I purchased from the same distributors that Wal-Mart does. The distributors don’t tell me how much Wal-Mart pays, but all of the distributors have comparable prices. I can assure you that Wal-Mart is not paying $154 for that unit. I would guess $175, which is just enough to cover overhead.
Also, from gOS website:
“gOS is not affiliated with Google or their partners.”
I think that’s important to note. The title of this Rlslog article is a bit misleading.
The PC for sale at Wal-Mart:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7754614
Review (including nice screenshots of the computer and Linux gOS):
http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7114714037.html
Slamothecow,
You’re wondering where he’d get an OS to put on his newly built computer? You HAVE noticed what kind of a site you’re on, right?
[nuke] (this post) misleading headline and bad editing (forward this post to fox news, I'm sure they can use it)