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Wal-mart has decided to start selling computers that do not come preloaded with an operating system in order to attract more technically savvy people. Im thinking that perhaps this will not work, although I dont think it to be a bad idea. I personally dont want windows XP, but might not want to go through the pains of assembling my own pc in order to not be forced to pay for it. Maybe others will follow their example.
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-842375.html
maybe they should sell computer with there choise of OS for no additional cost. that sounds better to me than just getting a blank HD.
I went and had me a look. The specs aren't to bad. That is, until you takea good look at the mobo. No room for expansion. All in one video and audio, which for some is ok. They say it's upgradeable with an AGP 2X-4X slot. But you only get 2 PCI slots and one already has a modem. So that would shoot it down for me.... Besides. I like to build my own with the parts I want from the ground up. Anyway, here are the specs from http://walmart.com This for $499. Not for me. If it had a better mobo, it would'nt be to bad.
AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz processor
266MHz Frontside Bus
256MB 133MHz SDRAM Memory, supports up to 1GB
40GB Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive / 5400RPM (total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment)
52X CDROM
3.5" Floppy Drive
Integrated S3 Savage4 3D graphics
Up to 32 MB shared video memory
Supports 2x, 4x AGP graphic add-in cards
ADI AC97 soft audio, integrated
PCI 56K Modem
250 Watt ATX Mid Tower Case (8" W x 17" D x 17" H)
Total drive bays: External, four 5.25", two 3.5"; Internal, two 3.5"
Available drive bays: External, three 5.25", one 3.5"; Internal, two 3.5"
Available Slots: 2 PCI, 1 ISA
2 Serial Ports
1 Parallel Port
2 USB Ports
1 Game Port
104 Key Keyboard
2 button mouse w/wheel
Audio Port (Line-in, Line-out, Mic-in)
14 Watt (RMS) Stereo Speakers
1 Year warranty, return to Microtel
Operating System - NOT INCLUDED
they won't give you the choice of installing any soft for free, that's for sure (unless wlmrt goes into wares), plus i think that most of us who custom build our own pc's don't really care about the os it comes with... i started on all build up pc that i ended up changing everything in it xcept the diskdrive ... (even the keyboard died on me damn generic brand) but i got to do as many installs as i wanted and choosed the os's i wanted ... tried four gave up on 2 ...
What I would like to see is a little sticker on the pc I buy that says it's designed for WinXP, Win2000, Linux RH, Mandrake etc.
I bought a laptop a few weeks ago and it's only fully compatible with WinXP. I wanted a dual boot of Mandrake and win2000. Win2000 wouldn't work and I couldnt't find the correct drivers. Mandrake works ok, but a lot of the features are not working (like to modem, winmodem of course). And it's not possible to get full use of the graphics card, there aren't any drivers for it as far as I've seen. But I found another that I can use.
What's left is XP, works wonderful. But I like to have a choice, though.....
Wallmart is for niknacs and kitchen warez, translated: goto walmart for a good frying pan set and some spatulas to match, and some salt and pepper shakers.