Everex Meets Walmart: $199 PC

In tooling around the web I came across this Engadget article that explores the not-so-green side of Walmart's new cheap PC lineup.

The idea behind a line of "green-machines," essentially, is to reduce power usage and create a more world and electric-bill friendly computer. This particular PC sports a mini-ITX mobo, an appropriate sized hard drive, a relatively low-power processor, and adequate RAM. Sounds good, right? Sounds like a Mac-mini, right? Something with so few components (from the picture, not even an optical drive) can fit into such a small space, making a fantastically compact and portable PC. Not so fast though! In saving valuable resources (i.e. conserving energy), it appears as though marketing research has labeled America not smart enough for its own good. Apparently, customers are more inclined to buy an inexpensive computer, if it looks comparable in size to other systems. What this means: You've got to have a HUGE case for, really, a tiny computer.

What's better, the computer doesn't run Windows, but rather Linux! Anyone tech-oriented enough to understand even the difference between Windows and Linux, would not buy this system. And, the people who will be buying it won't have a clue why their start bar doesn't actually say "start."

Now, check out the comments attached to the article, specifically this line of comments here. Not only is the "Hotcakes" line of commenting hilarious, but someone even provides the link for the Newegg page where you can buy a near-comparable bare-bones kit to build this system yourself... for $125 after mail-in rebate!

In case you didn't catch the link to this article: http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/31/everexs-199-green-pc-attention-ignorant-wal-mart-shoppers/.