Looking for a Christmas PC?

Every few weeks I’ve been trying to post some discount PCs for those folks in the family (and you people out there) who are still using some Win95 Pentium computers & looking to upgrade and for those folks that want a fourth/fifth/sixth computer.

This deal looks like a pretty good little system from Walmart for $199.00. I’ll tell you one thing, you sure can’t beat the price. It won’t be a rocket/barn-burner, but it might be the perfect first computer for some folks. It’s got enough memory and enough horsepower for basic computing & surfing. It’s got a built in cd-rom and network adapter (broadband ready).

Specs:
800 MHz VIA C3 processor
128 MB SDRAM, expandable to 1 GB
10 GB hard drive
CD-ROM drive
Integrated 10/100 LAN
Lycoris Desktop/LX operating system (Linux-based)
Modem and floppy disk drive are not included

Some caveats:

I’ve never seen this computer. I have no clue how neat-o/how cool/etc it might be. If you want to know, go look. Don’t email me ‘cuz –and I think you’re feeling me here– I don’t know.

It is a Linux computer. That means it does not have Windows installed. I would recommend that most of y’all grab a copy of Windows XP and install it.

The price does not include a monitor or a modem. The specs show an open PCI slot, so you could add a modem.

No floppy drive means the kiddos aren’t going to be using diskettes to swap info. I presume the best method of sharing files would be uploading, emailing, or attach a USB drive. I do not know if adding a diskette drive is feasible, but they sell for $30 or so.

You probably couldn’t (perhaps…shouldn’t?) upgrade this computer to add additional drives.

The specs show a 52x CD-ROM so don’t be fooled by the “SOFTWARE” listing which shows you can burn CDs. You cannot. I repeat, you cannot. The software could, but you can’t because you don’t have a CDRW drive on this model.

This unit probably doesn’t have the juice for power video editing and some intese games. Just the basics, baby!

For under $200.00 bucks, this is a brand new system with some basic features. If you’re in the market, looks like a good buy. (It certainly beats buying a used PC on Ebay and then paying another $70 to ship it!)

NOTE:The website says the model is NOT AVAILABLE IN STORES. Hustle on down to Walmart for more info.