Here's an interesting trend.
A few months ago, Wal-Mart.com started selling cheap PCs equipped with no OS at all. Then they started selling the same boxes, equipped with the new Lindows OS (which runs Linux and Windows apps). Now they've added a series of slightly more upscale models that run Mandrake Linux.
The Lindows models run from from $299 to $599. The bottom model has an AMD Duron 850 MHz processor, 128 MB memory and a 10GB hard drive. The top model has a 1.8 GHz Pentium 4, 256 MB DDR memory and a 40 GB drive.
The Mandrake Linux models run from $391 to $648. The bottom model has an AMD Duron 900 MHz processor, 128 MB memory and a 40 GB hard drive. The top model has an Intel 2.0 GHz Pentium 4 processor, 256 MB DDR memory and a 40 GB hard drive.
None come with monitors. Those begin at $128.42 for a 17" model with up to 1280 x 1024 resolution. Color printers start at $49.63 for a Lexmark Z23.
Prices and models are from mid-July, 2002.