AboutWelcome to Free Software Daily (FSD). FSD is a hub for news and articles by and for the free and open source community. FSD is a community driven site where members of the community submit and vote for the stories that they think are important and interesting to them. Click the "About" link to read more...
Everex was one of the first companies to offer a netbook in the US. When Everex introduced its first Cloudbook the only other low cost mini-laptop on the market was the Asus Eee PC 701. And a lot of people were excited about the Everex Cloudbook because it ran a version of Ubuntu Linux.
That $200 Everex gPC that Walmart has been advertising has proven to be quite the hit in its online store, currently being out of stock but can still be picked up at select brick and mortar locations.
This turns what might otherwise be a bog-standard Windows PC into open source's first major assault on the most massive PC mass-market of them all: Wal-Mart shoppers that even Everex identifies as "unsophisticated."
But is it any good? The technology stork just dropped this baby at the door, so let's take a look!
Not content with mounting a serious challenge to Asus' elfin Eee PC, US manufacturer Everex this week said it will follow up its 7in CloudBook sub-notebook with larger models later in the year.
Everex, a longtime personal computer vendor, has unveiled its latest PC featuring Ubuntu Linux-based open-source productivity software and Google-based Web 2.0 applications, for a mere $198.
With Wal-Mart reporting that it is sold out of the Everex gPC -- a $200 Linux-based desktop -- some are suggesting that a new day for Linux is dawning. But, said analyst Greg Sterling, if initial gPC buyers find that not being able to run Microsoft Office is problematic, the excitement around the $200 Everex computer could soon dissipate.
There's an interesting comparison on CNN Money between the Apple MacBook Air, the Everex Cloudbook, and the Sony VAIO Tz 298N. Cost wise the Sony was at the top at nearly 4 grand, while the Everex nailed the low end at $400. A nice order-of-magnitude cost spread there. I'll let the Gentle Reader find out on their on what the writer's favorite machine was, but it wasn't the Cloudbook:
If you have not already heard, SCALE, or the Southern California Linux Expo, is now underway. So far, the most interesting news comes from ZaReason, a manufacturer of many Linux-based computers and a reseller of Everex’s gPC and CloudBook, regarding gOS on the CloudBook. According to Click, the CloudBook will now run a version of gOS with GNOME, instead of Enlghtenment, showing that Everex is continuing to improve their software.