The tech world is abuzz today with the news that Wal-Mart has begun selling a $199 Linux-based (non-Windows) computer that comes fully integrated with several Google services and programs.  It’s called the Everex gPC TC2502.

This is big news for two reasons:  1) because it’s another new innovation from Google, and puts them more squarely in competition with Microsoft, and 2) because it’s a PC for $199!  Heck, the Hundred Dollar Laptop costs more than that.

So…first things first.  How is this a Google computer?  Well, it comes pre-installed with something called the gOS, which is a specially-made Google version of the Linux Operating System that runs GMail, Google Documents, Goog-411, and more.  It also runs Open Office, an open-source competitor to Microsoft Word (Open Office actually works with Word files). 

This is big news in the battle for tech supremacy between Microsoft and Google, because it’s another area where Google is “invading” Bill Gates’ territory–Operating Systems. 

Even if the Google involvement wasn’t present, this PC would be a big deal, because it’s $199.  This is sort of revolutionary pricing.  The standard Windows license fee and Microsoft Office license fee would be more than $199 combined.  And that’s where this new machine makes its price difference…using open-source (free) programs like Open Office on the open-source (free) Linux OS, and incorporating the already-free Google programs. 

The question is this:  who is the target audience, discount shoppers or tech-head anti-Microsoft geeks?  There is a great possibility here that a lot of folks lured in by the cheap price will be confused and/or lost when they get the PC home and find Linux instead of Windows. 

The computer has a 1.5 gigahertz processor, an 80GB hard drive, and 512 MB of RAM.  What that means is that it’s probably not fast enough or robust enough to handle the latest cutting-edge video games, but it can more than keep up with the user who wants a PC for email, surfing the web, and creating documents. 

Oh yeah, you can click here to see this thing already available on Wal-Mart’s website.