Giant retailer Wal-Mart has ended its experiment with offering inexpensive Linux-based PCs, saying they just aren’t what consumers wanted. Wal-Mart had begun offering the $!99 gPC, made by Taiwan’s Everex, inn bout 600 stores late last year. The company says it sold out the gPC inventory that it moved into its stores, but elected not to restock the systems. Wal-Mart will continue to offer the gPC online, noting that they were selling it much more effectively online than in their retail stores.
Wal-Mart has previously sold Linux-based PCs online, but the gPC marked the first time the retailer had set aside store space for a Linux system. Wal-mart currently offers the gPC2 for $199, and the Linux-based Everex CloudBook notebook for $399. None of the systems are exclusive to Wal-Mart, and are offered by other online retailers.
