Wal-Mart Dumps Linux Desktop From Retail Stores

Despite the company's decision to cease selling the computers in its retail stores, they are still available on Wal-Mart's consumer Web site. Although the in-store stock sold out, Wal-Mart does not plan to restock stores with the gPC.

Some reports suggested the public's unfamiliarity with Linux as the reason for Wal-Mart's decision, while others claim a product with performance limitations is a factor. This is not the first time Wal-Mart sold Linux computers but it is the first time the products were sold in physical stores.

Walmart.com currently carries nine Everex models, two of them Linux-based: an updated version of the Everex desktop offering, called the gPC2, also for $199 without a monitor, and the Everex Cloudbook, a $399 Linux-driven laptop.

Calls for comment to Everex, which is based in Fremont, Calif., were not returned at the time of publication.

Linux has struggled to find its way into the desktop marketplace for years. The Linux OS currently lags far behind Apple's OS X and Microsoft's ubiquitous Windows OS, which companies like Everex or Linspire offer as an alternative. In January, Linspire, the San Diego-based developer of the Linspire and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems, announced a $199 Linux PC, after $100 mail-in rebate, through retailer Sears' Web site.