Linux PCs a bust at Wal-Mart

Linux and Wal-Mart seem like they should go hand-in-hand. Wal-Mart's avowed goal is to offer the lowest prices at retail. And when it comes to PC OSes, you can't beat Linux: It's free. So it comes as a bit of a surprise when Wal-Mart says it's pulling its Linux-based computers off of store shelves. Why? No one was buying them.

The Everex "gPC" Linux computers, which cost just $199, made headlines when they were launched late last year and quickly sold out. But after the initial rush to grab the units (10,000 were sold in a week), sales appear to have stopped, or at least dramatically slowed.

Wal-Mart says merely, "This really wasn't what our customers were looking for," which is corporate-speak for "We didn't sell enough to justify the shelf space." Wal-Mart is infamous for pushing suppliers to slash prices to razor-thin profit margins and demanding sales be maintained at very high levels lest the shelf space be given away to better-performing products. I've no doubt that's exactly what happened here: The profit on a $199 computer can't be more than a few bucks, and desktops take up a ton of room.

Of course, the reason why the ultra-cheap computer wasn't selling requires a bit more conjecture. The specs on the Everex machines were decidedly stripped down, but I imagine it's the lack of Windows that ultimately made it tough for most people to pull the trigger and purchase one. Everyone loves to bash the Microsoft OS, but when it comes time to buy a new computer, people tend to gravitate toward what's familiar (and, importantly, what they use at the office). If anyone has other theories why the Linux computer didn't make it, post them in the comments below.

Here's some good news for Linux fans: The $199 computer will still be on sale at walmart.com.