[Linux-The winner takes it all]
Everex gpc is no doubt a big success(read about it in my previous posts).In fact it is touted to become the linux version of mini mac.With very low specs as compared to other Pcs selling in the market today,Everex gPC which comes with linux pre-installed proved to be a mighty product by running out of stock within just one week of its going on sale at Wal-mart.But what makes it so special even though it comes with a not-as-popular-as-windows operating system called Linux?.
The reasons are pretty clear.A person who uses a pc for his office work,mail,music and NOT gaming would never want to spend around 300-400$ on a similar config pc with an additional feature called Vista OEM.Further costs keep on adding because Vista doesn’t come pre-loaded with Microsoft office and most important antivirus,antispyware and firewall softwares.Lets take an example of three people Person A,Person B,Person C who have the same usage like web,office and music and are planning to buy a PC for regular use with low-to-midrange specs.Say they all have a budget around 300-350 $ which is quite obvious….
1) Person A buys a PC with Vista Home basic say this Everex Impact GC3502(again from Everex with Vista Home Basic installed specs are almost same) being sold at Wal-mart (its not out of stock lolz)
Price:298$. Now since this person is trying to save money and his needs being less he’ll definitely won’t go for Professional Office 2007 he’ll buy Office 2007 Home and Student edition Priced at $140 again at wal-mart Product link.
Again this guy constantly surfs the net so he will definitely need a good antivirus lets say he goes for Bitdefender Priced at 40$ at wal-mart again Product link
Now the total cost of the pc helplessly becomes 298+140+40 = 478 $ which is almost around 500 bucks for a person with a budget of around 300 bucks !
Total Cost: 500 $ approx
2) Person B can simply go for the 1.25 Ghz Mac mini priced at 500 $ but again the price goes very high considering the budget so he decides to go for something other.
Total Cost:N/A
3) Person C the wise guy goes for the now famous Everex TC2502 priced at 200 $ . He has the same usage as person A but doesn’t need to buy any extra antivirus(linux being invulnerable to viruses) or any Office product(as it comes shipped with Openoffice).So overall price stays the same.Also linux is very stable and support is provided at the ubuntu forums.
Total Cost:200 $
So here it is obvious that Person C is the clear winner
Some more reasons for Everex gpc victory
The market of low-to-mid range PC products is very big.This is the area where Microsoft scores over Apple(which costs really high).In this market a hot new entry like the Everex Gpc has given the Microsoft a great competition.Microsoft products need constant updates and there are a lot of bugs which need fixing from time to time.Most recent being the patch Microsoft released this tuesday. Also with the rise in the popularity of gaming consoles and also release of playstation 3,Xbox and Nintendo Wii people have reduced the gaming on PC.People who already own a console would in many cases won’t need to play games on their PC and in such cases people go for a mid-end or a low-end PC.Already market being hot with the recent release of Apple Leopard.,people who can’t afford it are definitely looking for something new,useful,efficient yet cheap.Students and educational institutions see Linux as an ideal learning environment.Reports have confirmed that Vista is not hitting the market as expected to do and Microsoft are already making Vista SP1.These things have affected the market in such a way that now-a-days people have started thinking of moving to linux.Linux has developed a lot as compared to the geeky looking previous versions of linux.The users have started realizing the importance of opensource and free software with the prices of premium software rising high and as linux hits where MS lacks,not far will be the day when Linux will be the apple of your eye and window to the world !
image source:wikipedia
