Beware of the $199 Wal-Mart PC

Yesterday, Wal-Mart released some of its holiday electronics specials, including a $199 Everex computer system. While the price may be enticing, remember the adage "You get what you pay for" still holds true in many instances.

This $199 computer comes with Google OS instead of Windows. Google OS is a Linux-based operating system. While there are lots of open source programs on the market (many if not most of which are free) to run on Linux, the average Joe User is not going to understand how to program a lot of these. I already see Mom and Dad Wellinentioned buying one of these cheap PCs for the kids for Christmas, along with a host of games and educational programs for the family to enjoy with it, only to find out that the computer won't play the games because they are Windows based. Not to mention the kids disappointement if Mom and Dad try to put it on dial-up Internet, because while it does have a modem installed gOS does not support it.

The processor is also neither an Intel nor an AMD; it's a VIA. VIA technologies is who bought out Cyrix years ago, probably one of the crappiest computer processors ever built, in my humble opinion.

Rest assured, while the price may be right at the counter, there will be plenty of upgrades and maintenance needed down the road. I would hate to see the disappointment on a child's face when they realize they can't really use their computer for any of the games their friends play. Kind of like when a technologically-challenged family member bought his 11-year-old daughter an iPod for Christmas a couple years ago not realizing that she would need a computer to download the music to go on it (a computer which he didn't own). The child was dejected all day because she had this great present that would be the envy of all her friends and couldn't use it.

Now, this same computer will be available with Windows Vista Basic for an additional $99, BUT the machine only has 512 MB RAM which is just barely enough for Vista Basic and it is likely to crawl once you put any additional software on it.

My advice to anyone purchasing high-tech electronics, do your homework before you buy and do not let the price tag be the main force behind your decision to buy. Remember that spending a little extra time and a few extra dollars up front could save you money and a whole lot of heartache in the end.