Google-Focused Linux PCs Fail at Wal-Mart

PCs running a Google focused version of Linux have been dropped from sale in Wal-Mart stores.

The Everex gPC launched in October with a $199 price tag and an operating system that put Google front and center. The gOS Linux Distribution offered direct links into Google services such as Gmail and Google Docs, as well as links to Wikipedia and Facebook. We asked in November whether gOS is the direction computers were heading, where the Operating System is nothing more than a conduit to the cloud, with minimal local applications.

According to a Wal-Mart spokesman quoted on AP, “This really wasn’t what our customers were looking for.” The gPC will still be available via Wal-mart.com, with Everex spinning the decision as “significantly more effective” than selling the gPC in stores.

Some will argue that the failure of gPC’s to take off bides poorly for both Linux distros and cloud focused offerings. The decision really just shows that low-spec cheap junk with a Google focused operating system is no more appealing to consumers than low-spec cheap junk with Windows, even when the price of the Linux option is significantly less. The sales success of the Asus EeePC (with its focus on the cloud) demonstrates that buyers are willing to purchase a Linux powered cloud focused PC when the computer it comes with provides decent or innovative tech and is low priced.