An interview with David Liu, founder of the gOS Linux distro project, reveals that Google worked with his team in developing the new $199 computer to be sold at Wal-Mart. The computer contains gOS, which is built off of Ubuntu, and is aimed at a target audience that would benefit from what it has to offer, but really wouldn’t know much about Linux. The computer’s low end approach to easy computing also means that it relies heavily on low-resource gadgets from Google that help streamline its operation.
Google’s decision to involve itself in the project certainly has obvious benefits. It gets in on the ground level, exposing itself to more users, and it gets the name recognition in associating itself with the project. Beyond that it is interesting that Google hasn’t pushed as much of a public relations angle as it could have. Is this a small splash, or could the $199 computer at Wal-Mart actually bring about a revolution?
It’s hard to say at this point, but provided that projects like this continue to be picked up and pushed into the general consumer market, it stands to change what we know about PC availability. With cheap, utile programs such as the ones available in the Google cloud, retail cost could be driven down even further than this $199 model. By including Linux distros in these cheap PCs, expensive OS upgrades down the line are less of a hassle for people that benefit from the cheap PC in the first place. This is a win-win situation, and one that Google can foster with more open development cooperation.
