Preinstalled Mandrake Linux PCs go live at Walmart

Will the public love them?

Newsforge notes that Mandrake Linux PCs finally went on sale at Walmart.com over the weekend. Prices range from $391 for a 900MHz Duron machine to $648 for a 2GHz Pentium 4 with CD-RW.

The machines are Microtel, which is also supplying Walmart with 'naked' PCs ("Perfect if you already have a licensed copy of Windows," says Walmart chirpily, undoing years of Redmond propaganda) and Lindows machines. The nearest spec naked PC to the 2GHz Mandrake one costs $599, so Mandrakesoft must be making some money out of the deal, while a similar Lindows machine is, er, $599.

Draw your own conclusions about that one, friends, but it'll be interesting to see how the respective offerings do at Walmart, or indeed if preinstalled Linux from a major consumer outlet will hit the spot. US customers can browse the range here, while would-be UK customers will be unsurprised to learn that there's not a lot going on at Walmart subsidiary Asda.co.uk. ®