Already available for the holidays is a PC for only $199 running Linux.  Every year we see Linux creeping into the Desktop market with Ubuntu now offered on dell's this PC from Walmart is a considerable jump. 

At less then $200 for a PC its a great price.  It comes with ample hard drive space of 80 gigs.  512MB of ram is ample enough for Linux and the 1.5ghz processor is good for surfing the web, sending email and writing papers.  For someone who doesn't need any bells or whistles this PC is great, I might buy one for my grandmother.  You can get it upgraded to fit Windows Vista for an Extra $99 but then its lost its value in my opinion.  It comes with OpenOffice.org 2.2 which is a great office suite.  I believe its just as good as MS office without Outlook, you can see it in our upcoming software review.  It comes with a CD burner which is nice as well. It also has speakers. Surprisingly its a whole PC in a box not something that you need to buy a whole bunch of additional peripherals.  Now it doesn't come a monitor, which is a downside but you could pick an old CRT monitor from Craigs list or a garage sale for 20 bucks and you would be set

Linux for the desktop is here ladies and gentleman with more software options and easy to package installation tools like synaptic.  I don't believe you need anywhere elese to turn.  For those of you who think that its a huge learning curve for new users think again.  I think its even easier to learn then Windows especially for new users, they don't have to relearn anything.  The only tough thing with using linux is the inablity to use WIndows products while this may seem like a major downside it really isn't.  For every windows tools there are multpile tools that are just as good and probably a lot cheaper or even free for Linux.  Linux is great for the user who is just going to browse the internet write some email or write a letter or two.  

Check it out at walmart.com, click fast because they might be sold out soon.