Published at LXer:

As popular as they have been in the past, I still have some mixed feelings when it comes to the PR health of really low cost Linux PCs. On one hand, they are fantastic as they allow people access to modern computing that may have otherwise been prevented from switching from an older system or finding access to one, for that matter.

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The article makes a good point. Adding a comment from a similar perspective, we have all seen many people post at LQ with a question something like this, "I have this ancient computer that basically no longer runs with Windows. What Linux will run well on it?" It is as though many people (who might represent the general public) only want to "try out" Linux on something they are willing to discard. Unfortunately, it also means that since it is their first exposure to Linux, it will be Linux that ends up taking the blame for the poor performance of what is really a bottom-end hardware problem. As verification, they can then turn to their new Windows Vista machine that may have a processor that runs 10-20 times as fast, has 10-20 times the RAM and hard drive space, and a standalone video card instead of some nondescript onboard video chip and notice there is a vast difference in performance.