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Today, we announced the first place in the
world where you can buy a computer running LindowsOS - Walmart.com (lindows.com/walmart).
The complete line-up of computers running LindowsOS ranges in price from $299-
$599. Some in the press may write about this development because it's not every
day a new operating system becomes available on computers. They may write that
it's a major milestone for nine-month-old
Lindows.com to partner with the world's largest retailer. Perhaps they'll
mention how it's a sign that Linux® technology will play a larger roll on
consumer desktops in the future. Or maybe they'll commend Wal-Mart and Microtel
for giving consumers choice in spite of pressure from a monopolist not to do so.
All of which is true.
However, there's actually two more significant
developments from today’s announcement that likely won't get coverage. The
combination of lower cost PCs and affordable software will reinvigorate the
technology market by spurring new uses and new demand for personal computers. At
the same time, complete digital delivery of software will permanently change the
software industry as we know it.
First computers pre-installed with
LindowsOS
For about the cost of a game console with a
couple controllers, a shopper can now buy a sufficiently powered computer for
most tasks in a business, school or home. This means a lot more people will buy
them for a lot more uses. Schools can now afford a row of computers in each
classroom. Every household can afford the benefit of computing to better their
lives. No longer will computers be a planned family purchase costing thousands,
but rather they'll be more like TVs where every household has at least one and
many have multiple units. And no business - no matter what the size - will be
disadvantaged by their inability to afford computers. The combination of an
efficient computer manufacturer and the removal of a $100 per-machine Microsoft
tax have made it possible to rollout a line of computers affordable for any
budget.
But an even more significant dimension of
today's announcement is the
Click-N-Run Warehouse, which radically changes the software business.
Previously outfitting a computer could cost over a thousand dollars, requiring a
considerable amount of technical experience and time. The software industry has
not changed the ways it does business since pre-Internet days. In spite of a
radically different computing landscape (Internet, low-cost PCs, etc.), the lack
of competition has kept consumers from experiencing the full benefit of
innovation and the economic benefit that comes from it.
Click-N-Run Warehouse stocked with over
1,000 programs
Click-N-Run is a novel delivery system and
pricing model for software where a consumer can pay a single payment of just $99
for a membership to a warehouse of over 1,000 products - which they can own
permanently. All the LindowsOS computers from
Walmart.com can be plugged into
a DSL, cable modem or modem line and get instant access to a library which
normally could cost thousands of dollars. Each computer comes with a trial
account which allows for any 3 programs to be loaded from the
Click-N-Run Warehouse to experience the technology. From there, unlimited
access for a year is available for
$99.
LindowsOS is delivering on the much heralded
promise of complete digital delivery of software and making it point-and-shoot
easy with Click-N-Run. All of the programs in the
Click-N-Run Warehouse can be downloaded, installed and ready to use with a
single mouse click.
No registration
process. No serial numbers or activation codes. No configuration hassles -- just
24/7-access to a library of software titles from a wide-range of
categories. In this area, LindowsOS users are experiencing powerful
technology, not available to Microsoft or Apple customers.
We're excited about this major step for
Lindows.com to partner with Wal-Mart and Microtel to bring affordable computing
to middle America. Users purchasing these computers will be experiencing the
future of software delivery today as they browse and deploy hundreds of programs
via the
Click-N-Run Warehouse.
Michael Robertson
mm17
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