After all the buzz the gPC received for being a $200 Linux-based computer available at Wal-Mart, I am both surprised and disappointed to see how little attention a new inexpensive Linux desktop that brings the price even lower while providing better hardware and software is getting. The new PC is a collaboration between Linspire and Mirus Innovations.

When I first saw the press release for this new PC, I assumed that this was just a rip-off of the gPC. While this PC may have been inspired by the gPC (and I suspect it was,) it combines a (slightly) less expensive price point, better hardware, a real Linux distribution, and legal proprietary codecs.

So starting with the hardware, lets see what is new here. There are two major differences compared to the gPC. First, the Linspire PC (as I am going to call it) comes with a full gigabyte of RAM, compared to the gPC’s 512 MB. Second, it also includes an Intel Celeron processor whereas the gPC includes a VIA processor. Together, these upgrades make the Linspire PC a solid PC for everyday usage. While you could argue that the gPC was too, it was borderline.

On the software side, the Linspire PC comes with Freespire 2.0, a well-known and respected (at least until Linspire made their patent deal with Microsoft) Linux distribution. While you might say that the gOS was also a real distribution, it does not have the testing and backing of Freespire. To further increase the appeal of the software, it comes with legally licensed propriatary codecs to play most media files out-of-the-box.

As you can see, there are multiple reasons why this PC is a better PC than the gPC. While none of the changes mentioned above would be news-worthy on their own, the combination of all of them creates what should be an excellent computer. The problem is, it just does not have the buzz of the gPC. Hopefully, that will change.

For more information on this new PC, see the press release.