My buddy Earl Moore over at Meandering Passage wonders whether or not the recent buildup of "budget" computing devices running Linux is a positive path or not. I think it's a really positive thing. Here are a few reasons why:
1. More Linux anywhere is a good thing in my books. Any chance of putting Linux into the vocabulary of more consumers can only be a good thing. The first step is making people realize that there actually is a choice. Apple is doing quite a good job of that right now too, albeit in the opposite end of the market.
2. While it's great to have the experienced power users in your camp, the low end market shouldn't be ignored. Surely some of those families who buy their first computers and find them to be stable, relatively secure, easy to use and good value for money might not be so quick to accept Windows as the defacto choice if and when they trade up.
3. Systems pre-installed with Linux will also put free and open source applications in front of people. Even if they don't get the ideas of 'software freedom' or 'open-source', they might just realize that paying 300 or 400 bucks (the price of their whole computer remember) just to be able to create spreadsheets and wordprocessing documents is absolutely ridiculous.
4. The terms "Low End" and "High End" are rapidly moving targets. Many of today's mid-range laptops can easily surpass the performance of a full desktop system only a couple of years old. You could easily and quite comfortably do all the stuff I do (graphics, photography, video editing, email, blogging, surfing etc.) on a relatively low spec desktop machine these days.
Of course it's not all smiles and sunshine. There are definite hurdles. Things like the gaming market still have to improve. If little Johnny wants to play WOW, you have to let people know that it can be done before they buy the system. Pointing them to a forum post on how to do it isn't enough. If things like this are easily achieved in Linux (many are) somehow we have to disseminate this information. Make it known that certain games or applications can be used on Linux.
Communication is key. Not to the tech world, to the mainstream. Shout from the mountaintops that Linux can do digital photography, web surfing, email, gaming, learning and all that stuff FOR FREE, WITHOUT STEALING ANYTHING!
Perhaps this is getting a little too evangelical. But with the steady stream of Linux-based products entering the market lately, I think things are really beginning to change.
Linux-based entry level PC's? Hell Yeah! 
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Nice layout (I've been reading via rss)...looks good.
I'm a cheap kind of guy--I don't believe in spending a lot of money on what I can get for cheap. Like laptops.
I've always thought that Linux has a great chance to make big waves in the budget computing department. I think there's still a disconnect, though, between the developers and the low-end $479-after-rebate-at-Circuit-City consumers, though. All the default decorations in Ubuntu/Gnome are way too big, and honestly, Gnome doesn't run that well on my machine.
I took your advice about Openbox..I've been using it some. Using it by itself is definately lighter.
Ok, ramble over.
Until recently, I'd never used anything other than windows. Have recently switched to a Mac and my eyes have been opened that Windows isn't necessarily the simplest and most stable operating system out there!
Would love to have a play with Linux on a partition or on an old laptop - which version would you recommend as easiest for a OS-switching novice to have a play with and get set up fairly easily (in terms of wifi etc)?
I like your new theme, linux is great for saving PC's.
@ Pewari - I'd recommend either Ubuntu or Puppy Linux. Ubuntu is really really popular right now, and has a pretty strong focus on user/consumer desktops (as opposed to other distros that focus more on the business or server market).
It can be a little overwhelming at times, but it's pretty full-featured.
I think Puppy is a great way to get started with Linux. it's designed to be run as a live cd but has options to install to a hard drive. It'd be especially good if you're istalling on an old laptop or something like.
I used it for a while, and since it's more pared down than Ubuntu, it's a lot easier to understand.
That said, it's not as fully featured and getting things to work isn't always easier.
You might also try Linux Mint, which is a Ubuntu variation that's a bit more media-centric--it comes with a lot more installed.
I use Ubuntu, mostly b/c it's so ubiquitous--it makes finding support easy and gives me the widest, most applicable learning experience.
But any one of those would do good, as would Fedora Core and one of the SUSE variations.
@JakeT - My pc is a 3 year old P4 and it seems to run the stock Gnome/Ubuntu just fine, even with Compiz turned on. Maybe my expectations are set too low. But I'm pretty sure a $500 desktop system these days is likely significantly more powerful than this one in front of me. (I could be wrong).
@Pewari - My recommendation would be to download a liveCD from Ubuntu or Fedora. Then play with it as a liveCD first. Then you can make sure that it plays nice with your hardware. If you run it on an old laptop or some other slow machine, I concur with JakeT's recommendation of Puppylinux.
@Niko - I just wish I had an old PC to save. I keep giving my hand-me-downs to family members. I gotta stop doing that!
I tend to hang on to them... I guess I'll never let go of that mac //c from whenever... (oops, that can't run linux
)
Richard,
I agree -- low cost commercially available Linux systems are great. There is nothing wrong with buying a $200 PC from Wal-Mart that runs Linux.
As to the discussion o which distribution, I have Ubuntu running on
a 6 or 7 yera okld Penyium III with 256 MB of RAM.
It worksfine for browing, and is very usable with OpenOffice.
I've played with Puppy Linux, and have mixed feelings. In some
ways it is NOT easier than Ubuntu or Kbuntu.
A related distro I like better is GrafPup.
Linux is da bomb!
-ron k jeffries
HI Richard
I several GoS Exerex computers recently. At $200 a shot they are a great deal. I dumped GoS right away and loaded Ubuntu. I am now going to try to set up Xubuntu for the preformance gain. I hope that this push to bring low end computers + open source continues. Whether you are in the first world or the third you don't want to pay for more then what you need.
later-Patrick