Wal-Mart Web Offers Linux as Windows Alternative



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc.(NYSE:WMT - news) the world's

largest retailer, has begun selling packaged Linux (news - web sites)

operating system software on its Web site, a sign of rising consumer

interest in the alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT - news)

Windows, software maker Lycoris said on Tuesday.



Walmart.com offers Linux operating systems and applications from Lycoris and

Lindows, two companies which produce slightly different versions of Linux

that both look similar to Windows.





Walmart.com has already offered computers loaded with Linux for as little as

$200. The boxed software, meant to be loaded on an extra, often older

machine, is an expansion of the Linux product lines carried by the retailer.





Linux enthusiasts say the upstart platform offers a cheaper alternative to

Microsoft, which has an effective monopoly in the market for PC operating

systems.





A Lycoris desktop operating system goes for about $30, compared to about

$100-$120 for Microsoft Windows XP (news - web sites) home edition upgrades

and full versions, on Walmart.com. Lindows' and Lycoris's operating system,

office software and games cost about $100.





The core of a Linux operating system is a nugget of freely available "open

source" software code that is developed cooperatively by programmers

worldwide. Many applications, such as word processing programs, are also

available in open source versions.





Critics say Linux is still relatively difficult to use for consumers, but

Lycoris spokesman Jason Spisak said the audience was clearly growing as

mainstream retailers like Wal-Mart and Fry's offered his software.





Open source software is often free, but technological novices generally find

it easier to buy the software packaged with instructions and

consumer-friendly applications, such as from Lindows and Lycoris.





Linux so far has been more widely adopted by corporations and hi-end users,

and Microsoft's dominance on the desktop is nearly absolute. Spisak said at

peak during the holiday season Wal-Mart sold in one week about 700 of its

$200 computer running Lycoris Linux.





He said the boxed software would appeal to more sophisticated users putting

Linux on older machines, often for less technologically able friends and

acquaintances.