Is Linux the New Macintosh?

By Lev Grossman Friday, July 16, 1999
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How do you build a computer that appeals to both the high-end power user and the low-end, entry-level laymen? And retails for less than $200? That's the question the developers at EBIZ Enterprises asked themselves, and the answer they came up with may surprise you. In mid-August EBIZ will launch the Pia, the "Personal Internet Appliance," a user-friendly desktop machine that retails for $199 and runs pure, unadulterated Linux.

Linux, as you may or may not know, is an operating system for the PC that was invented in 1991 by the Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds while he was still a student. Since then it's developed a cult following, partly because of its reputation for speed, flexibility and stability, and partly because Torvalds has chosen to give it away for free. This latter is the major reason why EBIZ chose Linux for the Pia. By choosing not to use Windows, says EBIZ CEO Jeffrey Rassas, "we're taking away the computer's single most expensive component." MORE >>