Lindows Launches $799 Linux Laptop

here I am, writing from the floor of the Desktop Linux Summit in San Diego, where Michael Robertson, the founder and CEO of the Summit's local host company, Lindows, has done the same for a much smaller audience (several hundred vs. several thousand) but potentially a much larger market. At the top of his list of announcements is an item that drew a gasp from the audience: a 2.9 pound, $799 Linux laptop, the Lindows MobilePC.



Here are the stats:



* 933MHz VIA processor

* 256MB RAM

* USB 2.0

* Firewire

* Ethernet

* 12.1" 1024x768 TFT display

* PCMCIA slot

* Compact Flash slot



Michael Robertson tells me "It has the same mini-ITX form factor that's in the Lindows Media computer."



There's no WiFi or modem capabilities installed, but you can add a PCMCIA card for both. During the break I heard no complaints and plenty of kudos. (Nobody in the room had used one yet, though, other than Michael Robertson, who used the box to give his whole presentation.)