PC Conectado

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PC Conectado, or Computador para Todos, is a tax-free computer initiative launched by the Brazilian government.

PCs available through the project are relatively low-end, but therefore are cheap enough to satisfy most of the population, at R$1200 (or about US$500). Most PCs available have:

128 MB RAM
1.5 GHz processor
20 GB hard disk
Linux, usually Fenix Linux

In the initial phases of the project, Microsoft offered the Brazilian government the use of its Windows XP Starter Edition, a cut down version of their popular OS for developing countries. The offer was rejected due to the severe limitations of the Starter Edition. Since then, the project has used only free and open source software for general work, like Sodipodi, OpenOffice, GIMP, and Audacity.

An option providing cheap dial-up access to the Internet may be available soon, costing R$7 (about US$2.50).

The project is expected to include 1 million new Linux desktops in the next 2 years.

[edit] Where to buy

PC Conectado can be acquired in many major Brazilian department stores. Many Brazilian stores ahave an independent Linux vendor on site from whom a user can choose the hardware configuration and distro.