Google is offering SIM- and hardware-unlocked HTC G1 phones to members of its Android developer network. Priced at $400 ($425 with network member fee), the "Android Dev Phone 1" aims to provide developers with real hardware to test their applications on.

Reports on the death of the Wal-Mart Linux PC are greatly exaggerated, according to the man selling its operating system.

"About a week ago Wal-Mart began selling a $200 Linux machine running on a 1.5 ghz VIA C7 processor and 512 MB of RAM. While the specs are useless for Vista, it works blazingly fast on Ubuntu with the Enlightenment Window Manager. The machine is now officially sold out of their online warehouses (it may still be available in some stores).

Well, it seems they are not "completely" out.

"The fact that Wal-Mart is continuing to sell these machines online is also telling."

If you had the chance to try one of the Wal Mart or Zonbu machines you will remember well that the hardware was second-rate at best. On top of that, the hardware BARELY supported Linux. But System 76 to make good on all of the promises these companies have failed to deliver on.

"...it is important to note what OpenID is actually intended to do, solve one problem and solve it well. What problem?

It seems although all the equipments were sold, computers with Linux just "...wasn't what our customers were looking for" said Melissa O'Brien, a spokeswoman from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

This is really sad...

Wal-Mart will sell a sub-$300 "back-to-school" PC this fall pre-loaded with Microsoft Windows Vista and OpenOffice.org productivity software. The Everex GC3502 PC, is based on a 1.7GHz Via C7-D processor, and will be available later this year preloaded with Ubuntu Linux.

My blogging colleague Dana Blankenhorn reports that ThinkgOS founder David Lui isn’t worried by the Wal-Mart snub. He should be.