Everex hits the books with $298 open-source desktop

Everex has unveiled its $298 back-to-school desktop, touting its open-source productivity software.

Databases, spreadsheets, word processing and graphics, open-source or not, are lost on most K-through-5 kids. I know. I have one.

Ditto for the junior-high market, where concerns over acne and hormonal changes are likely to outrank the question of "to open-source or not to open-source." Similar issues may plague kids in high school, unless it's shown that using open-source productivity software can boost SAT scores or geek cred.

Nonetheless, parents, aka the walking wallets, may care.

It's all about giving our kids an edge in life, and if it means getting them familiar with open-source technology at a young age, hey, that may be useful.

The Everex Impact GC3502 features open-source office productivity suite OpenOffice.org 2.2, which is designed to run on all major computing platforms and be compatible with Microsoft Office files.

Everex's back-to-school desktop also comes with a 1.5GHz VIA C7-D processor that is designed to be energy-efficient.

"In creating the eco-friendly GC3502, our main focus was to build a no-compromise, back-to-school PC with all the software applications a typical student would require, without resorting to bundling frivolous trial versions or increasing prices 30 percent," Eugene Chang, Everex product manager, said in a statement.

Maybe Everex will develop a back-to-work version.