Here's the pitch for what could be your next PC: No Microsoft, no Intel -- and almost no markup.
By dropping software from Microsoft Corp.MSFT.O and avoiding "Intel inside," retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.WMT.N is offering a $199 computer it says is a hot seller on its Web site, attracting novices looking for a way onto the Internet as well as high-end users wanting a second box.
The promise of a PC replacement -- slimmed down to surf the Web and carry out limited tasks -- has long tantalized the tech world but failed to generate many sales, especially as prices of name brand computers have slid.
The Wal-Mart machines are full-fledged, if low-powered, computers, but they are not loaded with Microsoft's Windows software or the best known microchips -- meaning that the average user will not get exactly what he or she is used to.
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