Everex, a developer of personal computers, is getting ready to sell through Wal-Mart a new low cost Windows PC which runs open source productivity software and is targeted towards the back-to-school crowd. How low cost are we talking here? Try $298.

The eco-friendly Everex Impact GC3502 is powered by the VIA C7-D processor and uses Windows Vista Home Basic as its operating system. It has installed 1GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW optical drive and integrated 10/100 Ethernet connectivity. It also has pre-installed OpenOffice.org 2.2, a well received open-source office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more.

We mention this computer is eco-friendly because the VIA processor draws less than 2W on average (with a maximum of 20W). That will be particularly useful when your teenager spends long hours into the night using their Internet connection to research that term paper which will get them into a top notch college chat with their friends over instant messaging while browsing the latest MySpace pages.

Everex Impact GC3502