With scarcely any fanfare, Lintel and AMDux now come factory-loaded as an alternative to Windows, as a wave of cheap personal computers washes over Brazilian e-tailers and retailers.

"In addition to the PAC economic stimulus plan, which reduced the price of computers, Submarino [Brazil's leading online retailer "in the Amazon mold," or with ambitions in that direction, at least, except that the Amazon experience does not throw 7 server exceptions per session, as I noted the other day –Ed.] has decided to launch a special promotion on computers for the entire Southeaster region, with free shipping. To give you an idea, a Pentium 4.30GHz machine with 256MB RAM and an 80GB hard drive and a 15″ monitor is going for R$1,599 [around US$760, or two months of statutory minimum salary], a discount of R$100."