Wal-Mart has always been a place of consumer frenzy at the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and this year is no exception. What’s different is that one of the items flying off the shelf faster than they can restock it is the "Everex gPC," a cheap (less than $200) desktop computer.

The tech news world has been buzzy about gPC’s popularity, in particular questioning what the "g" stands for. It could stand for "green," thanks to the environmental friendliness of its low-power CPU (average 2W, 20W maximum). However, that seems to be its only green credential; nothing on its website or in its reviews touts any other green features, like recycled/recyclable parts, sustainable manufacturing processes, certifications, etc.

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"G" could stand for Google, whose software (gmail, google docs, etc.) is peppered all over the thing, thanks to the gPC’s Linux-based operating system, conveniently called gOS.

Anyway, the popularity of a low-cost, web-reliant, Linux-based computer has sort of caught all the tech reporters and pundits by surprise, and you’ll hear more about this hot gift item bubble up to the mainstream press. Perhaps then we’ll all know what type of "g" the gPC is, green or otherwise.

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