The Everex Stepnote VA4101M, offered by Wal-mart, is the world's first Vista-loaded laptop priced under $500 (if you consider the drab Aeroless Vista Basic to be true Vista).

Sporting a 15.4" screen, 1.46Ghz Celeron M processor, 512MB RAM and a 60G HD, this is a fine machine for the price, as long as you take it home and load up your old version of Windows. Actually, scratch that. I've seen how these Wal-mart deals butcher XP, so just avoid them entirely for the time being. This is the tech equivalent of me, with a bucket of Crayolas and a coloring book, claiming to replicate Monet's Waterlilies...except worster.–Mark Wilson

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