Wal-Mart opened its campaign for the back-to-school PC sales season by unveiling a $298 desktop from Everex that combines three of the most popular industry trends–open-source software, a power-efficient processor and a lack of “bloatware.”

The Everex Impact GC3502 uses Microsoft’s Windows Vista OS, but substitutes the OpenOffice.org 2.2 version of word processing and spreadsheet tools for the traditional Microsoft Office variety. The computer runs on a 1.5GHz C7-D processor from Via Technologies, a chip that meets lead-free environmental regulations and saves energy with low wattage demands.