Rohit Khare
PS. It's such a Tim Allen gadget-oriented product too... quite the specs.
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Gateway to equip new PC line with 31 inch monitors
By Lisa DiCarlo
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Hoping to differentiate its products in a world that many PC users see as all
too homogeneous, Gateway 2000 Inc. plans to branch out with a new line of
desktops, called Destination.
The line, expected to debut during the second quarter, melds standard CPU,
storage, and communications technology with cable and wireless components in a
package priced starting at less than $4,000.
In addition to Pentium processors, 16M bytes of RAM, 6X CD ROM drive, and
28.8K-bps fax modem, the systems come standard with an enormous 31-inch VGA
monitor and radio-frequency-controlled wireless keyboard, according to
officials at the North Sioux City, S.D., company.
Although Gateway intends to stick to its direct sales channels to push the
product, it will target experienced home users as well as corporate sites for
the new line.
In a corporate setting, the company expects customers to use the system as a
lower-cost replacement for larger presentation systems. Given its 31-inch
screen and wireless pointing devices and keyboard, presenters will be able to
remotely control the system within a radius of 20 feet.
Users can also plug a VCR into the system to view TV-quality video on the
640-by-480-pixel resolution screen, officials said.
For home users, Destination PCs are equipped with a cable-ready TV tuner to
receive standard broadcast signals.
In addition, future systems will support Intel Corp.'s Intercast, which links
the Internet and interactive PCs. The Intercast consortium, spearheaded by
Intel, of Santa Clara, Calif., is made up of several hardware companies and
content providers to deliver video and text data.
When faster communications links, such as ISDN and cable modems, are more
widely deployed, Gateway officials said they will be put into use in
Destination systems.