Mike, just to add a bit more fire to your argument that the webpc is easier to setup, you can also argue with the WSJ's Mossberg, he like I, says it is a bunch of marketing BS. Funny, he also mentions the 'floppy' issue. I'll have to put him in touch with Fangorn <gggg>
Regards,
John
To: victor (73010 )
From: victor
Thursday, Dec 2 1999 6:21AM ET
Reply # of 73027
Compaq will announce a similarly radical-looking, colorful PC early
next year.
WSJ
December 2, 1999
Curvy PC From Dell
Courts Internet Users
By WALTER S. MOSSBERG
Over the years, I've used many PCs from Dell Computer. Whatever their
speed and capacity, all of these machines shared a few characteristics. They
were big, ugly beige boxes, sold as a commodity at aggressive prices and
aimed mainly at businesses and techies.
But over the past week or so, I've been testing a very different Dell machine --
a small, figure-eight-shaped, gray-and-blue model, aimed at mainstream
consumers. It has an integrated flat-panel screen and a housing that hides all
the wires. I can hardly believe that this computer, called the WebPC, says
"Dell" on the case.
Dell isn't alone in trying a new approach to consumer PCs. A few feet away
from my WebPC test unit sits a curved, white, one-piece machine, with a
built-in flat-panel screen, from Dell's traditional direct-sale rival, Gateway.
Compaq will announce a similarly radical-looking, colorful PC early
next year.
All of these machines follow a new industry standard called the "legacy-free"
or "easy" design. The computers omit older connectors like the parallel,
serial and mouse ports, and some or all internal slots. In their place is a
single type of connector, the new USB port. This makes it easier to connect
peripheral devices, though it requires people with older printers and
peripherals to either scrap them or buy adapter cables.
Dell's WebPC
There are several factors behind Dell's new model and its brethren. The PC
makers are trying to get out of the commodity business, which would allow
them to fetch higher prices. Also, they are hoping to steal some of the thunder
from Apple's stylish, wildly popular iMac computers and to build a defense
against the wave of sleek, simple information appliances expected to arrive
next year.
In my tests, I found WebPC to be a very nice computer that worked well and
is a big step forward for Dell. It's also a pretty good value. The four
configurations, at prices ranging from $999 to $2,349, include a monitor and
printer, as well as a year of free, though limited, Internet access.
But Dell is making exaggerated claims for this machine. The company
says of the WebPC that it's stylish; it's quick and easy to set up; it
includes easier customer support; and it's "Web-centric," specifically
designed for the Internet. Some of this is true, some isn't.
Let's dispatch that last claim immediately. This PC is no more
"Web-centric" than any other recent Windows computer. The claim is
pure marketing. The Internet setup process is exactly the same on
competitors' Windows PCs. There are Internet keys on the keyboard, but
others have had them for years. The included free Internet service has a
hidden limit, specified only in the fine print: 150 hours a month, after which
there's a $1.50 hourly fee.
Dell is right, however, that WebPC is remarkably easy to set up. It comes in a
box that has been designed to unpack quickly and simply, and most of the
cables are already attached. In most of the configurations, you need only plug
in the monitor, the electrical cords and a phone cord. In the high-end
flat-panel-screen model I tested, this was even simpler.
It's also true that the new model is stylish. It's only about a third the size of
traditional Dell machines, even though it has plenty of power, memory and
hard-disk capacity. The top-of-the-line model I tested has 128 megabytes of
memory, a 13-gigabyte hard disk, a DVD drive and a 500 MHz Pentium III
processor. You can buy snap-in accent panels in multiple hues to change the
color scheme.
But the design has its quirks. Most important, Dell has aped the iMac in
leaving out a floppy drive, or any other type of removable disk drive the owner
can use to share data with another PC. This is a bad decision, and it
means you'll have to spend an extra $149 for an external drive able to
read and write to floppy disks.
Another oddity: The sleek housing in the flat-panel model requires the PC to
be turned sideways, making it awkward to change CDs. The door that hides
all the cables is hard to snap in when a lot of cables are attached. And the
keyboard omits the usual block of dedicated navigation keys, including the
crucial delete key. Instead, these keys are shared with the numeric keypad.
On customer support, Dell is half right. The machine has something called
e-support, which includes a bunch of automated self-diagnosis tools and an
Internet-based system for sending in questions to Dell technicians. This
support process can be invoked by pushing a big button on the front of the
WebPC. That makes this the rare product whose manufacturer admits
it's so likely to confuse its users that a special rescue button is
needed.
These automated diagnostics may well be helpful, and the system can allow
technicians to peer into the PC, with permission, over the Internet and
transfer needed software to the PC. In my tests, however, the system
worked poorlyinstance, when the external disk drive started refusing to
eject disks, the diagnostic tests were clueless. So it's a very good thing that
Dell is offering WebPC members access to the company's famous free
telephone support.
Dell says that the WebPC is just the first of an exciting consumer product line,
and that future models will be ever more customized for Internet access and
use. The WebPC is a good first step, but only a first step. |
