Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan3 who wrote (92149)	2/8/2000 11:07:00 PM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574664

AlibiDan - You AMDroids may be interested in Compaq's EasyPC ! I wonder if these ran SMOOTH !!! Paul {=======================================} iPaq aims to be apple of IT's eye By Jason Brooks, PC Week Labs, PC Week February 6, 2000 9:00 PM PT URL: Compaq Computer Corp. has combined solid performance, simplicity and low cost in a new PC whose name rings a familiar bell. Like the machine that rescued Apple Computer Inc., the iPaq has an eye-catching shape, an emphasis on simplicity and enough processing muscle for basic computing. But the iPaq is aimed at the corporate market. PC Week Labs found that beneath its sleek angular shell, the iPaq is a workhorse that will reliably haul most corporate users' loads. By using 500MHz Intel Corp. processors and skipping extras, Compaq has built a well-outfitted PC at a thin-client price. What the system lacks is any expansion capabilities beyond USB (Universal Serial Bus), and we've found that many USB devices lack good driver support and that the drivers can be difficult to install. The iPaq, which ships this month, is available with or without legacy ports. The iPaq Legacy-Free, priced from $499, has five USB ports. The standard iPaq, which begins at $549, has two USB ports as well as serial PS/2 and parallel ports. All iPaqs are built without ISA/PCI expansion slots. Administrators will appreciate the associated cost reductions and management gains. We tested a $919 standard iPaq outfitted with a 500MHz Pentium III processor and 128MB of RAM, running Windows 2000. Performance was excellent, but we see the lower-powered, less-expensive iPaqs as better buys. The $499 iPaq Legacy-Free also ships with Windows 2000 and includes a 500MHz Celeron processor and 64MB of RAM. Although we expect adequate performance from this configuration, we recommend doubling the RAM. Corporations will get the most for their money buying the Celeron-based machines for the majority of employees. Departments doing processor-intensive work need beefier machines. Each iPaq is equipped with an Ethernet adapter and offers peripheral expansion via USB ports or Compaq's MultiBay expansion slot. The hot-swappable disk drives and other devices it supports are sold separately. Compaq did well to include the MultiBay slot because every corporate PC should have easy access at least to floppy disks. The iPaq's case can be easily removed to access the hard drive and memory slots, but it needs a locking mechanism to keep users from inadvertently knocking the cover loose. Both iPaqs will ship with PC Transplant, a software tool from Altiris Inc. that smooths and speeds system deployment by transferring files and settings from one machine to another. c Technical Analyst Jason Brooks can be reached at jason_brooks@zd.com