Computing and the net: Our host tonight Vegas showbiz
meets hi-tech at Comdex. Jack Schofield braves the crowds
The Guardian (Thu, Nov 20 1997)
MICROSOFT co-founder and chief executive Bill Gates kicked off the
Comdex computer exhibition in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday evening
with his customary keynote speech. This year, however, he attempted
something new: humour. Following the lead of David Letterman, the US
chatshow host, he provided a packed audience with his top 10 reasons
why he loves PCs.
One, referring to some of Microsoft's legal problems, was: 'In just one
weekend I can sit at my PC, collaborate with attorneys all over the
world, comment on a 48-page legal brief and send it all to the
Department of Justice.' Another was aimed at US consumer activist
Ralph Nader, who recently hosted an anti-Microsoft conference: 'I can
use Microsoft CarPoint to show Ralph Nader my Corvair collection,' he
said.
PORTABLE computers were the stars of the show, with Casio,
Compaq, Philips, Hewlett-Packard, LG (Korea's Lucky Goldstar),
NEC and Sharp showing new hand-held machines running Microsoft
Windows CE2, and Texas Instruments entering the market for pocket
organisers with the Avigo 10, which is only a little larger than
3Com's best-selling Palm Pilot.
But not everyone thinks ultra-portables need a different operating
system from their bigger brothers, and several companies were offering
'mini-notebooks' running Microsoft Windows 95. So far, Toshiba's
Libretto has led the battle for this sector, and Toshiba duly unveiled an
enhanced version, the Libretto 70CT, with a 120MHz Intel Pentium
processor compared with the original's slow 75MHz chip.
Mitsubishi responded with the Amity CN and Hitachi with the
VisionBook Traveller, both fitted with even faster 133MHz chips, but
both also heavier than the Libretto.
Ricoh did not enter the mini-notebook market, but its products division
showed an Innovative Mobile PC - that's apparently its name, as well as
its description. The IMPC looked just like the Hitachi machine, which
acting manager Kiyotaka Yokoo said was made by Ricoh and supplied to
three other companies. 'If the market reception is positive, we'll
consider carrying it under the Ricoh logo,' he added.
Mitsubishi also showed the Pedion, an 'ultra cool' model that is large at
11.7 by 8.6 inches but less than three-quarters of an inch thick. It also
sports a 233MHz Pentium and 64Mb of memory, so if you want to
know the price you can't afford it. (Mitsubishi reckons it will be 'under
$6,000' when it reaches the US next year.) DAVE BAKER of VIA Inc
from Northfield, Minnesota, says: 'We're the only guys with a computer
that bends.' That's because the electronics - including a Cyrix 686
Intel-compatible processor and up to 64Mb of memory - are mounted
on a flexible strip about the size of a ruler (www.flexipc.com).
A demonstration version of this wearable computer was built into a belt,
with a bulge indicating the battery pack. 'With voice input and a modem
connected to a cellphone, I can walk the Web,' he said. However, it's
unlikely to be in production until 1999.
THRESH spent Comdex thrashing people, or - since his preferred
weapons are rocket launchers and thunderbolts - worse. In fact, the
mild-looking, 20-year-old games player, born in Hong Kong, is making
a career of it: he's the world champion at id Software's Quake, a
previous Doom II Deathmatch champion and the star player in the new
Professional Gamers League (www.pgl.net) sponsored by American
chip manufacturer AMD. In return, Thresh - whose real name is Dennis
Fong - was taking on all-comers on the AMD stand.
Garth Choteau from TEN (Total Entertainment Network) reckons that
Thresh has won about $100,000 in the past two years. According to
Choteau, the PGL's prize fund is $250,000, about half of it in cash, and
it's expected to grow. With matches being played in front of live
audiences and weekly highlights promised for cable TV, computer
gaming could be on a par with other professional sports.
What's in it for AMD? It is developing new versions of its
Intel-compatible K6 processor with built-in routines to support 3D
games such as Doom and Quake. The K6-3D should appear early next
year, followed in the summer by an enhanced version, the K6-3D+.
WHILE Comdex had its amusing moments, most of it was hell. The
halls at the Las Vegas Convention Centre were packed with people, and
as usual, various essential facilities and exhibitors overspilled into tents
and nearby hotels. Worst of all, the number of visitors has grown much
faster than Las Vegas has been able to build hotels, even though it has 14
of the 20 biggest in the world.
Cornering Douglas Lein - the Las Vegas development officer who was
at the show trying to attract hi-tech companies to the city's new science
park - I asked: 'Comdex is expecting around 225,000 visitors this year
and Las Vegas only has 110,000 hotel rooms. How do you fit them all
in?' 'There's a lot of very friendly people here,' he smiled.
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