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To: E. Graphs who wrote (14842)9/9/1998 3:52:00 PM
From: Moonray  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 25814
 
[OT] TVPC With DVD Now Shipping; Pre-Shipping Orders Now
Exceeds 50,000 Units - 10:19 a.m. Sep 09, 1998 Eastern

AUSTIN, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Ino Technologies TVPC is now shipping. This
new convergence device of TV and PC or "living room PC" is available for sale
directly from the companies web site at tvpc.com. Pre-release orders
have exceeded 50,000 units. Mary Cavanaugh, co-founder of Ino Corp stated, "We
are extremely pleased with our new product. We have been overwhelmed and
surprised by the response from around the world, both from customers and the press.
Due to interest outside of North America we delayed shipping the product by a
couple of months as we decided to add an international version of the product.
Consequently we are able to announce an international PAL version concurrently
with the US NTSC version." Ms. Cavanaugh added, "50,000 orders before we even
ship the product is somewhat overwhelming, although we don't anticipate a problem
filling these orders."

There are three versions of the TVPC; one model includes a DVD drive, a CDROM
version and an international version with CDROM drive. Otherwise known as the
"Living Room PC," the TVPC connects directly to a regular television, and unlike
other so called living room devices, TVPC comes complete with a full function
remote keyboard, large hard drive, and on one model, a DVD drive. Families can
play PC games, access the Internet via the onboard 56k modem, watch DVD movies
with surround sound, or use TVPC as a real PC. The TVPC comes in a smooth
black finish to match home entertainment equipment and is no larger than a modern
VCR. The front panel also includes a microphone, a suspend/resume function to
power on the machine in less than two seconds and a floppy drive. All functions are
also displayed on screen in a format similar to those found on modern TVs.

With the TVPC, families can play games on a large screen TV, so they are
transported right into a game's environment. Secondly, many children's titles look
fantastic on a TV, in particular those based around animation. Parents concerned
that their kids are having a solitary experience playing games on a PC, will be able to
directly participate in their kids on-screen adventures. No more making the family
huddle around a minuscule PC monitor. TVPC brings computing from the "stuck at
the desk" era, to the "family room." Not only will families find themselves navigating
through visually-rich, mind- challenging immersive experiences, they will also be able
to connect with other gamers around the world via the Internet for multiple-player
games.

TVPC also includes CouchWare(TM), a unique software utility that makes the
included Windows 98 OS (Operating System) perform better in a television
environment.

Keeping in mind that many families cannot afford a DVD machine or a PC, TVPC
has been priced very aggressively at only $799. The CDROM version is only $599.
Customers will also have the option to pay $199 up-front, with a monthly payment
plan of only $29.95. This entry price point is similar to that charged by non-PC
Internet only devices which is far more limited in function than TVPC.

TVPC, the PC for the TV generation!

About Ino Corp: Ino Corp was founded in Austin, Texas in 1997. Ino focuses on
unique technology and content bundled around existing hardware platforms and the
Internet. Press inquiries please to the attached telephone number. Sample machines
are available for review.

For further details on TVPC including FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), please
visit our Web site: tvpc.com or call 512-302-1389. SOURCE Ino Corp

Copyright 1998, PR Newswire

o~~~ O



To: E. Graphs who wrote (14842)9/9/1998 5:18:00 PM
From: shane forbes  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 25814
 
E:

People are once again doing the seasonal thing with
these stocks I think.

Not sure how much of the movement is cyclical and how much
is truly indicative of the strengthening of underlying
demand. (on the other hand if there is strengthening of
demand we are good to go big time. The semi-equips are
ridiculously cheap... but I said that when they were up
a third more than where they are today!)

Wanted to point out something about NSM's failure to get the
computer-on-a-chip thing going. It does highlight the
difficulty of designing these things! And that's why I think
the experience of LSI in SLI and SOC design is a good thing.

My suspicion is that this is not an easy thing and I am
hoping that LSI therefore has a barrier to entry here.

(Coincidentally SOC designers are some of the most highly
paid people around. And JAVA or C++ OOP programmers are
likewise the most highly paid computer professionals around.
What do they both have in common? Taming of the complexity
beast - people don't realize that the relationship between
number of gates and time-to-design is not linear. So if
LSI increases the number of gates 5 fold the time may go up
exponentially faster to design the chips. That's where CoreWare
comes in - puts a zillion of the gates as one core (again there
is an OOP analogy - encapsulation of data and functionality -
basic tenets of object oriented design) and encourages
usability (again there is OOP here).

Just as the OOP boys are having growing pains, I think LSI is
having growing pains. But I do believe that the ramping up stage
of high volume is here (it started in January of this year) and
this is a temporary blip caused by very weak global demand in
the developing economies. [Again interesting in computer
science the big money will be made when all those objects
are being mass produced on multiple servers or when the class
libraries lead to better product design and faster product
design.]

Finally OOP will extend the domain of applicability of
computer science exponentially to things that we have not
dreamed of and I likewise think that SLI/SOC design will
extend the applicability to domains that we have not yet
dreamed of.

Just rambling.)