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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Kelly who wrote (36805)	10/20/1998 9:13:00 AM
From: Maya	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

NCI and Pace to Deliver Interactive Set-Top Box for Cable & Wireless Communications in the UK Related links: exchange2000.com exchange2000.com Dave, do you think now we have the dots connected for the question below? exchange2000.com exchange2000.com SOURCE: Network Computer, Inc. NCI and Pace to Deliver Interactive Set-Top Box for Cable & Wireless Communications in the UK LONDON, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the European Cable Communication show, Network Computer, Inc. (NCI) announced they have been selected to provide the interactive television platform on set-top boxes from Pace Micro Technology plc. The first set-top boxes will be deployed to Cable & Wireless Communications in the United Kingdom in 1999 to provide a variety of enhanced television services and applications that integrate broadcast television and the Internet. The NCI and Pace collaboration follows an announcement in July that Cable and Wireless Communications had awarded Pace the first contract to manufacture 100,000 advanced digital cable set-top boxes with the capability to deliver enhanced digital services into UK cable homes. In March, 1998, Cable & Wireless Communications selected NCI's DTV Navigator platform as the foundation for its broadband interactive cable deployments. NCI and Pace will work together to create a robust and reliable hardware solution for Cable & Wireless Communications using NCI's DTV Navigator. NCI's DTV Navigator software is an application platform for set-top box manufacturers and cable operators which delivers full Internet capabilities and enhanced television services via open standards such as HTML and JavaScript. Enhanced television services and applications include electronic programming guides, personalised news and information services, interactive shopping and banking. The set-top box will be seen for the first time at the European Cable Communications exhibition at Olympia Center from 20 to the 23 of October. The set-top boxes for Cable & Wireless Communications will be available to the first customers in the spring of 1999. ''We're pleased to be working with one of Europe's leading set-top box vendors,'' said David Roux, CEO of NCI. ''Together, NCI and Pace are creating one of the first set-top box solutions in Europe that uses the Internet to provide new interactive services and enhanced television programming.'' According to Malcolm Miller, Chief Executive of Pace, ''our five years experience in digital television and our demonstrated capability to integrate such advanced software was pivotal in Cable & Wireless Communications' selection of Pace as its set-top box supplier.'' Pace Micro Technology plc is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of satellite television receivers, and was the first manufacturer to start volume shipments of digital decoders working to the MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard. Pace has already manufactured over 6.5 million analogue receivers and almost 2 million digital set-top boxes. The company has shipped to over 80 countries worldwide. Pace's head office is in Shipley, West Yorkshire. The company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit the company's web site at pacemicro.com Network Computer, Inc. is an affiliate of Oracle Corp. [Nasdaq:ORCL - news] and Netscape and is a leading provider of information appliance software. Founded in 1996, NCI brings its technology to homes, schools and businesses through its strategic worldwide alliances. NCI is based in Redwood Shores, Calif., and can be reached at 650-631-4600. NCI's Web site is nc.com. Trademarks DTV Navigator and NCI are trademarks of Network Computer, Inc. All other trademarks are used for identification purposes and may be the property of their respective owners. SOURCE: Network Computer, Inc. biz.yahoo.com

To: Paul Kelly who wrote (36805)	10/20/1998 7:53:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

A Gateway notebook(C-Cube inside) spotted in Hong Kong.............. scmp.com Tuesday October 20 1998 Review Tiny FireAnt more than carries its weight Powerful: Gateway's Solo 3100 XL FireAnt YVONNE CHAN Gateway recently blew into Asia with a whisper, quietly setting up its regional build-to-order PC business to rival the more aggressive Dell Computer. The South Dakota-based vendor's use of folksy bovine images in its marketing may leave Asians at a loss, but its computers have won a solid following in the United States consumer market. In Asia, Gateway is targeting products for professional corporate users, offering moderately priced, high-powered desktop and mobile PCs. Products can be viewed on its Web site (www.gateway.com.my) and ordered in Hong Kong through a toll-free number. Gateway's Solo 3100 series laptop, codenamed FireAnt, is tailored for people on the move who want a PC with power, portability, and easy integration with other computers and peripherals. The XL model has USB and infrared ports, so users can quickly hook up to an office environment when they are not on the road. Its eye-catching casing sports a silver magnesium top closure that is thinner and sturdier than standard plastic casings. One of the best things about the 3100 series is its weight - only 2.3 kilograms. With a width of 3.1 centimetres, it is thin - although not the thinnest on the market. The Solo is aimed at power users, not the weak-shouldered. The top-end Solo XL model arguably is the lowest-priced thin notebook to sport a DVD drive. Look for price wars to erupt soon. But in order to make the laptop small, the DVD/CD-Rom drive fits into the main body, while the floppy drive was made an external device (connected by parallel port). The XL uses a 300 MHz Pentium II chip, making it a speedy devil that has power-saving features. I worked on the laptop for nearly three hours before it warned that the battery power was getting low. I hate laptop pointing devices and the XL reminded me why. When I changed the setting to "high-sensitivity" to correct its stiff movements, I was left with a cursor that drifted whenever I removed my finger from the pointer. A PS/2 port is available for an external mouse, but a trackpad option - available on other Gateway laptops - should have been offered for the XL. I was unable to test the infrared port as I am not a fan of electronic gadgets and could not initialise my office printer without the Windows 98 installation disk. However, the XL was able to identify and make initial contact with the printer via infrared. Solo's 12-inch screen was ample for my near-sighted eyes. Digital pictures read from CD-Rom and floppy disks displayed well. Full-screen CD-Rom movies were a treat to watch, with crisp colours and no distortion. I did not try a DVD movie. Gateway's cheaper LS and SE series feature a CD-Rom drive which, given the high price and the limited choice of DVD software in Hong Kong, may be adequate for most laptop users. The XL may be inconvenient for floppy-reliant users, but is well equipped for those who would send in work via the Internet or private networks. It is superior in power to a palmtop and has enough attractive features to make most sub-notebooks look weak by comparison. The XL's price is among the lowest in the market for a brand-name 300 MHz Pentium II laptop with DVD drive. If Gateway can provide better technical support than its rivals, it is a great buy. PROS AND CONS: Product: Gateway Solo 3100 XL Standard configuration: 300 MHz Pentium II processor, 12.1-inch SVGA TFT screen, 64 MB SDRam, 4 gb Ultra ATA hard drive, 256-bit graphics accelerator with 2.5 MB video Ram, DVD/CD-Rom drive, Xircom 56K PCMCIA modem, external 3.5-inch diskette drive, Windows 98 Price: $24,980 (in the above configuration) Pros: Sturdy case, lightweight Cons: Unruly pointing device