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October 18, 1997
News
I know it’s a rather recurrent theme, but I think this is one bit of news we may
never get sick of hearing: It’s time for more price cuts. This week it seems to be
across the board: desktops and notebooks, PCs and Macs. On the PC desktop side, several of
the major vendors made some modest 10 to 15% chops, some of which are apparently in
anticipation of Intel’s quarterly price cuts for their Pentium processors. That cut,
which is due Nov. 1, won’t be as dramatic as the one made August 1, but it still
should lead to lower system prices overall, as the following examples illustrate.
HP cut prices on its Vectra line business line as did Gateway on their E line
Apple cut prices on its PowerBook 1400 and 3400 lines
Compaq cut prices on its 1500, 4100 and 7100 line of Armada portables from 11 to 24%
Acer is planning to offer some new, low-cost portables under its Texas Instruments label
next month. The Extensa 390 models will start at $1,797 and include a 133-MHz Pentium with
MMX, a 1.6GB hard drive, 16MB of RAM, a 14-speed CD-ROM, and dual scan LCD with a faster
refresh rate than the older dual scan technology.
IBM will introduce the Model 310 to its product line. With a list price of $1,995, it
will include a 133-MHz Pentium processor with MMX, dual scan screen, CD-ROM drive, 1.6GB
hard drive, and 16MB of RAM in its base configuration.
These downward price moves aren’t surprising because, according to a report I read,
40% of all computers sold at retail stores in the month of August were under $1,000.
Adobe has an upgrade for PhotoShop that takes better advantage of PC’s with
MMX-enhanced processors (explain). Check it out at www.adobe.com
Explorer 4.0 bug, actually two of them. The more important of them is that a German
magazine reviewer found that Active HTML features can allow some one to get in and grab
files off your machine. Microsoft is working on a fix now, but you can disable the problem
yourself by going into the Options dialog, selecting the Security tab, choosing the
Restricted Zones list, selecting Custom (for creating Customized settings) and then
disabling Active Scripting. Good way to find out more about kind of security options you
have with IE4 or any browser. The other one is an incompatibility between IE4 and Compaq
HomeBase, which is an application that shipped on many recent Presarios. You can
apparently get around it by restarting the machine three times, but look to MS’s site
for more info and an upgraded version.
Connectix has got some hot new, low-priced video accessories for your PC. The QuickCam
VC is the company’s latest in their line of low-cost video cameras. The retail price
is $130, but between now and the end of the year, a rebate will make the final price just
$99. Not bad. The VC is a PC-only color camera that comes with all the software you need
for video telephony over the internet, in fact, the VC in the product name stands for
videoconferencing. The QuickCam VC uses the new USB ports found on many newer machines (a
parallel port version will also be available) and offers 15 frames per minute video on a
166 MHz Pentium, which is not bad. Best of all, it does not require any kind of plug-in
card (or even a power cable, thanks to USB). The other cool new product is the VideoClip,
another $99, PC-only, USB-based video device. The VideoClip can take still images or
record moving video from any video source, including camcorders and VCRs. You can use it
with your camcorder in place of a QuickCam, or use it for grabbing stills and short video
clips. Like the QuickCam VC it does not require a plug-in card and offers resolution of
about 15 frames/sec on faster machines at screen sizes up to 320 x 240 pixels.
Microsoft has introduced their Encarta Reference Suite 98, the latest version of their
multimedia encyclopedia. Priced at $109, the Suite includes multiple CDs. In other
encyclopedia news, a preview version of the Encyclopedia Britannica Internet Guide has
launched on the web. Check it out at www.ebig.com.
San Jose area residents interested in recycling their PCs now have an option to do so.
Between now and Nov. 1, you can bring your old PC to either Computer City or Office Max on
Stevens Creek Blvd., or Fry’s Electronics on Brokaw Rd. This is a temporary,
experimental program being done along with the EPA to see if it can be economically
viable.
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