bruceb news

I haven’t laid hands on this notebook computer, but it sure looks like a sweet deal on a Toshiba notebook from Costco Online – $1399.99 buys a Pentium III 1.0 GHz processor, 256Mb RAM, 20Gb hard drive, built-in DVD, 14″ TFT display, some 3D graphics support, built-in modem and NIC, and Windows XP Professional. This is the first shipping notebook I’ve seen with Windows XP (which is loaded with features specifically for notebooks), and that’s a mighty tempting price.

If you’re looking for a new computer, you should wait another two weeks and then buy a Windows XP system from Dell. But if your budget simply requires a discount, look for cheap Pentium III systems for the next 60-90 days. Inventories are being cleared out and by the end of the year the only processors on the market will be the Celeron and the Pentium 4. Expect to pay $600-$850 for a well-equipped consumer PC with a 1GHz Pentium III processor. (The monitor probably won’t be included at that price, but you never know.) Here’s an article that describes the price cutting and gives some examples available now. […] continued

Amazon has opened up an online store for selling computers from major manufacturers – Compaq, HP, IBM, Toshiba, and Apple. Amazon inked a deal with Ingram Micro, the number one wholesale distributor of computer products, which minimizes Amazon’s exposure to inventory problems. Amazon’s web site collects the order, Amazon ships money to Ingram Micro, and Ingram Micro handles logistics and shipping. That’s the same scheme that Buy.com set up, and it works like a charm from the consumer’s point of view – Ingram Micro is frighteningly efficient at distribution and shipping. (Buy.com is nearly bankrupt, but its business plan focused on underpricing everything, so Amazon might not follow its example quite that far.)

I’ve been distracted by Windows XP for the last week. Sweet stuff!

Watch for prices to take another sharp plunge this week. Intel is slashing processor prices today – more than 50% on the 1.8Ghz Pentium 4, and more huge cuts on the rest of the Pentium 4 line. There will also be amazing deals on Celeron and Pentium III-based systems as manufacturers and dealers try to avoid getting stuck with old inventory. Once Windows XP is available at the end of September, new systems should look awfully tempting.

There’s good reasons to spend a bit extra on a Dell computer – better quality, better support, and better software choices (including Microsoft Office XP and a free upgrade to Windows XP). But if you’re on a budget, there’s wonderful deals out there. The latest one to catch my eye is this HP Brio system – $499 for a Celeron 733 processor, 20GB hard drive, and CD-RW. No monitor included. Only 64Mb of RAM, but memory is dirt cheap and easy to install. Tempting, eh?

Lots of tech sites are celebrating the twenty-year anniversary of personal computing. Here’s a bit of nostalgia from my distant past.

Disposing of old computers is a headache. They’re hard on the environment (monitors are no longer permitted in landfills, I believe), but the schools and traditional charities aren’t interested in computers that are more than a couple of years old. Hewlett Packard deserves kudos for beginning an extensive recycling campaign. For a fee (from $13-$34), HP will pick up your old equipment, refurbish it if possible, and recycle it in an environmentally friendly way if it can’t be refurbished. A very nice corporate effort that fills a pressing need. Here’s the web site for more information and ordering.

If you’ve been holding out, then your next PC should be a Christmas present to yourself. When Microsoft rolls out Windows XP at the end of October, you’ll see a tremendous amount of hype – and for a change, it looks like the hype will be justified. It is a remarkable operating system, combining tremendous stability with some very appealing new features.

Windows XP will require a lot from your computer, however. If you have a new computer from a major manufacturer running Windows 2000, you’ll be able to upgrade easily – you might want some more memory, but otherwise you’ll probably be okay. […] continued

I’m convinced that home networking is going to be huge. The various wireless and phone line options to connect home computers and share an Internet connection are exciting. They will open up possibilities you haven’t even dreamed of yet. You’re going to want this in your house. Trust me.

But not yet. Although many of the products flooding the market look tempting, there’s still too much complexity, not enough assurance that whichever one you buy at CompUSA will work. It won’t take long, but I’m not recommending these to my clients yet.

Here’s an amusing article about the attempts of a really smart technical guy to install wireless connections for the computers at his house. […] continued

As other computer manufacturers fall by the wayside, Dell continues to stand out. They ship promptly, they don’t make very many mistakes, and their customer support is as good as it gets. That is to say, not everyone has a happy experience, but the odds are better with Dell than with any other manufacturer.

I’ve heard similar anecdotes from three people that have me a bit concerned. In each case, the customer ordered a Dell computer by telephoning Dell instead of ordering online. Bad things happened. In two cases, the prices were significantly higher than the online prices, for no reason that I could find. […] continued