Comdex '99: Spotlight on PC 'appliances'

AMD (NYSE:Advanced Micro Devices Inc.), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) and IBMCorp. (NYSE:IBM) will tout new cheaper "legacy free PCs" and easy-to-use "computing appliances" during the big Comdex/Fall '99 computer exhibition in Las Vegas next week.

All three will make an effort to show how the PC and computing appliance can work together. Microsoft, which has been involved with Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC) and AMD in developing legacy free PCs, is also expected to endorse computing appliances with the official announcement of its MSN Mobile Companion for accessing the Microsoft Network.

AMD will officially unveil Easy Now, a reference design for PC makers that would allow them to reduce the amount of ''legacy" hardware in a machine as a way to make it cheaper and simpler. Like Microsoft and Intel's Easy PC Initiative, the Easy Now specification would also make way for PCs of radically different shapes and sizes.

Easy Now also aims to get a PC to boot up in 55 seconds -- far faster than the two to three minutes it takes to reach the Windows desktop now.

Using the Universal Serial Bus (USB) technology to connect peripherals such as the keyboard and speaker, even novice PC users should be able to have an Easy Now PC out of the box and set up in less than 15 minutes, said Tim Wright, director of consumer segment marketing for AMD in Austin, Texas.

"We see the need to help move the industry forward. AMD's not in the PC business, but we're working to enable the next evolution of the PC platform," he said.

Right direction
AMD's Easy Now, which has been under development since 1998, is based around its K6-2 and K6-III chips and Super Socket 7 architecture.

Easy Now PCs will feature five USB ports, including two on the front, and a horizontally mounted CD-ROM drive, a software modem and built-in home networking support. They will be available in a variety of colors, ranging from gray to purple to red. Future versions of the design may offer IEEE 1394, a high-speed networking specification aimed at connecting computer-to-home electronics like video cameras or entertainment systems.

Others, due in the second half of next year, will be based on AMD's Athlon processor.

Possibly the most important design goal for Easy Now PCs is that AMD aimed to make them price competitive with similarly configured traditional form factor PCs. Companies including Biostar Group, will begin selling the Easy Now PC at the end of the month.

Analysts say that if AMD can match pricing with traditional PCs, then it's headed in the right direction.

"It's trying to foster legacy-free systems and unique form factors. Toward that end Intel has pioneered some new motherboard form factors. AMD is following in that ilk," said Mike Feibus, principle at Mercury Research, which follows the microprocessor market. However, "Some of the early form factors have carried with them a steep premium. AMD really intends to close the gap between conventional and new form factor legacy-free systems."

Gates: The 'PC Plus' era
While AMD works at launching its legacy free PCs, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is expected to discuss the coming "PC Plus" era.

During his Sunday night keynote address, the Microsoft chairman is expected to address how computing appliances and PCs will interact, while he demonstrates devices based on Microsoft's Windows CE and Embedded NT operating systems.

At least part of Gates' keynote (available live through ZDNN) is expected to focus on the MSN Web Companion, which will provide access to MSN and the Internet. He's expected to show how the device will utilize the company's Windows CE operating system.

Web companion, in fact, is likely to serve as a newly targeted platform for Windows CE. To create the device, Microsoft needed to create a specific user interface and software layer for the Windows CE operating system to enable the Internet access. Sources say this piece of software, along with a hardware specification, may be made available for device makers to license, sources said.

There will likely be three levels of Web companion devices. One would consist of little more than a keyboard and monitor and would allow users to connect to the Web. It would be priced at about $199.

A second would essentially be a thin client for the kitchen, with a 10- or 12-inch LCD display, priced at about $299. Large PC makers may adopt this platform.

The third possible device may prove to be the most interesting. It would act as a wireless personal access device for the Web and email. It will be able to connect directly to a PC or a base station equipped with a modem, such as a DSL modem, to gain Internet access. This device will retail for $499 and up, sources said.

Gates may demonstrate such a device during his keynote, showing how it can wirelessly interact with a PC to connect to the Internet for Web and e-mail purposes.

IBM code name -- EON
Not to be outdone, IBM is also working towards new PCs and appliance devices.

As part of a project code-named Edge of Network, or EON, IBM is investigating legacy-free PC and appliance device designs, said Phil Hester, chief technology officer of the company's Personal Systems Group.

The PC market "is changing, driven by a combination of communications, both wired and wireless," he said. "We see network computers continuing to evolve in the corporate space, but you can also think about building a very low cost appliance-like device that gives you a very good Internet experience (for consumers)."

The first products developed under EON are due next year. They will include legacy-free PCs for consumers and corporations as well as next-generation personal digital assistant devices, possibly with wide-area wireless service, which IBM will likely develop under partnership with other companies.