New-look PCs coming this fall

At least if Intel Corp. and a handful of PC makers have their way.

Later this month, Intel will preview new designs from top-tier PC makers that will ship starting this fall.

The new-look PCs have been developed under an initiative called Easy PC, which includes Intel (Nasdaq:INTC), Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and PC makers Gateway (NYSE:GTW), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP) and IBM (NYSE:IBM).

The goal: Make PCs easier to use through software advances and simplified hardware design.

The initiative, launched in September 1998, has already resulted in several changes on the PC landscape. New hardware design guidelines are eliminating many older technologies. And Microsoft pledges to make computers easier to use with the next-generations of its operating systems. Finally, the initiative will produce new methods of testing ease of use for PCs.

The net result of the effort will be the launch this fall of smaller, sleek PCs, built around guidelines for easier-to-use hardware released by Intel earlier this year. The machines will be easy to setup, configure and get online with, according to proponents.

A typical Easy PC will offer a 500MHz to 600MHz Celeron or Pentium III processor with Intel's 810 chip set. The low-cost chip set offers a built-in graphics engine. A version of the 810 chipset, the 810E, is due later in the year for use with Pentium III.

The Easy PC will also shed parallel ports, serial ports and ISA support. No more floppy drive, either. It will come in a variety of designs, including an all-in-one package similar to Apple Computer Inc.'s iMac, said Steve Whalley, Intel's PC initiatives manager, in Chandler, Ariz.

Several of the PC makers involved in the Easy PC initiative will offer an early look at their products at Intel's Developers Forum in Palm Springs at the end this month.

Easy PC will target mostly first-time buyers, especially those who have been scared away on the perception that computers are too difficult to operate.

"Until the PC becomes an unobtrusive part of the furniture in the room, its use is not going to take off," Whalley said. "It's hard to be intimidated by a fish or a rabbit or a different shape.

iMac sets the standard
The new computers will likely be more expensive than a similarly configured "beige box" PC. Over time, however, ease-of-use features will be incorporated into all PCs, reducing prices.

"There are people who are never going to buy a PC. However, there's an audience out there that would benefit from easier to use PCs. But someone has to produce one," said Schelley Olhava, a research analyst for International Data Corp. in Mountain View, Calif.

Olhava credited Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) Computer Inc.'s iMac as the standard for ease of use in a personal computer.

"There is a segment that's attracted to the iMac, because it's easy to use," she said. "You're paying a premium to buy an iMac [about $1,199] but the ease of use is attractive."

One of the first PCs to go the Easy PC route is sold by Mattel Inc. The company yesterday announced two new PCs for children, the Barbie PC and Hot Wheels PC.

Not kid stuff
Mattel's products may sound like kids stuff, but they feature Intel's small Flex ATX motherboard -- developed for use in Easy PCs -- and Universal Serial Bus technology for connecting peripherals packed into small, brightly colored chassis. They also lack "legacy hardware," such as ISA slots, serial ports and parallel ports, and are instead bundled with a USB keyboard and Mouse.

"I wouldn't call these the ultimate easy-to-use PCs," said Whalley, but he indicated that they're a step in the direction in which Easy PC is headed. "This time next year, back to school and holiday 2000, we'll see more significant improvements in ease of use," he said.

Intel is expected to continue to push the development of Easy PCs by announcing the availability of the Easier to Use Hardware Implementation Guide 2000 version 1.0 at its Developers Forum at the end of the month. The guide, for PC makers, details the removing of legacy hardware and implementing Instantly Available PC Technology, which will allow PCs to go into a sleep mode, instead of being shut down completely.

A new set of PC design guidelines, called PC 2001, will also include guidelines for building easy-to-use PCs, Whalley said. PC 2001, expected to be finalized in the first half of next year, will help original equipment manufacturers specify form factors, thermal designs and other issues, such as the number of USB ports to build into each PC. It, too, will be announced at the Developers Forum.

Many improvements will come through operating system software. Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) Corp. is in early beta testing stages of the next version of its Consumer Windows operating system. Code-named Millennium, the OS is expected to add a host of new ease-of-use features.

Measuring eased of use
Intel is also developing methods to measure ease of use in PCs. The tests would help OEMs improve their designs by measuring things such as the amount of time it takes to set up a PC, how long it takes to register with an online service and the ease of attaching peripheral devices. Also measured would be common operations such as creating or moving files from folder to folder.

Those tests include the Intel Initial Experience Predictor Tool, for measuring the ease with which a PC can be set up, which will be discussed at the developers forum.

More information about the Easy PC Initiative is available at Intel's Developer Web site.