Let me first address the notebook issue WRT pre-installed software.

Don't do it, unless you know EXACTLY what you are doing!

When it comes to selecting a laptop, there is a myriad issues which need to be
addressed.  One of these issues is vendor support for machine-specific issues.
 Currently only IBM, Toshiba and to a lesser extent Compaq, design and make
their own laptops.  All others buy their laptops either completely or partially
made from a few large companies in Taiwan.  These companies get the laptops
sometimes made to their specifications, which means the Taiwanese company will
put in the requested component(s) and then will put the appropriate brand name
on the machine.

The additional value that the brand-name company adds to the laptop, beyond
possibly specifying some components, will be in the software which is included
with the machine.  Some companies will add additional software to make features
of the notebook work properly, especially if these components appeared after
the OS.  This can be hibernation, power management, docking station software,
etc...  Beyond this software they also load other stuff, some of it useless
such as anti-virus software (in the case of the Pavilion in question, it's
MacAfee) and brain-dead suites.

When I got my latest notebook, I selected a Compaq Armada for several reasons,
not the least of which is Compaq's almost-legendary support for Windows NT and
now 2000.  I absolutely wanted Windows 2000 on my notebook, not 95 or 98.  My
prior laptop was also a Compaq Armada (an older model) and I had Windows NT on
for several years, before moving it to Windows 2000.  The latest Armada came
with Windows 95/98 (you got to pick at the first startup.)  I picked to erase
the disk completely and load Windows 2000.  But I did this after obtaining all
the proper W2K drivers for that notebook from the Compaq web site.  Still it
took me 3-4 hours to load 2000, the extra drivers and then the office suite I
use.  This whole process is tedious but not too difficult, because the support
in the form of the various drivers, is excellent.  (Some of the components were
even newer that Windows 2000, the built-in MiniPCI LAN card and Modem.)

Now, the Pavilion mentioned is a 600 MHz with SpeedStep, a 14.1 inch TFT
screen, 6GB hard drive, 64MB SDRAM, 6X DVD and a 56KB modem.  The only thing on
here that did not exist when Windows 98 SE (the OS loaded on the notebook) is
the SpeedStep CPU.  This means there should be something in the OS to control
that.  This would be supplied by HP.  The fastest way to see some of what is
supplied by HP is to open the Control Panel and see what may say HP (or Compaq
or Dell or whatever depending on the notebook you have.)  If the disk is
reformatted and Windows 98 SE is loaded, that functionality will be lost.  The
software would have to be obtained from HP.  (If I got that machine, I would
immediately remove MacAfee, or at the very least prevent it from running.  I
would also remove MS Works and get a real suite, if this were required for this
notebook.  I would probably remove Quicken and MS-Money, but that's a personal
choice.  The remainder of the software looks very usable, especially the DVD
player.  I got one on my notebook, and I use it, trust me.)

Now, I am not familiar with the Pavilion of other HP-branded notebooks and I am
also unfamiliar with HP's web support for said items, but let me assure you
that before taking the irreversible step of reformatting the drive and loading
Windows 98 SE, I would check the web site for available downloads.  If they are
not there, I would not proceed.

Now, about cheap PCs and consumer PCs.  I think my friend Wirt is way too
modest.  He places a value of $0 on each of his work hours.  I daresay his time
is far more precious and would be willing to peg it easily at $100 to $200 per
hour, if not more.  So messing with a $500 eMachine and bringing it up to
speed, a task that probably consumed 4-10 hours, makes the inexpensive eMachine
very expensive indeed.

I have trouble understanding why anyone would buy an HP Pavilion or a Compaq
Presario for the office.  (Actually I can't even understand why anyone with
some technical skills would buy any of the so-called home computers.)  They are
always loaded with "crap" and undependable.  Instead, I would spend a few more
dollars and get a rock solid, albeit not as sexy, HP Vectra or a Compaq
Deskpro.  And for sanity's sake, I would make sure it runs Windows 2000.

Kind regards,

Denys. . .

Denys Beauchemin
HICOMP
(800) 323-8863  (281) 288-7438         Fax: (281) 355-6879
denys at hicomp.com                             www.hicomp.com


-----Original Message-----
From:   Wirt Atmar [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
Sent:   Saturday, June 17, 2000 12:20 PM
To:     [log in to unmask]
Subject:        Re: Really cheap PCs

I wrote yesterday:

"As to the second point, which may not be acceptable to most, e-Machines --
never missing a beat -- now also includes the complete StarOffice office
suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation graphics) provided free by
Sun Microsystems."

After I wrote that, I decided to play with the StarOffice suite. After just a
few minutes of playing, it became obvious that Microsoft has a really serious
competitor on its hands. Sun says the products are file compatible with their
Microsoft counterparts. I don't know if that's true or not, but it did become
obvious that the Sun versions actually seem easier to use than the Microsoft
products -- and yet look very much like Microsoft Word and particularly Excel.

I am impressed.

I downloaded the StarOffice suite the very first day it was offered, sometime
last fall, but I never installed it. But since the Suite came pre-installed
with the new e-Machine, all I had to do was click on them. Now that I know
how nice they are, I suspect I'll install them on all of our PCs that don't
already have the MS Office on them.

To download a copy for yourself, the URL is:

     http://www.sun.com/products/staroffice/

but be warned, it is a big download (65MB).

On a second subject, one person wrote me about getting rid of the extra crap
that HP puts into their Pavilion series, but in this instance, on an HP
laptop. So as my comments won't be overexaggerated it, I'm including here
what I wrote back:

=======================================

> Anyway, my question is related to your comments regarding HP's Pavilion
>  products.  I purchased their N3295 laptop last night.  While making my
>  decision, I kept in the back of my mind the comments you made regarding all
>  the extra "features" the HP has and how it degrades performance.  I figured
>  I wouldn't be able to take the laptop apart myself (without severely
>  negating the warranty) to get serial numbers, etc.  Do you have any
>  suggestions on what I can do to get rid of some of the extraneous stuff
>  without stripping the operating system and installing a non-HP supplied
>  version?

I would play with your new machine for at least a week or two before I did
anything. The Pavilions weren't merely degraded, they were unusable. If you
don't notice anything too much wrong with your machine, I'd just leave it
alone.

The Pavilions we ordered were the top of the line (DVD, 10/100MB NIC, CD-R/W,
250 MB Zip drive, etc.). Nonetheless, you couldn't watch a movie, run QCTerm,
and AOL all at the same time without it crashing to the point that you
actually had to unplug the power cord to get it to reset. I've never seen a
PC so badly constructed as that, not even from your teenage neighbor's son
who builds them in his basement.

Nor could you even perform a single task on an otherwise empty machine
without it occasionally jerking control away from you for a moment or two. As
I said, no one here would even use the things until I rebuilt the operating
system from scratch.

I don't know whether these qualities are characteristic of the Pavilion line
as a whole or simply of the version we bought. Nonetheless, I wouldn't do
anything until you've had enough time to see if your machine acts the same
way.

If you do decide to rebuild the operating system, you can probably obtain a
list of all of the various cards that are in the device from either
(hopefully) an HP web page or from HP support themselves -- although I
couldn't get a sufficiently accurate list that I felt comfortable enough with
that I was sure that I was installing the proper drivers.

=========================================

It's difficult for me to say how awful these machines were before they were
rebuilt. However, let me add the one really nice thing about the Pavilion
series is that it's built to be worked on. Only one thumb capture screw holds
a side panel on, so it's extremely easy to open up and add or replace cards.

Greg suggested that the extra keyboard keys acted as substantial productivity
enhancers and shouldn't be removed. Let me say that to a degree, that was
true. Because the DVD's controls were now on the keyboard, I found that I
could push the movie PAUSE or MUTE buttons much faster, allowing me to answer
my phone in one ring rather than the more normal two or three rings, as
compared to before when I had to fumble around with the on-screen controls
:-). Otherwise, having hotlinks to eBay and the Disney Channel didn't seem to
do all that much to increase my productivity and won't be particularly missed.

More seriously, these extra buttons didn't do a thing to increase
productivity. They were simply one more irritating connivance to get your
eyeballs to a few selected, pre-paid web sites. Hopefully, they will
disappear over time under their own steam, once the dot-com shakeout is
complete.

Wirt Atmar