August - 1999 - issue > Cover

Gateway’s Profile XL
This PC will not blow your mind, but it will definitely put a kink into your “monitor-here, CPU-there” mentality. Gateway’s Profile XL looks like an ordinary 15-inch LCD monitor at first glance -- but look around, and you’ll fail to see a CPU connected to it. That’s because an entire PC lurks inside the shallow 7-inch screen, powered by a 400-MHz AMD K6-2 processor with 512K of L2 cache.

Weighing a measly 17.39 pounds, Gateway used low-profile components traditionally found in notebook PCs to come up with this sleek design. The 15-inch XGA LCD panel, with 4MB of SGRAM coupled with its ATI Rage LT Pro graphics accelerator, can display color depths of up to 32-bit.

Although using the floppy and DVD drives, vertically mounted on the sides of the monitor, may take some getting used to, the fun of loading diskettes and CDs into the side of your monitor compensates for the oddity. The panel swivels forward and backward and can easily be adjusted for the viewing angle or the loading and unloading of diskettes and CDs.

With its K6-2/400 processor, the Profile XL is a far cry from that of a Pentium III/550, but the design of this machine is certainly in a league of its own. But at $2,299, the Profile XL may be worth the investigation.

List price: $2,299 - www.gateway.com

CyberClean 1.02

Worried that someone will check up on your Internet surfing history? Are you using up precious disk space with previous surf clutter? CyberClean 1.02 enables you to erase and start new again. Designed by The Limit Software, a Chicago-based company that devises Internet software solutions, CyberClean 1.02 frees your hard drive from unwanted cache remnants, cookies, history files and URL references.

From the pioneers of the infamous Cookie Crusher, the first cookie-controlling product designed for Windows 95, CyberClean 1.02 caters to both novice and expert users. With a few clicks of your mouse you can erase information that you want kept private. This program is designed for Windows 9x and NT users and has been tested with most of the browsers in the market.

Free trial version - www.thelimitsoft.com/cyberclean.html

Palm VII

3Com has introduced its highly anticipated Palm VII, the only handheld device that allows for encrypted wireless connectivity to access Web and corporate data. A bit wider than the Palm III, it still only has 2MB, like the Palm III. Although the Palm VII does not allow for full Internet capabilities, with 27 partners, including USA Today, E*Trade, ESPN, Travelocity and The Weather Channel, this Palm is able to receive services that fall into four categories: financial, news; reference and directories; travel; and entertainment.

The Palm VII also allows users to send and receive e-mails wirelessly. Only basic e-mail functions can be performed, however, and although it works well in sending small messages, users must download received messages off the server. Wireless coverage is decent both indoors and outdoors because most larger cities are wired for the service. Information on coverage areas can be found on Palm.Net.

As with any product that seems too amazing, there are some drawbacks. First, the price. The Palm VII is expected to retail for $599. In addition, there are currently two service plans that are required to operate the wireless functions. One plan costs $9.99 a month and allows for 50kb of data. This amounts to about 150 screens of data each month and five small e-mails a day. The other plan costs $24.99 and allows for 150kb. Additional kilobytes cost 30 cents each. Second, the network is slow -- taking at best 4kb per second.

List price: $599 - www.palm.com

The “Dragonfly” Projector

Now here’s a projector to brag about. The new LP330 “Dragonfly” personal projector by InFocus is the smallest, sleekest and one of the best-looking projectors ever built. The first sub-five-pound, fully featured XGA notebook projector, you can take this puppy anywhere and hardly notice its presence. At 650 ANSI lumens, it outshines other projectors -- so you don’t have to dim the lights. It’s the smallest as well, measuring up at 8.75” by 9.75” by 2.5”, and fits easily in a bag or in your laptop carrying case.

Using Digital Light Processing, the display stays uniformly bright from corner to corner. The LP330 features a built-in single-watt mono speaker, optional hand-held remote and a zoom lens and Executive Remote Plus traditionally found in larger projectors.

Available this month, this projector will make a statement before you even turn it on.

List price: $6,999 - www.infocus.com