“The CEO and president of Via kicked off the company’s
technology forum this morning by claiming cheap PCs will fill and
satisfy the needs of the rapidly growing worldwide Internet market.
The devices will bridge the gap between dedicated information
appliances and more powerful machines costing over $500, said
Chen.”
“He said that the so-called Information PC, which Via dubs Value
Internet Architecture to match its own initials, will include open
standards, flexible platforms, technological innovation, and
cooperation between partners to “leverage the growing capabilities
of the Greater China Manufacturing Engine.”
“So how will Via be able to fill this gap? Some of those details
were filled in by Bert McComas, a keynote speaker at the
conference, who yesterday showed the press a slide in
which a $199 PC could use the Linux operating system, come with
32Mb of memory, include a Via chipset, and have ports, inbuilt
modem and graphics cards to produce a compatible, and according to
Chen, an upgradeable machine.”