“Companies offering “free” PCs have insisted that giving away
costly computers with paid Internet service can be a successful
business. But moves such as president Rick Latman’s departure today
from start-up Microworkz may indicate otherwise.”
“This past spring, Microworkz joined a bevy of similar start-ups
including Emachines, Free-PC, Gobi, Enchilada, and DirectWeb. Many
in this group have since been hit with similar problems, including
a lawsuit from Apple Computer over Emachines’ iMac look-alike.
Many say the issues affecting these ventures are more than
growing pains and reflect a fundamentally flawed business
plan.”
