“Like eMachines’ MSN Companion, the all-black New Internet
Computer NIC blurs the line between PC and appliance. In fact, you
might mistake this setup–which includes a mouse, a 15-inch
monitor, a desktop unit, a full-size keyboard, and external
speakers–for an ordinary computer. That is, until you start using
it.“
“An illustrated setup poster helps with hardware connections,
and a slim manual explains the different ISP options. You can sign
up for NetZero, a free service, or use the ISP of your choice. We
attempted to work with a MindSpring account, and although the NIC
supports that service, it wouldn’t connect until we switched to
“other” in the initial setup process and entered all the settings
manually. The 3Com Audrey acted similarly.”
“The $319.98 NIC employs the Linux operating system and Netscape
Navigator 4.7, both stored on a CD that must remain in the
machine’s 24x CD-ROM drive, which cannot be used for other software
or music CDs. The NIC boots from this CD at startup, which takes
well over a minute (so much for instant on), and accesses the drive
frequently, and somewhat noisily, during operation.”