RELEASE: AUGUST
Mac Hack
The sincerest form of flattery for Apple Computer is an iMac knockoff called the E-Power, a Windows PC that incorporates a monitor in a vivid package - available in ruby, sapphire, emerald, topaz, and amethyst. Good for students who desire catchy design but need to fit in with an all-PC campus network, the cross-dressed processor trumps its rival with its floppy-disk drive and price of $799 - several hundred dollars cheaper than an iMac. And it's not a bad PC, with a 466-MHz Celeron chip, 56K modem, USB ports, and a 40X CD-ROM.
Santa Clara, California-based Future Power is a partner of South Korean giant Daewoo Telecom, and aims to put affordable PCs in every living room. In fact, with the aggressive push to market cheap PCs, it's not clear whether E-Power is out to crush Apple or emachines, an early innovator of the sub-$500 PC.
Future Power: +1 (408) 261 7830, www.futurepowerusa.com.
RELEASE: SUMMER
Vend for Yourself
Forget about Cheese-It crackers and Snickers bars - imagine how helpful vending machines could be if they sold things you really need. Zoom Systems has come to the aid of frantic office workers with E-Station machines that sell Hewlett-Packard printer supplies. About 150 HP Express stations, selling ink-jet and laser cartridges, paper, and other necessities, have cropped up in universities, airports, and shared office buildings in Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Jose, Cologne, and Milan. More locations are on the way, and the startup plans to branch out into partnerships to vend batteries, shampoo, clothing, CDs, watches, and toys.
Zoom's pilot machines originally accepted and sold recycled printer cartridges in office buildings in Australia. The company soon relocated to the US and struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard. Once you pay for an item with a credit or debit card (no cash), the E-Station drops small items from a snack-food spiral unit into a tray below, or lets you grab larger items like toner from windowless metal lockers next door, while a printer cranks out receipts and coupons. Meanwhile, stereo speakers might be playing music or telling you about upcoming deals - though many testers complained that the sounds drove them crazy.
Where most coin-op candy racks are stand-alone, Zoom links its E-Stations together electronically - just as banks do with ATM machines. The devices use a screen interface in front and a secure Net connection in back to combine the advantages of online and retail shopping. Merchants enjoy detailed usage statistics and low "shrink," or theft. Users get day-and-night operation and detailed product info. Plus, you can actually see the products and get them right away - without having to interact with any scary humans.
Zoom Systems: +1 (415) 788 1400, www.zoomsystems.com.
RELEASE: SEPTEMBER
Blitzcast
Better-looking than TV? That's the promise Sega is making with its football game for the new Dreamcast console - the company is investing millions to ensure that NFL 2000 will be the greatest-looking and -playing video football title of all time.
It just might be. In other gridiron games, every tackle looks the same - not so here. Instead of two or three generic animations, NFL 2000 has realistic takedowns in which every joint in the player's body is modeled. Hit a running back in the lower right leg and he stumbles to his left. Hit him harder, a little higher, and his right arm shoots out as he goes down.
But the most compelling hook may be the game's attention to detail during the lull between hikes: After a tough down, players put their hands on their knees and pant. You can see their chests heave; if it's cold, you see their breath. Add to that the ability to create your own plays and design your own athletes, and NFL 2000 is sure to be (if you'll pardon the metaphor) a slam dunk.
Sega: www.dreamcast.com.
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