New Pentium and knick-knacks to make life easier

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): What a difference a couple of months can make. It feels just like yesterday that Intel unveiled its latest generation of Pentium chips, the Pentium 150 MHz and Pentium 166 MHz. Last week, just when I was thinking of buying myself a new 133 MHz Pentium chip, I got a message from Intel that the Pentium 200 MHz chip is now already in limited production.

The newcomer should not confuse this chip with the Pentium Pro chip with the same clock speed, 200 MHz. The new chip is designed for those who run Windows 95 and older operating systems such as DOS and Windows 3.x. Of course this chip, with all its raw power, would be an overkill for running WordStar 4.0 in DOS, wouldn't it?

With the introduction of the Pentium 200 MHz, Intel is now positioning the Pentiums 120 MHz and 133 MHz for entry level, the 150 and 166 MHz for general business uses, and the new chip as the high-end PCs. Pentium Pro chips are intended for those who work with Windows NT or other true 32-bit operating environments.

The Pentium 200 MHz is built with Intel's 35 micron process technology, and will be produced in increasing quantities throughout the next six months. Intel expects that system manufacturers will be offering PCs with the new processors soon. So, does it still make sense for me to upgrade to 133 MHz?

AMD 5x86

For two weeks I have been running Windows 95 on a PC that uses a AMD 5x86 chip. This is basically a 486DX4 chip running at 133 MHz. If your budget doesn't allow you to upgrade all the way to a Pentium 200 MHz system in order to be able to run Windows 95 applications at blazing speed, this chip may be the right temporary solution for you. The good news is that it will cost less than an Intel Pentium Overdrive, and in my test it still ran Windows 95 at a decent speed.

Its totally pin-compatible with the Intel 486DX chips, so we can plug it right into the 486 socket, and the AMD 5x86 will deliver performance equal to an Intel Pentium 75 MHz. In my test, I found its performance perfectly acceptable. Even running Photoshop 3.05 will not turn you into a percussionist, which might happen if you run the program on a 486DX2-66 machine.

But before you replace your existing 486DX2 chip with this one, make sure that your motherboard will accept it. The best thing would be to just let the people in Glodok do it for you.

New ThinkPad

Two weeks ago I wrote about the new notebooks from IBM, the ThinkPad 360 series for the low end and the ThinkPad 760 series for the high end. Just last week Big Blue introduced the new generation of midrange ThinkPads. Although I was unable to take home a demo unit for a thorough review, I had a chance to play around with one for a little while. I liked it so much that I thought I should tell you a little bit about it.

The most likable feature of ThinkPad 560s is its weight and thin frame. Weighing only 1.9 kgs, these slim notebooks are light. To achieve this minimal weight, IBM had to take out the floppy disk drive; both the floppy drive and the CD-ROM drive are now external devices. But that doesn't matter, since most of the time we don't require these drives anyway. And, at 31 mm, it is very thin, too. It is only two-thirds the thickness of my Toshiba Satellite 100CS. Those who travel a lot will particularly appreciate this.

Its other features are no less impressive: You can choose between a Pentium 120 MHz and a Pentium 100 MHz. All ThinkPad 560s come standard with a 810 MB hard disk, PCI bus, PC Card bus, and 8 MB of EDO RAM. The lower end ones use a 11.3" Dual Scan display, while the upper end ones use a 12.1" TFT. The keyboard feels as good as you would expect from IBM, and all models in the 560 series come with built-in sound capability that produce acceptable sound quality. They all come with an infra-red port standard, too.

The ThinkPad 560 is an inspired product. With this product, IBM has proven that it is possible to manufacture lightweight, high performance notebooks that do not take too much space in your briefcase. In the past, subnotebooks were the only choice for those who insisted on traveling light. Unfortunately, they had to sacrifice display quality. After a while, they found out that they were also sacrificing their eyesight and ultimately productivity. With the new trend set by IBM ThinkPad 560s, I believe that lightweight but full-featured notebooks with large screens from other notebook makers will soon replace popular subnotebooks such as the Toshiba Portege or the Compaq Contura Aero.

The only quibble I have is that IBM has not incorporated the power supply into the case. That's something Big Blue has yet to learn from Toshiba.

Monitor

At home, I've been working with two PCs for some time now. I use one for regular work such as writing, scanning, and faxing. I use it for playing karaoke songs and watching MPEG movies. I use the other PC for toying around with new software and hardware. I used to have one monitor for each of them.

Naturally, that set-up was far from efficient. The two monitors took a lot of space and used up a lot of electricity. The set-up had to change, when suddenly my older monitor, an NEC Multisync 4D that I had brought from the United States four years ago, decided to stop working. Most likely it had decided to quit because of the erratic electricity supply we endure in this country.

Not wanting to invest in a new monitor, I went to Computer City in Glodok Plaza and asked around for a switch box that would let me use one monitor for two PCs. I found a mechanical one, and was told that there was also an electronic model. For Rp 75,000 (US$32), you can connect two PCs to one monitor and one keyboard. If we have four PCs that we want to control with one monitor and one keyboard, we'll have to pay Rp 90,000. And we'd need connecting cables as well. However, the total cost would still be much lower than the cost of a new Sony 15sf. I bought the four- port version.

Once installed, the switch worked perfectly, jumping from the graphics port of one PC to another. However, the keyboard sometimes refuse to connect, and I had to turn the mechanical switch again and again until the keyboard gets connected. Another problem that the PCs would not boot if the BIOS didn't see a keyboard attached to them. So the switch is best for switching the monitor only. On balance, I'd say we'd still be better off using two keyboards.

Who else might want to use this switch? Well, those of you who already use a notebook in addition to a PC would love it. You can hook your notebook to the switch; that way you can work with the PC's larger monitor instead of the notebook's LCD screen.

Paper Organizer

Sometimes we use printing paper of different sizes. We may use a letterhead, and we may also print on different size envelopes from time to time. Where do we keep all this bumf? We can stack it on shelves, but the best place is under the printer itself.

In Computer City, Glodok Plaza, I came across a multipurpose organizer made by Aidata. One of the stores told me the price was Rp 110,000. Another store offered me one for Rp 70,000. Of course I bought it from the latter, and I've been very happy with it. In fact, I have since bought three more for my friends.

The stand fits under most printers, even laser printers. In fact, it now sits beneath my HP 1600C DeskJet, which is by no means a small printer. You can use it to support your monitor or fax machine. One of the best things about the stand is that it is color-coordinated with the latest generation of HP printers. Even the blue handles on the paper trays look very close to the color of the 1600C's control button.

Unfortunately, as you can see in the background of the accompanying picture, the drawer comes only with three movable trays. Nonetheless, if you have a cluttered desktop and you work with different sizes and types of paper, you will find this drawer very useful. Ask around. Who knows? You could get a better deal.