Who says a family PC should not be fully loaded?

Who says a family PC should not be fully loaded?

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): As our economy continues to slide further into
uncertainty, who would be interested in forking out money for a
family computer when the same sum of money could buy a decent
used car?

Maybe some would. And why not? Those who are paid in foreign
currency will certainly find the HP Pavilions currently being
offered in Indonesia a great bargain. In the U.S., the prices of
Pavilions start at US$1,499. And these are great machines, too.

For the majority of us, for whom the idea of acquiring a new
PC is at the moment almost as implausible as a picnic in Monas
Square, perhaps a close look at the handsome home PC by Hewlett-
Packard may still be worthwhile. At least it gives us some idea
of where the industry is heading. It also highlights the fact
that the term "home PC" by no means refers to an anemic computer
that cannot perform well enough to run demanding business
applications efficiently.

Courtesy of Hewlett-Packard, I was able to play with the top
model in their Pavilion line of home PCs that they have
introduced to the Indonesian market, the Pavilion 8215. As usual,
we find more things to show us the direction the industry and
technology are going when we test-drive the high-end model, as it
is always the one with the most bells and whistles. Over time,
these bells and whistles trickle down to the mid-range and low-
end models.

Just take the CD-ROM drive as an example. In the beginning
only the most expensive PCs would come with a CD-ROM drive.
Today, you have to place a special order if you want a PC without
a CD-ROM drive, even when you're buying a low-end model. In the
same manner, while today only the top model of Pavilions has a
DVD-ROM drive, I bet that in a few years' time almost all PCs
will come with a DVD drive.

Spacious

The first thing I noticed about Pavilion was that its CPU
casing was larger than its rival, Compaq Presario. HP told me
that the spacious casing was meant to give the machine better air
circulation and heat dissipation. To me, the biggest advantage is
certainly expandability. With a bigger casing, Pavilions offer
more slots for additional expansion boards, including perhaps a
network interface card.

By the way, if you think the idea of having a network of PCs
in your house is too far-fetched, think again. The low-cost
network kit provided by HP, Intel and others are very easy to set
up, and they may even allow more than one PC to access the
Internet using the same modem and phone connection. It will help
you solve a lot of problems if you have several PC-loving members
in your family.

Now back to the 8215. This machine ran on a Pentium II 300
MHz. The raw power of the processor was obvious right from the
moment I turned it on. I was able to play Video CDs full screen
without the help of any hardware decoder. I even ran an older
version of IBM's voice recognition software, VoiceType 3.0, and
had a lot of fun with it. What this software does is turn spoken
words into text, and the process requires a tremendous amount of
computing power. Thanks to the Pentium II 300 MHz processor, it
didn't take long before the words I spoke into the microphone
appeared on the screen. With a less powerful processor, dictating
a short memo with the help of this software would be as painful
as a root canal with inadequate anesthetics.

This model also came with a spacious 17 inch monitor. The
microphone was located on the monitor's top bezel, and it was
sensitive enough for voice commands. In fact, you could easily
add a video camera on the provided space on top of the monitor
and have a video conference. The speakers were made by Polk
Audio, one of America's leading speaker makers. HP even put
Polk's label on the speakers, which can be attached to both sides
of the monitor or placed on their own base anywhere you like. To
produce more realistic sound, this home PC is also equipped with
a amplifier.

If you still find the 17 inch monitor not large enough for
screening Godzilla, you can connect the PC to a large-screen TV
using the supplied cable. To produce better sound effects, you
can also add a subwoofer. As for DVD playback, no comment would
be necessary.

Keyboard

Another thing that I liked about this family PC was its
keyboard, and I would say that this would represent a trend in
the future. HP started putting nifty extra buttons on their
keyboards when they launched Brio, their business PCs. With the
Pavilions, the keyboard boasts a round knob that controls the
volume. I like it very much, because it gives me a natural means
to control the loudness of the sound that comes out of the
speakers. Turn it right to pump up the volume, or turn it left to
save your children's ears. Because the volume control is
software-based, your toddler will never damage the knob even if
he or she keeps turning it to the left after the sound have been
muted altogether.

There are other small and useful buttons on the keyboard as
well, including buttons for controlling CD playback, launching
your Internet browser, and invoking preset applications.

My test unit came with a large 6.2 GB hard disk, a 56 Kbps
modem with voice capabilities, and a dual Universal Serial Bus.
Anybody could put it together out of the box without any help, as
all the connections and cables were color-coded. You wouldn't
insert the plug for the speakers' cable into the jack for the
microphone, for instance.

My only complaint about this machine is its bluish gray color.
I wish HP had chosen a more lively color that would immediately
attract the attention of young children and would fit the colors
of a typical living room more nicely.

Apart from that, it's hard to find fault with Pavilion 8215.
It is a well-built family PC with amenities that will satisfy
even a very demanding computer aficionado. The Pentium 300 MHz
provides more than enough power to run most applications,
including 3-D games and creative imaging. The problem is, even
though its price is a real bargain when converted into U.S.
dollars, perhaps only a handful of very lucky Indonesians can
afford to buy it these days.