IBM Corp reckons that with its new Ativas, announced yesterday, it has finally got it right in home computers. The machines feature full-screen video courtesy of a multimedia co-processor developed by IBM – based on the IBM Mwave signal processor – to the main Pentium processor, and they can simultaneously send speech and data over phone lines – provided the recipient has a matching 28.8Kbps modem. IBM started making the new models more than a month ago and will allow stores to start selling them on Monday. Demand will be monitored weekly and manufacturing adjusted as necessary. They come with at least 8Mb of main memory and at least 1Gb disk and prices range from $1,800 to $3,000 but monitors are extra. The top models also come with IBM’s Personal Typing System dictation software. All the models can be operated by spoken commands, and respond to such phrases as open file. The modem enables the Aptiva to double as a telephone answering machine, and the computer automatically turns itself on when the phone r ings, and shuts off after taking a message. The Pentiums range from 133MHz down to 75MHz, and there are only two disk capacities, 1Gb or 1.6Gb. There is no low-end model.They all also include a quad-speed CD-ROM drive and pre-loaded Internet access service software, and there are 40 software titles pre-installed. They come with OS/2 and Windows 3.1 loaded.
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