Following a report in sister publication Unigram.X, IBM has confirmed that it has halted plans to launch its PowerPC 603-based desktop machine, codenamed Polo. Polo was the stylish ergonomic PowerPC desktop machine that made such an impact when it was splashed across the pages of Byte last year. The matt-black, slimline box really looked like the machine of the future. Unfortunately, it did not prove popular with potential buyers. Andy Jawlik, IBM Power Personal’s manager of marketing communications, said, Market research with customers on the three models we’ve exhibited – the standard desktop, the 603-based small desktop, and the notebook, showed that customer requirements were satisfied with the standard desktop and the notebook, and there was not a requirement for the small 603 desktop. By the sound of it, the sleek design was not enough to compensate for the relative lack of expansion and Polo’s slightly lower performance.
