Someone asked recently if the Chicago vicug was still refurbishing older
discarded computers.  With loads of reliable used computers, free
computers, and really cheap new computers hitting the market, the answer
is no.  today's paper brings another example of the free pc trend.

kelly 


from the Wall Street Journal 

   March 30, 1999 [Tech Center]
   
DirectWeb to Give Free PCs
To Win Service Customers

   By DAVID P. HAMILTON 
   Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
   
   Another company now plans to give away free personal computers, this
   time to customers who agree to sign up for its Internet service.
   
   DirectWeb Inc., a start-up in Mount Laurel, N.J., plans Wednesday to
   unveil a giveaway of 25,000 PCs in the Philadelphia area. In exchange
   for signing up for DirectWeb's unlimited Internet service at a cost of
   $19.95 to $49.95 a month, consumers will get a free PC assembled by PC
   distributor Ingram Micro Inc. Paying for the more-expensive service
   entitles customers to a more-sophisticated PC, but doesn't change the
   basic terms of service.
   
   DirectWeb's plans are the latest twist on an emerging business
   strategy in which companies distribute ultracheap or free PCs in order
   to win customers for Internet service. In February, Free-PC.com, a
   Pasadena, Calif., start-up, announced plans to give away PCs to users
   who agreed to use the company's Internet service, divulge personal
   information and view advertising. Two weeks ago, Seattle-based
   Microworkz Computer Corp. said it will sell a $299 PC starting in
   April that includes a free year of Internet service.
   
   DirectWeb says it won't require its users to view advertising or ask
   them for marketing-related information.
   
   While DirectWeb plans its initial launch in Philadelphia, it is
   considering accelerating its plans for rolling out service in other
   parts of the U.S., said President and Chief Executive Officer Dennis
   Cline. Initially, DirectWeb had planned to expand to several other
   regional markets by May or June, and to make a full-blown national
   launch in September.
   
   Thanks to the recent proliferation of extremely inexpensive PCs, "we
   will probably have to condense those timelines," Mr. Cline said. "My
   plans for a nice, measured rollout kind of went by the wayside with
   the pace of events." DirectWeb plans to post a list of its next
   targeted markets within 30 days, he said.
   
   At the lowest service tier, customers will receive a DirectWeb-branded
   PC powered by Intel Corp.'s 333 megahertz Celeron chip and including a
   15-inch monitor, 6.4 gigabyte hard drive, and 64 megabytes of memory.
   Those who sign up for the high-end service get PCs including a 450
   megahertz Intel Pentium III microprocessor, a 17-inch monitor, a 10
   gigabyte hard drive, 128 megabytes of memory, and a DVD-ROM drive.

   Copyright © 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask]  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html