The PC Follows iMac's Lead

It has been well over a year since Apple Computer (AAPL) launched the iMac, and makers of Windows PCs are finally starting to get it. Sure, the iMac brought color to a beige world and prompted new and welcome attention to industrial design. But the larger importance of the iMac is that it simplified the computer by getting rid of an assortment of obsolete components, including the venerable floppy drive.

Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) are pushing manufacturers to eliminate ''legacy'' components that in some cases predate the PC itself. These include serial and parallel ports, floppy drives, and an assortment of internal systems. If these legacy-free computers work as promised, they will be easier to set up, should boot faster and be less prone to crash.

Dell Computer (DELL) is the first top-tier maker to go all the way with a legacy-free Windows PC design. The $999 WebPC stands less than 11 inches high and weighs just 10 pounds. It comes with a matching 15-in. monitor. (A 14.1-in. flat-panel display will be available next year.)

The design replaces the traditional serial, parallel, mouse, and keyboard connectors with three universal serial bus ports. There are no slots for add-in cards and no floppy drive, although Dell offers an external LS-120 SuperDrive, a 120-megabyte drive that also reads and writes 1.44 MB floppies, as a $130 option.

QUICK BOOT. This is not a computer for a power user or a dedicated game player who wants to install the hottest new video card. You also should think twice if you have a lot of older hardware. For example, users of 3Com Palms need a $40 adapter to connect a sync cradle to a USB port. Parallel printers need a $50 adapter cable. Some printer port devices, such as Iomega Zip drives or scanners, may not work at all.

But most buyers are better off with a computer without obsolete components, one that's smaller and cheaper to build. Although tests of a brand new machine are not conclusive, I found that the WebPC went to sleep mode and woke up far more reliably than today's erratic PCs. It's also a snap to set up. It booted in under a minute and hooked up to the Internet within five minutes of coming out of the box. It includes both a 56K modem and Ethernet port, for high-speed Internet connections. One negative is the compact keyboard, on which navigation functions share keys with the numeric pad. Buyers can replace the keyboard for $50 or less, but they will lose both the matching design and preprogrammed Internet, e-mail, and sleep keys.

Dell's service policy for the WebPC is likely to to be more controversial than its legacy-free design. Free technical support is available by phone only for problems that prevent a connection to the Internet. Everything else is handled through an interactive program that diagnoses problems and initiates an online chat. It worked well for me, but Dell may encounter consumer risistance. One big potential problem is that resolving many Windows difficulties requires rebooting the computer--and losing your online connection.

Dell has been most thorough at eliminating legacy hardware, but it is hardly alone. Gateway (GTW) is offering two all-USB models. The $799 Astro's all-in-one design incorporates a 15-in. monitor--and a floppy drive. In addition to a design that can charitably be described as homely, the Astro lacks some of the ease-of-use touches of WebPC, such as the special keyboard buttons.

LEGACY-FREE. Gateway's Profile is a sleeker model built around a 15-in. flat-panel monitor. Other specs resemble the Astro, but it includes Ethernet and home phone-line networking as well as a 56K modem. Unfortunately, the cost of the flat panel drives the price way up: The Profile 2 starts at $1,899.

By the second half of next year, legacy-free PCs should claim a significant share of the consumer market. Business adoption will take longer because corporations are slow to remove such items as serial ports and internal slots from bid requirements. But Compaq Computer (CPQ) will offer the legacy-free iPaq to corporate buyers in 2000.

After 20 years of growth, the PC has become a thing of shreds and patches. The long-overdue move to clean up the design is good news.

Questions? Comments? E-mail tech&you@businessweek.com or fax (202) 383-2125

By STEPHEN H. WILDSTROM

TABLE: Soul of the New Machines

                    DELL                     GATEWAY
                    WEBPC                    ASTRO


PROCESSOR           433 MHz Celeron          400 MHz Celeron

MEMORY              64 MB                    64 MB

HARD DRIVE          4.3 GB                   4.3 GB

REMOVABLE MEDIA     CD-ROM                   CD-ROM, floppy

DISPLAY             15" CRT                  15" integrated CRT

INTERNET SERVICE    1 year free Dell.net     Optional

PRINTER             HP DeskJet 610           Optional

PRICE               $999                     $799

DATA: MANUFACTURERS