Krazit, Tom

May 28, 2003

Originally Published:20030512.

HP and Microsoft are working together on a future desktop reference design that will let users bring several communications technologies together in a package.

The PC is code-named Athens, and the prototype resembles a docked Tablet PC in landscape mode. That display comes with a phone handset and video camera tacked onto its sides, so users can hold videoconferences, take phone calls and handle the rest of their daily Web browsing and e-mail through one desktop, says Byron Sands, director of advanced technology for HP's business PC division. Any portion of a normal PC that relates to the user interface is part of the display screen, including media ports and optical drives.

The rest of the PC, such as the processor and motherboard, fits into a compact chassis that connects to the display via a single cable that delivers data and power to the screen, says Kent Biggs, a senior member of the technical staff for the business PC division. The device uses a wireless keyboard and mouse, he says.

HP and Microsoft are undecided about which wireless technology they will use for Athens, Biggs says.

Because additional wireless technologies might come into vogue by the time Athens is ready in 2004 or later, the companies aren't committing to any one technology. Bluetooth was used in the prototype for the mouse, and the keyboard uses radio frequency technology

Athens is designed to be a standard desktop in the future, rather than a premium machine, Sands says.

The reference design is the latest specialized version of the PC that Microsoft has helped hardware companies bring to market. The Tablet PC and the Media Center PC were developed in conjunction with specific versions of Microsoft's Windows XP.

(C) 2003 Network World. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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