PC Prices Falling Like Autumn Leaves

It was just last year when sub-one thousand dollar computers made headlines. Now...IBM is out with one that sells for 599. It is the first brand name computer company to break the 600 dollar barrier with the Apitva D1N. IBM's Bruce Rasa expects the 300 megahertz machine with 32 megs of RAM and a 3.2 gigabyte hard drive...to be popular...

"It's really capturing people's attention, frankly. As a second PC, either for a child or as a gift for senior citizens. In fact, one of the interesting responses we get from people sometimes is, it's so affordable, I'll take two."

It wouldn't make a great game machine, but it does come with a 56K modem. So does the 699 dollar Presario 2266 from Compaq. It has twice the memory and a 4 gigabyte hard drive. Compaq's Michael Rubin...

"With the introduction of the Presario 2266, not only are we bringing PCs at lower price points, but we also have optimized them for expandability into the future. The 2266 includes both expandability from a PC card slot standpoint, as well as drive bays."

The lower prices will likely mean a lot more households will find computers affordable.