ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260024
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARC GUNTHER KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
It's a personal computer.
No, it's a TV.
PC. TV. PC! TV!
Truth is, Gateway 2000's Destination, which was introduced last Thursday, is two media in one - a 31-inch TV screen with remote control, plus a keyboard and mouse that turn the screen into a computer monitor.
``You can browse the Internet, you can play games and then, with a click of the TV button, you can tune to television,'' says Sue Nail, a spokeswoman for Gateway 2000, the leading mail-order computer seller in the United States.
The Destination screen also permits a viewer to compute and watch TV at the same time, by placing the TV picture in a corner of the screen.
Mind you, this new system isn't for everybody. For one thing, it will sell for close to $4,000 - enough money to buy a first-class computer and a big-screen TV.
But Gateway says and, some analysts agree, that Destination is a glimpse into the future of media, an embodiment of the much-talked-about phenomenon known as convergence, which will bring together the worlds of television, cyberspace and telephone communications. (No, this new device won't make telephone calls - or toast.)
The theory behind Destination is that the personal computer, which now is used mostly for work or school, is gradually evolving into an entertainment appliance. Already, some people - albeit not very many - venture into cyberspace purely for fun.
Gateway says the new product is designed for high-income families with children who already own a computer but would like to play games or surf the Internet on a screen big enough for all to see.
The keyboard, mouse and remote control are all wireless.
``Right now, most people use their computers in a bedroom or home office,'' says Dan Ness, an analyst with Answers Research, a market research firm in Salinas, Calif. ``It's hardly ever in the living room. This takes the computer out of the closet, so to speak.''
Some skeptics, however, question whether the personal computer is really ready for prime time.
Steve Fox, executive editor of PC World magazine, says: ``The technology of the computer is not simple and clear enough, at this point. It's not a hit-the-switch-and-it-works device.'' Surfing the Internet is considerably more complex than turning on NBC or ESPN.
What's more, Fox wonders whether viewers on the living room couch really want to interact with their TV or PC.
``There's a reason why lots of us come home after a busy day at work and slouch in front of `Seinfeld.' My interaction involves laughing at the screen,'' Fox says. ``A computer is a whole different deal. It requires a lot of input and effort.''
Still, there are other signs that the functions of the TV and computer are beginning to overlap.
Sophisticated sites on the World Wide Web deliver audio and brief video clips to computer users. New networks, notably NBC and Microsoft's MSNBC news channel, are being created for both television and Internet distribution.
And local cable operators want to provide their customers with speedy access to the Internet.
Whether sales of Gateway's Destination will be driven by those trends remains to be seen.
Typically, consumers want to test and see a new product before buying it, but Gateway, based in North Sioux City, S.D., sells only through the mail. Other electronics companies, including Sony, are said to be developing similar PC-TV combinations.
Gateway 2000 catalogs can be ordered at (800) 846-2000. Information on Destination can be found on the Internet at http//www.gw2k.com
Marc Gunther writes for the Detroit Free Press.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB