ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 4, 1996 TAG: 9606040045
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The moves, timed for the beginning of the Spring Comdex trade show in Chicago, marked a routine advance in system performance and features.
Earlier this year, PC makers accelerated their price cuts, denting their profit margins, as growth slowed. But the more recent cuts, capped with those by Hewlett-Packard, have been part of a standard pattern in the PC industry as products age and new models come along. Hewlett-Packard's cuts ranged from 4 percent to 26 percent.
``What we saw in February and March were more price actions and deeper than we or anybody had planned,'' said Bruce Claflin, vice president and general manager of Digital's PC business. ``So far this quarter, it's back to normalcy.''
Digital changed its main line of desktop models, being renamed from Venturis to Venturis FX, to make the machines easier to service, a move designed to appeal to technicians within companies.
For instance, the main circuit board, or motherboard, has been placed on a rail to slide out in a few seconds and most of the components that are routinely upgraded have been placed at the front of that circuitry.
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB