New $5,000 Multimedia Computer System Downloads Real-Time TV Programs
                        Displays Them On Monitor

HOUSTON -- The highly touted "Internet Revolution" took  another  major  step
forward Monday, when Compaq unveiled the breakthrough Compaq Presario 6000, a
$4,995 multimedia computer  system  that  enables  users  to  download  files
containing  network-television  programs  and  display  them  on  a  computer
monitor.

"Imagine watching TV at the click of a mouse, instead of a  remote  control,"
Compaq director of product development Bill Welborne said.

"With the Compaq Presario 6000 and a few reasonably  priced  add-ons,  you'll
never have to watch TV on a television again."

According to Welborne, for a $49 monthly fee, owners  of  the  Presario  6000
will  be  able  to  access  network  websites, where 300MB .vid files will be
available for download.  The downloaded files can then be conveniently viewed
on  the  Presario  6000  using  a  special  TV-dedicated  version of Netscape
Communicator 4.0, priced at just $89.95. A sound card enabling users to enjoy
the  sound  that  accompanies  the downloaded TV images is also available for
$349.

"Pictures, sound -- this is the promise  of  the  Multimedia  Age  realized,"
Welborne said.

Demonstrating the technology, Welborne stood proudly beside  a  prototype  of
the  Presario  6000 as it displayed an eight-minute segment from a recent 3rd
Rock From The Sun episode, downloaded from an NBC server in under 75 minutes.

"Please note that this is a television program," Welborne said, " but  it  is
being displayed on a computer monitor."

More exciting still, the viewing can occur in real-time concurrent  with  the
download, provided the user owns a dedicated T1 Internet connection.

"Yes, the image is somewhat  grainy  and  limited  to  just  six  frames  per
second,"  Welborne  said.   "But  the technology will only improve as 466 MHz
processors with more efficient Pipeline Burst Cache and Accelerated  Graphics
Ports  with 10 MB VRAM become standard in the consumer marketplace.  And when
they do, the images will be remarkably crisp and detailed, every bit as  good
as that of, say, a 19-inch Philips-Magnavox TV."

"This is incredible," said Wayne Messers, a  Huntington  Beach,  CA,  systems
analyst  who  sampled the Presario 6000 last weekend at the National Computer
And Electronics Expo in San Diego.  "I'm watching TV, but there's a  keyboard
in front of the screen."

Added Messers: "There's also a disk drive to the left of the screen." "When I
buy  my 6000, I'm going to have all my co-workers over to view the first-ever
Spin City episode downloaded  from  the  Internet,"  said  Peter  Rinaldi  of
Escondido, CA.  "I feel like I'm a part of history just buying this product."

The Presario 6000 will be the first computer to feature the  forthcoming  550
MHz  Intel  Pentium  III  processor,  with  MMX2(TM)  technology.  It is this
revolutionary new chip that will enable the Presario 6000 to play  television
programs  on  its monitor, a capability virtually unheard-of in an electronic
device.

As for the future, Compaq promises even more astounding  breakthroughs.   "An
even  bolder  technology  still  in  the  planning  stages involves a plug-in
computer peripheral  featuring  rows  of  metal  coils  which  heat  up  when
activated,"  Welborne  said.   "Once this device is perfected, computer users
will actually be able to convert bread into toast.  The future is now."

-- The Onion, 4 March 1998 --