IBM's Aptiva S series offers a lot to user . . . just ask it

The big daddy of the PC is still in many ways IBM. The desktop computer as most people know it today began 15 years ago when IBM brought out its first little machine.

That original PC had a 10 MB hard disk and two rather small-capacity five-inch floppy disk drives. It ran a character-based operating system that Microsoft bought off Tim Patterson. At the time it was called QDOS (quick and dirty operating system).

Much has happened in 15 years and IBM, although a little bloodied by the extraordinary development of the PC in which Microsoft and Intel seem to be the biggest winners, is still a major player. It is one of the leading makers of notebook computers and continues to produce desktops that are popular. And, IBM still does about twice the software business as Microsoft.

The latest offerings from IBM are a bit of a mixed bag for Hong Kong PC users because, as William Tse, IBM's public relations programme manager, has said, not everything that is released in the United States will be released at the same time in Hong Kong. The products will eventually make it here, though, he promised.

IBM desktop machines that have had great success are models in the Aptiva series. It is now divided into three groups called the S, E and L series. The top-of-the-line S series is aimed at what some people call the 'power user', or the user who wants the fastest, biggest and best he can get.

The S series features some rather different applications and add-ons that one does not normally find. There are Bose speakers, for example, to enhance the sound quality of the computer. There is also a special 'voice-activated' Netscape Navigator for browsing pages on the Internet.