Despite the hoopla of the Pentium III launch two weeks ago, many people in management information systems (MIS) are unimpressed by the chip's capabilities - several even admitting a lack of awareness.
Intel launched the Pentium III with a reported US$300 million marketing budget, much of which is aimed at corporate customers.
Some managers in Hong Kong companies responsible for purchasing new PCs said the higher speeds and new features did not appeal to them.
Derek Tom, information technology manager for Asia at advertising agency BBDO Asia/Pacific, said: 'The Pentium III doesn't seem to be a huge improvement in speed. It doesn't seem that appealing actually.' Mr Tom has a tight IT budget. His main concern is cost. 'We are trying to make use of our old computers to get the most out of them,' he said.
When the company bought a new PC two weeks ago, it chose a model based on Intel's cheaper Celeron chip rather than a Pentium II. BBDO uses more Apple Macintosh computers than Windows-based PCs - about 60 Macs to 50 PCs in its Hong Kong office. However, it is switching some Macintosh users to PCs.
The Pentium III's controversial serial number security feature also did not appeal to Mr Tom. According to Intel, the feature was added to help individuals conduct e-commerce transactions securely and allow corporations to manage inventory and deliver information.
Mr Tom said: 'We're not a very big organisation, so we don't use these network management tools as we don't need to monitor every PC. I think it's a big waste of time.' For one of Hong Kong's biggest users of information technology, the serial number presents a different problem. HSBC has 12,000 PCs in Hong Kong, used both for branch teller applications and back-office operations.
