By FRANCIS TOWNSEND: francis.townsend@bigfoot.com

Readers of my last article will remember that I was soldiering on using Windows 3.11. My hardware was an Escom 486/100 PC. The poor old thing, (all of 3 1/2 years which is a long time by technology standards), had been enhanced by adding a 3.1 Gb HD and 24 Mb RAM, but it was slow. Most of the new software available was for Windows 95 which would not run on my machine so the time had come for change. Last Christmas I had noticed that Tesco were offering Multimedia PCs at competitive prices. Hoping that prices might fall after Christmas I bid my time. Prices did not fall, but Tesco stocks rapidly diminished. Now was the time to act, so I took the plunge and purchased one.

My choice was for a Fujitsu Myrica 400 Mhz Multimedia PC. The specification was fairly impressive with the following: AMD K6- 2/400Mhz Processor, 17" Monitor, 64 Mb SDRAM, 10GB IDE HD, 512Kb Cache. 32x CD-ROM, 8Mb Graphics, 64 Voice Wavetable Sound Card, Amplified Speakers, Internal 56.6k Modem, Programmable Keyboard,2 serial, 1 parallel and 2 USB Ports, Wheel Mouse. Included was a Software bundle of Windows 98, MS Word 97, MS Works 4.5a, MS Publisher 98, IBM Via Voice (inc. headset), MS Encarta 99 World Atlas and MS Cart Racing. Also a choice of 6 additional titles from a comprehensive list. The price was £899.99 (inc. vat) with one year on-site warranty and free installation (if required).

Why did I choose Tesco as a supplier? To me an influencing fact was that it was local, and if it did not work they would always refund my money. An added sweetener was 'Clubcard Points'.

Why did I choose Fujitsu? Apart from this being the only system offered at this specification I had an affinity with the firm. Maybe this is only sentimental claptrap but before retiring I worked for ICL for over 40 years and ICL had been owned by Fujitsu for the last decade. I had an admiration for their technology.

I took home the two large boxes the system came in and unpacked them. One box contained the Monitor and it's cables, the other the CPU, Keyboard, Speakers, Mouse and various manuals and CDs. Apparently nothing was missing which is a good start point. I connected the various units together, purposely omitting connecting the Modem output to the telephone line. I switched on and after loading the Windows 98 screen appeared. The system then went into a set-up routine requesting information from me etc. Most set-up routines in Windows 98 use Wizards which are self explanatory.

Included were manuals for: Monitor, PC, Soundcard, Modem Card, Chipset User Manual and Windows 98 Instruction Manual. The CDs included ATi anti virus, Computime 'Flying Objects', Aztech Multimedia Studio, Logitech Mouseware, Touch Manager (to set up multifunction keyboard), Windows 98 Starts Here, IBM Via Voice (including headset) and Windows 98 System Disk (whether this is an update or full system disk I have not yet ascertained). Microsoft Works and Word complete with manual, World Atlas and Kart Racing were also included as CDs.

Having now got a working system the next job was to familiarise myself with Windows 98. As I had jumped from Windows 3.11 a number of things are different, but with frequent reference to the Windows 98 instruction manual this was soon mastered. Installing Touch Manager set up all the keyboards enhanced features, i.e. buttons to control sound volume, ejecting CDs, shutting down the system etc.

My next problem was transferring some of the software from the 486. I found that Shut-Down included the option to re-start in DOS Mode, the machine then behaves as a standard DOS machine. To transfer I used Diskconnect on both machines using a dumb terminal cable to join both machines. At 115Kbs it does not take long to transfer files, much simpler than via floppy disks.

Internet Explorer and Outlook Express are included in Windows 98 and all I had to do was to configure them to match my current Internet Provider.

I now use the free services as IPs. In my case Freeserve, TescoNet and BT Clickfree. The reason for more than one IP is that as the number of subscribers to each service increases so the chance of not connecting also increases i.e. 'line engaged'. Freeserve is my prime IP holding my E-Mail and WEB Pages, but if I can't connect either of the others gives me access.

Included with the system was 'Free Installation'. As I had succeeded in installing without any problems I opted for the alternative of a 'Free Windows 98 Tutorial CD-ROM'. It was nice to have been able to fall back on an On Site Installation but this would involve waiting a few days for an engineer to arrive and was not necessary.

Conclusion:

Would I buy again from Tesco. YES. Although my system might not be the very fastest available it is much faster than the 486 and is among the Pentiums. Perhaps any reader might have further details on the AMD K6 against a Pentium but I am happy with what I have got.

Postscript:

When I visited my Tesco today I saw that they now stock a different Myrica. Same spec. as mine except for the following: Intel Plll 450Mhz (with 512k cache) and 128 Mb RAM. Also the price has risen by £ 180. Is there any reader who is familiar with the performance etc. difference between AMD K6-2/400Mhz and Pentium Plll 450Mhz. The problem with such speedy technological advances is it is difficult to hit a moving target.

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