Building upon five generations of design enhancements, Gateway, Inc. today launched the Gateway Profile 5.5, the newest version of the company’s all-in-one desktop line.
With this newest upgrade to the space-saving series, the Gateway Profile 5.5 packs more processing punch per square inch, featuring Intel’s next-generation 915G chipset, integrated Intel graphics with up to 128MB shared memory and higher-bandwidth serial ATA (SATA) hard drives. The fully field-serviceable desktop also continues to offer 15-inch, 17-inch or 19-inch screen sizes.
Targeted at businesses, government agencies and educational institutions, the Gateway Profile 5.5 has a starting price point of under $1,400. Standard configurations include a 17-inch screen and Pentium 4 processor, but multiple options are available.
“Customers now have the best of both worlds with the new Gateway Profile 5.5,” said Marc Demars, Gateway’s director of business desktops in the press release. “Not only does the new PC maintain its space-saving form-factor, but it now also offers Intel’s newest 915G chipset, higher-capacity SATA hard drives and greatly enhanced graphics capabilities.”
As with the Profile 5, the 5.5 version offers easy-to-use floppy and optical drives accessible from the front of the computer, as well as two IEEE 1394 and six USB 2.0 ports on the side and back. While the Intel 915G chipset (featuring an Intel Pentium 4 520 processor with HT technology (2.8GHz, 800 MHz front-side bus, 1 MB cache) is standard, the PC is also available with Intel Celeron D processor options.
The Profile 5.5 also supports up to 2GB of DDR RAM and hard drives ranging in capacity from 40GB to 250GB. The PC features built-in gigabit Ethernet, optional 802.11g wireless and Gateway Client Manager software based on LANDesk technology, which allows IT managers to easily monitor and manage PCs across their network. The Profile 5.5 is available with either Microsoft Windows XP Pro or Microsoft Windows XP Home and comes standard with a standard, three-year limited warranty.
PC Magazine has a slideshow of photos taken from various angles here (make sure you haven’t eaten recently).
MacDailyNews Take: Yuck. If this doesn’t highlight the vast gulf between Apple’s and the Wintel box assemblers’ design abilities, nothing ever will.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Beleaguered Gateway to ditch consumer electronics to focus on PC box assembly – September 13, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway cuts another 1,500 jobs; has cut 22,600 jobs in last four years – April 30, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway grinds up customer and spits him out unsatisfied – April 02, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway closes all retail stores; Apple poised to open 77th outlet – April 01, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway to axe over 2,000 jobs in next few months – March 03, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway to buy eMachines; combo could be 3rd largest Wintel box assembler – January 31, 2004
Beleaguered Gateway cuts more jobs; closes Virginia manufacturing plant – September 03, 2003
Beleaguered Gateway puts on a happy face – December 16, 2002
Beleaguered Gateway ditches cow on its way to slaughterhouse – October 31, 2002
Beleaguered Gateway desperately circling the drain – September 25, 2002
I’m sorry, but this HAS to be the funniest thread based on the funniest product in years!
I’m glad I wasn’t:
1) Drinking anything
2) Reading this 3-hours after I drank
3) Eating
4) An epileptic
SB
Congrats to everyone who’s posted above me, you’ve made my day!
What a horrible piece of shit!!!
Apparently it IS wall mountable – they even supply the nails.
MSN has missed the funniest bit from the Gateway press release:
“While end users enjoy the Profile’s sleek design, IT managers benefit from the unit’s lower total cost of ownership”
Who said Americans have no sense of irony?
Hey, I have feelings…
🙁
It was a last-minute design damnit… they wanted a top quality 1400 PC… I thought it would have a neat retro design, like in the 80’s…
The new Gateway iSore
Hey, it’s a Gateway? What were you expecting? Industrial design? Class? Good looks? Lust-enducing coolness?
If you were, well, I’m afraid there’s no more hope for you than Gateway’s stock prices.
http://products.gateway.com/products/gconfig/prodhmseries.asp?seg=hm&gcseries=prf5
I can’t get the product demo to run in safari or firefox, though
laughing is good for your health
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
We have ordered a number of these elegant computers for the following reasons:
1) It matches the decor of our retro office.
2) The floppy drive allows us to play all of our favorite Windows 95 games that push the shared video memory.
3) It works so very well with the superior Dell DJ mp3 player.
4) It supports the revolutionary Windows Media Player (WiMP) Music Store and other leading lights of the digital download age such as BuyMusic.con, WalMartMusic.con, and Napster.con.
5) The heat generated by the Pentium 4 chip will cut oyr winter heating bill in half.
If you can see the demo, it’s even more sad…
I truly feel for those guys – I love their boxes!
SB
Is it made of bakelite?
I was thinking the same thing! It looks like the base of an old oscillating fan.
Gateway bought eMachines (the new name for Packard Bell), so you figure they were going for the lowest end of the market. I can’t understand why they even attempted something like this. And shared RAM; man, that’s going to make for some great game action! Maybe Steve Ballmer had a hand in the design…
“Apparently it IS wall mountable – they even supply the nails.”
Hoot!
When I first saw this thing I figured it had to be a joke from somebody with a fine sense of humor.
Even better; somewhere out there are engineers and marketing people who actually believe this is a quality product. More justification for a drain and fill of the shallow end of the gene pool.
Truly a classic thread, no doubt. So I’ll toss in a few more words…
As for the topic that resulted in such hilarity, vitriol and wit, I, too, will wonder if anyone else will pick up on the lame attempt by Gateway to create an “all in one” unit. After all, there’s a missing letter and apostrophe in their name to begin with. Shouldn’t it be “Gate’sway”? This is a total an utter flop. I’ll be surprised if they even give these things away. I’m with those who say it looks like a microfiche. It might have been fashionable and “high tech” enough for Space 1999 or Buck Rogers. Then again, probably not.
I can not believe some one would make a pc so ugly. That thing is so bad I feel sorry for Gateway. They need to stop making pc’s asap. Gosh, what an eye sore.
If they made personal computers back in the 50’s, do you think thats what it would look like? Time for a new drawing board, that one is broken!
OMG are they serious….i thought this was a joke…u guys are funny as hell also nice comments
Wow today is a beautifull day
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
This thread is so much fun and liberating! (hey Gateway users, don’t feel offended)
My take is that some people are so much in denial towards the simple beauty of Apple designs that their minds make up some inverted bizarro logic about what is beautifull, and there you have the results…Imagine… some people working at Gateway really believe it looks much better than the G5 iMac!
You don’t understand! You have to see its various angles!!
It’s like a Gateway NG982734 on Steroids!
Well I didn’t barf. But the graphite body with brushed nickel accents reminds me of Mr. Spock’s tricorder (circa 1966). It’s clearly a paradigm example of American precision engineering and industrial design (like an AMC Pacer).
Twenty Benson:
Speaking of nails, this thing must the last nail in the coffin for Gateway.
LOL
Longhorn BBQ at my place!
LOL
Keep it up Gateway! It’s work of this , uh, caliber that helps me appreciate my Apple hardware!
Looks like a Russian-cold-war model to me
A guiding principle of good design is that FORM follows FUNCTION. In this case, the designers were obviously misinFORMed and their design skills malFUNCTIONed.
See, you guys have just been using Macs too long to understand.
In the Windows world, if it’s not the usual “black-and-silver is the new beige” desktop box or tower, it’s “design”.
In the Windows world, the floppy has only departed so recently that many people still have tons of stuff on them, and won’t buy a computer without one.
The Windows world is run by bean-counters for whom beauty is all very well and good, but not if you can get ugly much cheaper. Style and comfort are frivolous luxuries that don’t add to the bottom line.
I’ve never seen a computer that looked more like it was thought up by a committee of accountants than this new Profile.
The G5 iMac: Where did the computer go?
The Gateway Profile 5.5: We glued it under the monitor stand! Nice, huh?