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What happened to the box? Looking at the ViewSonic VPC100

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As was suggested on the previous page, the computer is only available in black.  Presumably, this makes it easier to choose.
Further, there is a large bezel area below the monitor (perhaps 12 cm high and the full width of the computer) which contains the 'computer' in the system.

Now, it may be true that the receptionist in your company will love this for the ability to festoon it with sticky-notes, but it seems to me that the whole system could be re-designed to mount the 'smarts' behind the LCD panel to permit a smaller appearance.  Of course this will reduce the bragging appeal of a slender system, but so what.

Being wide-screen format, this computer is ideal for viewing cinema-derived videos, which leaves something of a quandary.  Although capable of delivering such video, it may not have sufficient computing power to render high-definition video.

So, a quick round-up of pros and cons.

Pros: All-in-one form factor.  Coolness.  Price (RRP is $899, but as low as $650 on line).  The monitor (the View Sonic pedigree is obvious).

Cons: The keyboard (rush out and buy a replacement!) has an 'amusing' layout.  Performance.  Flexibility.  The DVD drawer – I was very concerned at how weakly mounted it seemed to be.  Perhaps a slot-load unit would have been a better choice.

Who would buy one of these?  I see two markets.  Those who need a relatively stylish low physical impact PC; for instance cloud-based corporates who need browser-based workstations.

The alternate being home users who want a good-looking machine to be 'seen' in their stylish apartment; there are plenty of people who fit that bill!

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David Heath

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David Heath has over 25 years experience in the IT industry, specializing particularly in customer support, security and computer networking. Heath has worked previously as head of IT for The Television Shopping Network, as the network and desktop manager for Armstrong Jones (a major funds management organization) and has consulted into various Australian federal government agencies (including the Department of Immigration and the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence). He has also served on various state, national and international committees for Novell Users International; he was also the organising chairman for the 1994 Novell Users' Conference in Brisbane. Heath is currently employed as an Instructional Designer, building technical training courses for industrial process control systems.

More in this category: « Review: Lian Li PC-Q07B mini-ITX case Falling in love: the ViewSonic VNB101 netbook »
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