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alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 FAQ Part 1 of 3

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Timothy S. Brannan

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Mar 9, 2000, 3:00:00 AM3/9/00
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Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/gateway2000/part1
Last-modified: March 1, 2000
Last-Posted: Febuary 1, 2000
Next-Posting: April 1, 2000
Posting-Frequency: the first of every month
URL: http://come.to/alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.faq
Maintainer: Timothy S. Brannan (Tbra...@usa.net)

Section 1: General Information
1.1) Questions about alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000, FAQs, & Usenet.
1.1.1) What is alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000?
1.1.2) What is the Usenet and "Netiquette"?
1.1.3) Where can I get a copy of this FAQ?
1.1.4) What can/can't I post to the newsgroup?
1.1.5) Where can I ask for help?
1.1.6) What other newsgroups can I use?
1.1.7) What does TLA mean?

1.2) Questions about Gateway.
1.2.1) What is Gateway (Gateway 2000)?
1.2.1.1) What's up with the cows?
1.2.1.2) What is going on with Gateway and the lawsuits?
1.2.1.3) How has Gateway made history?
1.2.2) Why should I buy a Gateway system?
1.2.3) How can I get in touch with Gateway 2000?
1.2.4) Does Gateway provide support on the Internet?
1.2.4.1) Does Gateway have a world wide web site?
1.2.4.2) Does Gateway have an FTP site?
1.2.4.3) Does Gateway have a Telnet site?
+1.2.4.4) Does Gateway have a Usenet Server?
1.2.5) Where can I get current prices/specs?
+1.2.6) Does Gateway charge sales tax in my state?
1.2.6.1) Why does Gateway charge sales tax?
+1.2.7) What other companies does Gateway own?
1.2.7.1) What is the status of Gateway's ISP(Gateway.Net)?
*1.2.7.2) What is Gateway doing with Amiga?
1.2.8) Why won't Gateway Techs help me with my 3rd party product?

1.3) Other Sources of Information.
1.3.1) Gateway 2000 mailing list.
1.3.2) Gateway's own mailing lists.
1.3.3) What other FAQ's should I read?
1.3.4) Contact information for related companies.
1.3.5) Where can I get cow spotted (and other) goodies?
1.3.6) How do I contact the 10th Anniversary Club?
1.3.7) Where are some personal Gateway2000 Homepages?

1.4) Rumors about Gateway2000.
1.4.1) Gateway is owned/has been bought by...
1.4.1.1) Bill Gates.
1.4.1.2) Intel.
1.4.1.3) Motorola.
1.4.1.4) Compaq.
1.4.1.5) IBM.
1.4.2) Gateway is going out of business.
+1.4.3) Gateway (and/or Dell) will use AMD chips.
1.4.4) Gateway is moving to San Diego, Irvine, CA or New York.

Section 1: General Information

1.1) Questions about alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000, FAQs, & Usenet.

1.1.1) What is alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000?
Alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000 is an Usenet newsgroup for discussions on
issues regarding Gateway computers. It is not only for owners of these
computers, but for potential owners and the curious as well.
The newsgroup started on Thursday, 29 Jul 1993 12:09:55 GMT from the
UUNET control message from John M. Grohol from Nova University. The
first message was from Nelia Lyda to Tod Pike. It was designed as
discussion group for Gateway 2000 owners. It's earliest incarnations
(parents?) were a discussion group on Prodigy and Fido Net newsgroup
of the same name. An unofficial home page was created at
http://www.mcs.com/~brooklyn/home.html. (which is now down).
The first version of the newsgroup FAQ was posted on September 21,
1993.
Current Statistics for the Newsgroup.
- Actual readers of this group: 23000
- Average number of messages per day: 118
- Kilobytes per day: 163k
- Percentage of Internet sites who receive this group: 52%
- Crossposting: 7%

Thanks to Tod Pike, David Eitelbach, Mike Friedman and Nelia Lyda for
this historical information.

1.1.2) What is the Usenet and "Netiquette"?
Basically, the Usenet is a world-wide distribution system of messages
and information. Alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 is one of over 20,000
different newsgroups.
To get the most and best information on what the Usenet is (and
isn't!) you should check the FAQ archive (of which this FAQ is part
of) at http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/what-is/part1/
"Netiquette" is Net-Etiquette, very clever huh. It is the common rules
and courtesies used when posting to the various Usenet newsgroups. to
get more information on Netiquette check,
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/posting-rules/part1/

1.1.3) Where can I get a copy of this FAQ?
This FAQ is located at the following sites,
- http://come.to/alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.faq
- http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/gateway.html
- http://www.wwa.com/~brannans/gateway.html
- http://www.faqs.org/faqs/pc-hardware-faq/gateway2000/
-
http://www.landfield.com/faqs/by-newsgroup/alt/alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.html

- ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000
http://www2.uic.edu/~tbrann1/gateway.html is now down.
This FAQ is posted once each month (around the first) to the news
groups alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000 , alt.answers and news.answers.
An announcement is also posted on Gateway's news server,
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw and to the comp.sys.amiga and the
comp.sys.amiga.advocacy news groups.

1.1.4) What can/can't I post to the newsgroup?
Any questions regarding a Gateway PC is perfectly fine and very
welcome. Also questions regarding purchases of new/used Gateway PCs is
fine.
Other issues should be handled as follows,
- HTML/MIME Text.. Not everyone reads the newsgroup the same way.
Please post only in plain text.
- Binaries. Please refrain from posting binary files. This increases
the newsgroup traffic and may prompt a news administrator to drop the
group. Instead try any of the appropriate "alt.binaries.*" or
"comp.binaries.*" groups and include a pointer to it.
- For Sale/Wanted to Buy. If you have any item for sale please put FS
for "For Sale", WTB for "Wanted to Buy", or WFT for "Wanted for Trade"
in the subject line. You may also post in any of the "*.forsale.*"
newsgroups and place a pointer to it. Try
news://misc.foresale.computers.
- Crossposting. Crossposting also increases network traffic. If it is
important to more than one group then fine. But in general it is best
to avoid it.
- Commercial Advertising. Refrain from trying to sell something not
related to this newsgroup. There are thousands of other groups that
are more appropriate. Please read the "Advertising on Usenet FAQ" at
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/advertising/how-to/part1/
- MAKE.MONEY.FAST and Chain letters. Really, this should go without
saying. But here it is. Do not post the infamous MAKE.MONEY.FAST
letter. It is a scam. No one has ever made any money on this but you
will lose your internet account, and at least one person has gone to
jail over it.
The same goes for chain letters. In brief; the cookies are good, but
cheap; the kid got better, thanks for the cards; and no one lost
sexual potency from not forwarding e-mail.
- Virus Announcements. Before warning the world of a "new" virus,
check to be sure that it is not a virus hoax. "Good Times" and "Join
the Crew" are two (in)famous examples. Neither is a virus, so no need
to warn us.
These are only suggestions. It is up to you to judge to
appropriateness of your own post.

1.1.5) Where can I ask for help?
There are two different groups that are set up to answer questions
from Gateway system owners. The first is the Netnews group
alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000. This was created in the middle of 1993
and is enjoying increased propagation and participation from the
Netnews community. If your site gets Netnews, but does not receive
this group, you should ask your news administrator to add it.
The second group is a mailing list for Gateway owners. You can
subscribe to the list by sending a mail
message to gateway20...@sei.cmu.edu.
This is an automatic subscription system - a mail message with a
subject of help will get you a list of recognized commands. Sending a
message with a subject of subscribe will subscribe you to the list.
Note that the address for the list itself and the address you need to
use to subscribe and unsubscribe are not the same.
To unsubscribe send unsubscribe in the subject of a message to
gateway20...@sei.cmu.edu.
The mailing list is not just a copy of the newsgroup, but is a forum
for getting quick responses to problems and questions. There are many
helpful people on the list, and Dave Grabowski deserves
special mention as being especially helpful. Other very useful posts
have come from Tim Folker and Lance Cummings. The list has a higher
ratio of technical information to commentary than does the
newsgroup alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.

1.1.6) What other newsgroups can I use?
Dr. John M. Grohol posts the PC-Clone Hardware Newsgroup Pointer FAQ
to this and many other newsgroups.It will help you know what hardware
related newsgroups are about and how to find the information you
need in them. Like all FAQs it is located at RTFM.
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/alt.sys.pc-
clone.gateway2000/ PC-Clone_Hardware_Newsgroup_Pointer.
It can also be found at,
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/finding-groups/pc-hardware/index.html

1.1.7) What does TLA mean?
TLA is a three letter acronym for "Three Letter Acronym"! The computer
industry, the Usenet, the Internet and nearly every profession has
it's own set of terms and acronyms.
The Usenet is particularly full of them because they save time in
typing or (as in my case) aid in horrendously bad spelling!
Here are some common TLA's to be found in
alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.

FAQ Frequently Asked Question
Gw2k Gateway 2000
IMHO In My Humble/Honest Opinion
RTFM Read The F***ing Manual
IDK I Don't Know
AFAIK As Far As I Know
YMMV Your Mileage May Vary
YRMV Your Results May Vary
GTW Gateway's stock symbol on the New York Stock Exchange.
Other abbreviations can be found at Tla.html.

1.2) Questions about Gateway.
1.2.1) What is Gateway (Gateway 2000)?
Gateway (formerly Gateway 2000) is the second leading direct marketer
of personal computers in the United States. Gateway develops,
manufactures, markets and supports a broad line of desktop, laptop,
business and family computers for business, individuals, families,
government agencies and educational institutions.
Gateway was started by Ted Waitt, chairman and CEO, in September 1985,
in Sioux City, Iowa. He was 22 years old at the time. He was joined by
business partner Mike Hammond, vice president and later his brother
Norman Waitt, who later left. The company moved to its present
location in North Sioux City, South Dakota, in January 1990.
Gateway, sells computers on the direct market. You call up Gateway and
order your PC to either your specifics or choose a general
configuration it is then shipped to you. This method has proven to be
very successful for Gateway.
Gateway is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE :GTW) after
going public in 1993. Ted Waitt initially invested $10,000.00 in
Gateway, today his personal wealth is listed by Forbes at $3
Billion.
Starting in April, 1998 Gateway announced it was changing it's name to
Gateway, from Gateway 2000, and a new logo and ad campaign. Adds have
appeared in many large newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune, the
Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. You can find more
information regarding Gateway at their web site,
http://www.gateway.com/corp/aboutgw/

1.2.1.1) What's up with the cows?
Waitt grew up as a fifth generation Midwesterner. The previous four
generations of Waitts were cattlemen, a breed known for their
independent, risk-taking approach to business. Ted Waitt took the
cattleman's spirit into the world of high technology.
With his Midwestern and cattlemen roots deeply in place, Waitt choose
the Holstein cow as the company's mascot. It is also to remind us how
Gateway got their start; in a barn next to the cows!

1.2.1.2) What is going on with Gateway and the lawsuits?
Part of the reality of being a large business are lawsuits. Without
getting into detail or taking sides, here is a breakdown of recent
lawsuits against or by Gateway2000.
Much of my information comes courtesy of Jim Taylor, senior
vice-president of global marketing, who was kind enough to give me a
personal phone call and also had this to say about Gateway's current
lawsuits, "We have built tremendous relationships with customers built
on trust. A person has to call us up, buy something they've never
seen, that hasn't been built and trust us to deliver it. So the
defense of our name and the integrity of that name is really
critical," (PC Week, January 24, 1997) .

Gateway2000 v. Mark H. Berkowitz
CrystalScan Monitors and 486 Upgradable Computers.
Gateway recently settled a class-action lawsuit regarding the 486
computers that were advertised as Pentium-ready. This lawsuit also
covers certain MAG Innovision monitors that Gateway has sold. If you
have any of these components, then Gateway will be mailing
certificates for extended warranties or for price reductions on your
next Gateway2000 purchase.Questions on this should be directed to
1-888-888-1090.

Gateway2000 v. TUCOWS
This suit was over TUCOWS use of Holstein cows on their Internet pages
and ads. This is the letter from Gateway2000 to TUCOWS:

Registered Mail From Gateway 2000, Inc.
----
October 22, 1996
CERTIFIED MAILRETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Scott Swedorski, President
TUCOWS
5415 Dundas Street West
Suite 301
Etobicoke, Ontario
M9B 1B5
CANADA
RE: Use of Holstein Cow by TUCOWS

Dear Mr. Swedorski:

It has come to our attention that your company is infringing on a
valuable trademark of Gateway 2000, Inc. Specifically, we note that
you are depicting Holstein cows on your web site to promote your
company.Please be advised that Gateway 2000, Inc. owns the valid and
subsisting federal Reg No. 1,725,231, marks consisting of a stylized
design representing cow spots. This trademark and the Holstein cow are
widely associated with Gateway 2000 and represent valuable goodwill
and company assets. Gateway 2000, Inc. has promoted the Holstein cow
and cow spots extensively to the consuming public and the trade,
including the display of its cow spots trademark on boxes in which
itsproducts are shipped, which in 1995 amounted to almost 3.7 billion
insales.
Your company's use of the Holstein cow and cow spots in connection
with services relating to products of Gateway 2000 is likely to
confuse and deceive the consuming public. We therefore call upon
TUCOWS to cease all use of trademarks of Gateway
2000immediately.Please contact us within ten (10) days of receipt of
this letter with written assurances that TUCOWS has undertaken to
cease its infringement of our registered trademarks.
Absent a satisfactory response from you, we will take whatever legal
action we deem appropriate without further notice to you.

Sincerely,
William M. Elliott
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
l610 Gateway Drive P.O. Box 2000
North Sioux City, South Dakota
57049-2000
Telephone 605-232-2000 Fax 605-232-2023 Toll Free 800-846-2000
-------------------------------------------------------------
This suit has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both
parties.

Gateway2000 v. Cyrix
Gateway2000 sued Cyrix over the use of cows in their ads against
Gateway. This suit has also been resolved and Cyrix has pulled the
ads.

Gateway2000 v. Alan B. Clegg
Gateway2000 has sued Mr. Clegg for "predatory Business practices" for
his use of "www.Gateway.com" as an Internet site. Gateway 2000 claims
that Mr. Clegg infringes on their copyright. Alan Clegg claims that
the term "gateway" is generic, and therefore he can use it.
As of the beginning of March 1997 the law has agreed with Mr. Clegg,
Gateway 2000 is appealing the judges rule.

Recent developments in this case: Gateway 2000 has gained ownership of
www.gateway.com, Alan Clegg's site has moved to www.firehouse.net.

Gateway2000 v. Jeff Blackmon
Jeff Blackmon was an unhappy former employee with Gateway2000. After
he quit his job as a computer technician he wanted the world to know
his opinion of his former employer. He created and posted the (now
infamous and defunct) "Gateway 2000 Sucks" page. The pages included,
"Top Ten Reasons Not to Buy a Gateway computer", "How to Outsmart
Tech Support" and Ted Waitt's personal email account. Gateway sued
Mr. Blackmon on his use of copyrighted Gateway2000 images and logos.
They successfully obtained a court order against Mr. Blackmon. While
Gateway acknowledged that Blackmon has a right to express his
opinions about Gateway, they did sue to keep him from using their
copyrighted logos. Mr. Blackmon agreed to remove the pages and Gateway
did not seek the hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. Gateway
also said they would look into Blackmon's complaints.
The "Gateway 2000 Sucks" page debuted in January 1996 and was removed
in October of 1996.

Gateway2000 v. Hill
In Hill v. Gateway 2000, Inc., 105 F. 3d 1147 (7th Cir. 1997), a
federal appeals court held that telephone purchasers of a Gateway
2000 computer were bound by an arbitration clause in a license
agreement placed in a computer box.
The court analogized to other scenarios in which contract terms are
imposed after the purchase of goods or services and are accepted by
conduct -- buying an insurance policy, an airline ticket, a concert
ticket or a product containing the warranty on the box -- and rejected
the theory that the shrink-wrap contract terms were an amendment to
the underlying purchase and sale agreement, enforceable only if
agreed to by the buyer.
The Hills ordered their computer by telephone and paid for it by
credit card. Within a few days, a box arrived containing the computer
and a list of terms that purported to govern the relationship of the
parties unless the purchasers returned the computer within 30 days.
The Hills kept the computer more than 30 days before complaining about
its components and performance.
The Hills filed suit in federal court, and Gateway 2000 asked the
court to enforce the arbitration clause.
When the trial judge refused, Gateway appealed to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
The question before the court was: are the terms in the box effective
as the parties' contract, or is the contract term-free because the
order-taker did not read any of the terms over the phone and elicit
the customer's prior assent to them- The court held that the contract
contained in the computer box was enforceable. Circuit Judge
Easterbrook, who also wrote the opinion in ProCD, reiterated that a
vendor may invite acceptance by conduct and may limit the type of
conduct that constitutes acceptance. The court concluded that by
keeping the computer more than 30 days, the Hills accepted Gateway's
offer, including the arbitration clause.

Gateway2000 v. FTC
Gateway 2000 Settles FTC False Ad Charges 07/23/98 WASHINGTON, DC,
U.S.A., 1998 JUL 23
(NB) -- By Bill Pietrucha, Newsbytes.
Gateway 2000 [NYSE:GTW] has agreed to pay $290,000 to settle
allegations the company made numerous false statements in advertising
its refund policy and its on-site warranty service.

Gateway v. Web America Networks
Gateway has sued Web America Networks for "failure to meet the needs
and expectations of Gateway and its customers." Web America has been
providing Internet Service to Gateway for it's Gateway.Net customers.
This follows a "breach of contract" lawsuit filed by Web America
against Gateway.
While the lawsuits are proceeding, Gateway.Net customers are
encouraged to download new internet connection software.
More information can be found at
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2189230,00.html
and http://www.gateway.net/.


1.2.1.3) How has Gateway made history?
Most companies would be happy with the sales-history Gateway has done.
But Gateway has also made history in other ways.
Gateway was the first PC company to offer CD-ROMs, CD-Recordables and
DVDs as standard equipment. They were also the first to offer Pentium
Pro and Pentium II systems, including the 400mhz.
Among Gateway's other first's in the computer buisness are:
- The first mail order company to offer a catalog store, Gateway
Country.
- The first to offer Internet connections with a new PC.
- Your :) Ware program first of it's kind for the home direct market.
Also Gateway was the first, and only, computer to be sold in space.
Two MIR cosmonauts purchased two Gateway G6-233 systems from MIR's
internet service.
Gateway also was thrust into the world of E-commerce as President
Clinton and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern signed an historic
communique at Gateway's Dublin headquarters. This was the first ever
digitally signed communique on world commerce. It was done on two
Gateway FireAnt Laptops.

1.2.2) Why should I buy a Gateway system?
There are many different companies that make IBM PC clones; most of
these are viable machines that will do the job for you. The real
question that you need to ask yourself when thinking about purchasing
a machine is "What do I want from this system, and what am I willing
to put up with?" If you do not understand systems at all, and don't
want to learn, you will probably be better off with a system from a
large ("first tier") company such as IBM or Compaq. These companies
put out computers that are more expensive, but they provide first rate
support and documentation and are willing to hold your hand when
you don't understand what is going on.
On the other hand, if you are willing to do some work yourself, you
can save considerable money by purchasing from a mail order house. At
this point, you should be looking for a company that is stable,
will be around for a while to provide support, and gives good value
for the money. While there are quite a few companies that meet these
criteria, many of the people in this group have chosen (surprise!)
Gateway 2000. We feel that although there are some problems with
Gateway as a company, the systems they produce are the best for the
money around.
Frequent problems reported with Gateway are difficulties contacting
the Technical Support staff, late delivery on systems, problems with
the CD-ROMs, and some problems with the monitors. The first two
are prevalent with companies that are growing too fast; Gateway is now
shipping close to 7600 systems *per day*. This is up 38% from last
year. Trying to contact Gateway's toll-free telephone tech support has
been difficult, according to most reports. It had improved for a
while, then slipped again, and now it is on the upswing again. Gateway
has introduced a premium support alternative.
Gateway is now getting their modems from 3Com/US Robotics, which has a
good reputation in the field. Also, the quality of the monitors (made
by MAG) has also improved. Some of the larger monitors
have Sony tubes, which are considered one of the best in the market.
On the plus side of Gateway, they do produce very nicely configured
systems at close to the best cost around. They put some first-rate
parts into their systems (the ATI GUP board was very good, and their
hard disks and motherboards are made by top notch companies) and often
upgrade their systems with newer and better components. In short, if
you are willing to put up with a few problems and are willing to spend
some time diagnosing any system problems, Gateway will give you a good
system for the money.
Gateway was the first PC company to offer CD-ROMs and DVDs as standard
equipment. They were also the first to offer Pentium Pro and Pentium
II systems, including the 400mhz. Also Gateway was the first, and
only, computer to be sold in space. Two MIR cosmonauts purchased two
Gateway G6-233 systems from MIR's internet service. Gateway has
recently been voted highest in customer loyalty. With as many as 50%
of Gateway's customers saying they would be a repeat buyer.

1.2.3) How can I get in touch with Gateway 2000?
Here are the telephone numbers and addresses for the various
departments (from the manuals) :
Mailing Address
Gateway
P.O. Box 2000
610 Gateway Dr.
North Sioux City, SD 57049-2000
USA Numbers:
- Customer Service: 1-800-846-2000 Fax: 605-232-2023
- Technical Support: 1-800-846-2301 Fax: 605-232-2182
- Add-on Components: 1-800-846-2080 Fax: 605-232-2121
- Portable Tech Support: 1-800-846-2302
- Automated Tech Support: 1-800-846-2118
- FaxBack service: 1-800-846-4526
- Gateway 2000 BBS: 605-232-2224 (V.32 BIS/HST 300-38400 BPS)
- Gateway 2000 BBS: 1-800-846-7562 (fixes and drivers only)
- Technical Telecommunications Device for the Deaf: 1-800-846-1778
Overseas Offices:
- International calls: 1-605-232-2000
- International Tech Support: 1-605-232-2191
- Dublin office: 353-1-797-2000
- Customer Service Fax: 353-1-848-2022
- European Faxback 353-1-867-0400
- European BBS: 353-1-867-0433
- European BBS: 0800-97-3140 (free-phone, from UK only)
- UK Sales office: 0800-20-2000
- Ireland office: 1800-44-2000
- Ireland Tech Support: 1800-46-2000
- France Sales: 353-1-797-3040
- France Sales Fax: 353-1-797-3700
- France Showroom Fax: 331-1-45-63-4569
- Germany Sales: 353-1-797-4040
- Germany Sales Fax: 353-1-797-4700
- Japan Customer Service: 0120-54-2000 or 045-338-2000
- Japan Customer. Service. Fax: 045-338-2046
- Australia Sales: 1800-648-096
- Australia Customer Service and Support: 1800-802-776
- Australia Fax: 844-8588
- New Zealand Sales: 0800-445-868
- New Zealand Support: 0800-445-765
- New Zealand Customer Service: 0800-445-766
- Canada Sales: 800-846-3609 or 605-232-2191
- Canada Sales Fax: 605-232-2613
New: Gateway Dial-up Server:
Telephone Number: Toll free- 1-888-888-0520
Username: gwclient
Password:(there is no password)
Protocol: TCP/IP with DHCP enabled
URL: http://gateway.your.way
Modems 72 X2 modems
Configure a new Dialup Connection in your Dialup Networking program
using the information above.
Dial the number and wait for a connect box. Login, wait for the
connection to be established and then
open your browser. type http://gateway.your.way in the URL box and
press Enter. It may take a few
seconds. This is a toll free area to get drivers and other
information.
Internet:
GATEWAY'S OFFICIAL WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) SITES:
- http://www.gateway.com/
- http://www.GatewayCountry.com/
- http://www.destination.com/
- http://www.gateway.net
GATEWAY'S OFFICIAL FTP SITE:
- ftp://ftp.gateway.com
Gateway support personnel:
COMPUSERVE (TO ACCESS THE FORUM, TYPE GO GATEWAY) :
- 75300,1300 - Forum Administrator (Brian Kelly)
- 74774,3022 - Technician (Cynthia Correia)
AMERICA ONLINE (TYPE KEYWORD GATEWAY):
- G2KBrian - Forum Administrator (Brian Kelly)
- G2KLori - Technician (Lori Seibold)
These are addresses of contacts at Gateway, but the address to use for
tech support and client relations
is sup...@gateway.com.
It's understandably tempting to e-mail or CC a favorite technician at
Gateway. A lot of people are doing this, which results in good
technicians getting swamped. Please resist the temptation and instead
just e-mail sup...@gateway.com, allowing Gateway to fairly distribute
the workload.
- Web Submission Page. Just click right here,
http://www.gateway.com/home/support/contact_tech to submit an email on
the Gateway website. There's a handy, easy-to-fill-out form located
here for your convenience.
- sup...@gateway.com is for Technical Support and Client Relations.
Please don't e-mail or CC individual representatives unless you are
carrying on an already established e-mail dialog
with them. Also, when you compose your message, be sure to include
your full name, customer ID, Serial Number and Order Number, or as
many of those as you can find, and also give a complete description of
the problem. The more detail, the less emails back and forth.
- E-mail super...@gw2kbbs.com to get the boss.
Gateway now offers specialized e-mail tech support for various system
components.
- Motherboard questions, mot...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Modem questions (except portables) , mo...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Multimedia questions, multi...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Network questions, port...@gw2kbbs.com.
- All portable questions, port...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Questions on GW2K software sent with system, soft...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Storage device questions, sto...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Video questions, vi...@gw2kbbs.com.
- All Destination questions, desti...@gw2kbbs.com.
- Customer Service questions (non-technical) , cust...@gw2kbbs.com.
All e-mail sent to these addresses is also CCed to te...@gw2kbbs.com,
so don't CC there yourself.

1.2.4) Does Gateway provide support on the Internet?
Yes. At http://www.gateway.com/support/, there is a large support
section with Tech Docs, FAQs, a customer newsgroup, and a tech email
submission page, along with much more. Gateway also provides e-mail
tech support at sup...@gateway.com. The turnaround time is about 24
hours.
Gateway did provide support to the newsgroup until late January of
1996, at which time it was withdrawn.

1.2.4.1) Does Gateway have a world wide web site?
Yes, at any of these URLs:
- http://www.gateway.com/
- http://www.destination.com/
- http://www.GatewayCountry.com/
- http://www.gateway.net/
International users should try these sites:
- Australia: http://www.au.gw2k.com
- France: http://www.fr.gw2k.com
- Japan: http://www.jp.gw2k.com
- Netherlands: http://www.nl.gw2k.com
- Germany: http://www.gw2k.de
- Sweden http://www.se.gw2k.com
- United Kingdom: http://www.gw2k.co.uk
- New Zealand: http://www.gw2k.co.nz
If you're having problems displaying the pages, the site may show up
better in Netscape version 3.0 or
Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0x.
Gateway's preferred choice is Microsoft Internet Explorer.
For those who are curious.
Gateway 2000, Inc. registered their first domain name 'gw2kbbs.com' in
February of 1994, and
followed with the registration of: gw2k.com (September 1994),
gateway2000.com (January 1996),
gateway-2000.com (January 1996), gway.com (March 1996), gw2000.com
(March 1996),
gway2000.com (March 1996), spotshop.com (March 1996), and
destination.com (November 1996).

1.2.4.2) Does Gateway have an FTP site?
Yes, at ftp://ftp.gw2k.com.
FTP to ftp.gw2k.com log in as anonymous or ftp send your e-mail
address as password, for example, bi...@aol.com.
If you are unfamiliar with FTP, you can type help at the FTP prompt to
get a list of available commands. You can then type the word help
followed by the command you need help with.
Editor's note: I find that a dedicated FTP program, such as WS-FTP,
usually work better than all-in-one programs like Netscape or Internet
Explorer.

1.2.4.3) Does Gateway have a Telnet site?
Yes. You can reach it at telnet://bbs.gw2kbbs.com.

+1.2.4.4) Does Gateway have a Usenet Server?

The server is now officially down.
You might be able to read some of the old messages.
Try the following news groups,
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.motherboards
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.multimedia
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.software-os
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.storage-devices
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.telecomm
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.video
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.destination
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables.software-os
news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.portables.pcmcia
These groups work the same as alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000. That is a
forum to discuss issues
regarding your Gateway PC.
Here is the information from Gateway's Newsadmin:

>Welcome to the newsgroup!
>Our newsgroup is up and ready to go! What's a newsgroup and what does it
>mean to you? Well, the Online Services department has implemented a
>peer-to-peer communication system that you can access through your web
>browser. It's not a new idea on the 'net, but it's great way to communicate
>with other Gateway owners. You can now post messages in a Gateway-specific
>environment where other customers will be able to read and reply to your
>mail. If you have your news reader configured, the name of the newsgroup is
>customernews.gateway.com.
Note: As of Februrary 1st, 1999 the Gateway server is back up.


1.2.5) Where can I get current prices/specs?
Well, prices change rapidly, as do the specs on the systems that
Gateway offers. To get online copies from Gateway check ,
http://www.gw2k.com/. Online copies in this FAQ would be out of date
too fast to do any good. If you call Gateway Customer Service at
1-800-846-2000, they will quote you information (or fax it to you).
The FaxBack service is a good source of the same information, and you
don't have to wait on hold! The Gateway BBS e-mail server for prices
and configurations is down. No word on when or if it will be
back up.
Thanks to Brian K. Palmer for pointing this out to me.

+1.2.6) Does Gateway charge sales tax in my state?
Gateway collects tax charged by the following states: AR, AZ, CA, CO,
FL, GA, HI, ID, IA, IL, KS, KY, MA, ME, MD, MN, MO, NE, NV, ND, NJ,
NY, SC, SD, TN TX, UT, VA, and DC.

Currently Gateway also charges sales tax in any state that has a
Gateway Country store. So if they don't know they will soon charge
sales tax in your state if your state collects sales tax.

1.2.6.1) Why does Gateway charge sales tax?
This has been a recent concern lately. According to the Gateway2000
representative I spoke to Gateway charges sales tax in states that
request sales tax from them. It seems to up to the individual
states. It has also been suggested that Gateway now sales tax in this
states because of recent pressure from the Federal Government and a
threat of paying back taxes.

+1.2.7) What other companies does Gateway own?
Like many businesses Gateway has purchased other companies.

Amiga Technologies GmbH. See 1.2.7.2 below.

Advanced Logic Research (ALR)
Gateway purchased Irvine, CA based ALR for $194 million, as a wholly
owned subsidiary of Gateway 2000.
Gateway plans to use Advanced Logic Research as their entry into the
business client and server market.
ALR has now increased their line of desktop computers.
ALR ads run independently and concurrently with Gateway's ads with
both featuring similar looking products.
ALR (Gateway Partners) information can be found at http://www.alr.com/


Gateway Country Stores
A wholly own subsidiary of Gateway 2000.
The Gateway Country stores offer the newest Gateway products in a
country store-like setting.
They can be found all over the U.S. and at
http://www.gateway.com/home/country/

1.2.7.1) What is the status of Gateway's ISP (Gateway Net)?
On November 5, 1997 Gateway announced it was going to offer Internet
services to new and current customers. The service will be shipped on
all Gateway computers starting December 3, 1997.
It will be offered to existing users beginning sometime in 1998.
Gateway will charge $12.95 for the first 30 hours of Internet use each
month, and $2.95 for each additional hour. The actual service will be
provided by another, undisclosed provider, and will be a 100-percent
digital network using U.S. Robotics' x2 56Kbps technology. Customers
will be able to access the service nationwide.
More information can be found at http://www.gateway.com/net/
Gateway is currently in discusion with American Networks, who had
provided service to Gateway as their ISP.
This has resulted in periods in which subscribers have not been able
to access Gateway.net.

*1.2.7.2) What is Gateway doing with Amiga?
In March 1997, Gateway announced that it plans to purchase Amiga
Technologies GmbH. This purchase covers all patents, trademarks, and
tradenames. The company was a subsidiary of ESCOM
AG, a German-based computer company. Before that Amiga was owned by
Commodore Business Machines in the U.S.
Purchase of the Amiga was final on May 16, 1997.
The Amiga is a 32-bit computer based on the MC processor. It was a
pioneer in the areas of multitasking, multimedia and
auto-configuartion. Gateway plans to support the existing Amiga
community and to develop new products based on the Amiga open
standards.
- Amiga information can be found at http://www.amiga.de/ or
http://www.amiga.com/
- The Amiga Announcement FAQ can be found at
http://web.wt.net/~gpeake/faq.html
- Eric Schwartz's thought's on the announcement.
http://www.compsoc.net/ericschwartz/art/GW_Amiga.jpg

More information can be found at
http://amiga.com/diary/executive-e.html or the newsgroup
comp.sys.amiga.advocacy.

Currently there is much debate on what exactly Gateway is going to do
with the Amiga computer and company.

1.2.8) Why won't Gateway Techs help me with my 3rd party product?
Gateway provides lifetime technical support for any product that they
sell. If you install a third party product, hardware or software they
will still provide you with tech support. However they cannot
support the 3rd party product you purchased. In Gateway's own words,
from their FAQ Installing 3rd Party hardware and applications
shouldn't void your warranty. However, there are thousands of products
available for your computer, and each of these have unique
requirements for installation and use. Unfortunately, Gateway
technicians can't possibly have access to all of the information
necessary to support all of these devices. The manufacturer or vendor
of these products is usually the best place to turn when you need help
with a 3rd party product.

1.3) Other Sources of Information.
1.3.1) Gateway 2000 mailing list.
Tod Pike maintains the Gateway2000 mailing list. Like this group it is
an independent source of information. It is not a copy of the
newsgroup and usually has a higher level of technical information.
From Tod Pike:
My name is Tod Pike, and I have volunteered to run the mailing list,
as I have the software and resources to do so. Currently, an "alt"
newsgroup has also been created to discuss Gateway 2000 systems. Ask
your news admin. to get "alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000" if he can!

I expect this list to be similar in content to the Gateway news group.
Many people do not receive netnews, and many other people prefer to
receive groups such as this via e-mail. In any case, this list will
hopefully be a good source of information for Gateway 2000 owners on
the Internet.

A few notes about this mailing list: IT IS NOT MODERATED! It is simply
a mail reflector. This means that all messages sent to
gatew...@sei.cmu.edu are redirected to the entire list. I expect
that this list will be primarily directed towards asking questions,
with a summary of the responses to be sent in by the original
questioner. Please direct replies to questions directly to the
author, unless you feel that the answer will be of use to everyone
on the list. Please keep personal attacks and flames to private mail!

I would also like this list to be a good source of information about
Gateway 2000 products. Feel free to send me current information about
prices and products, and I will collect them and post a "current
information" post periodically.

Enjoy this list - only you can make it a success!
You can subscribe to the list by sending a mail message to
gateway20...@sei.cmu.edu.
This is an automatic subscription system - a mail message with a
subject of help will get you a list of recognized commands. Sending a
message with a subject of subscribe will subscribe you to the list.
Note that the address for the list itself and the address you need to
use to subscribe and unsubscribe are not the same.
To unsubscribe send unsubscribe in the subject of a message to
gateway20...@sei.cmu.edu.

1.3.2) Gateway's own mailing lists.
Gateway's mailing list is down.
The old URL http://www.gw2k.com/interact/maillist/subscribe.htm, no
longer works.

1.3.3) What other FAQ's should I read?
This FAQ posting covers things that are specific to Gateway 2000
computers. Since many of the parts of the Gateway systems are common
to other PC systems, you can also get information from the FAQs
of other computer groups. For example, you can get the following FAQs
from the machine RTFM.mit.edu in the directory
/pub/Usenet/news.answers:
- os2-faq
- msdos-programmer-faq, Parts 1- 5
Below, in the directory pc-hardware-faq, you can get the PC hardware
FAQ in five parts:
- PC hardware FAQ, part 1
- PC hardware FAQ, part 2
- PC hardware FAQ, part 3
- PC hardware FAQ, part 4
- PC hardware FAQ, part 5
Many users on the Internet have run into the same problems. Sometimes
they will even post their answers and suggestions. Some good places to
check are,
Other hardware FAQs are,

- The Hardware Page - FAQs and Info,
http://www.dfw.net/~sdw/index.html.
- ComputerCraft's PC Hardware FAQ, http://www.computercraft.com.
- Hardware Benchmark FAQs, http://hpwww.epfl.ch/bench/bench.FAQ.html.
- Ben Myers' FAQs for Gateway motherboards are at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/Motherboards.html.
- Chris Biow's Monitor FAQ can now be found at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/MonitorFAQ.html.
- Mike Lewis' Telepath Modem FAQ also at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/ModemFAQ.html.
- Information on SDRAM, http://www.blvl.igs.net/~sysfix/sdram.htm.
Windows 95 FAQs and information:
- http://www.primenet.com/~markd/win95faq.html
- http://http://www.kingsoft.com/qaid/
- http://www.microsoft.com/windows/qa/qa.htm
- http://www.orca.bc.ca/win95/
- http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/WinTips.html
My Windows95 Tips page with Gateway2000 specific information.
Windows NT FAQs:
- Windows NT 3.5 FAQ, http://www.iea.com/~daler/nt/faq/toc.html
- The Windows NT FAQ, http://www.ntfaq.com/
- Windows NT Fax Server solutions, http//www.ntfax-faq.com
John Navas' excellent modem FAQ can be found at:
http://web.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html
For setting up and tuning a Winsock (great fun!), try these:
- http://www.webcom.com/~llarrow/welcome.html
- http://www.cerberus-sys.com/~belleisl/mtu_mss_rwin.html

1.3.4) Contact information for related companies.
Here are some telephone numbers and e-mail addresses for companies
that currently provide or have provided parts for Gateway 2000
systems. I have personally verified all of these numbers and web
sites, but companies change so often, feel free to send corrections
and/or additions!

- 3Com Network cards at http://www.3com.com.

- Adaptec SCSI cards at http://www.adaptec.com

- ATI Technologies, http://www.atitech.ca/index.html.

- Colorado Memory Systems, now a division of HP.
- Colorado FTP site: ftp://col.hp.com.

- Conner, http://www.conner.com/, now a division of Seagate.

- Creative Labs, makers of SoundBlaster sound cards,
- Creative Labs WWW site: http://www.sounblaster.com/
- Creative Labs FTP site: ftp.creaf.com or ftp://creative.creaf.com

- Delrina WWW site: http://www.delrina.com/. Now a division of
Symantec.

- Diamond Multimedia
- Diamond WWW site: http://www.diamondmm.com/
- Diamond FTP site: ftp.diamondmm.com

- Ensoniq, makers of Soundscape sound cards.
- Ensoniq (voice): 610-647-3930
- Ensoniq Faxback: 800-257-1439
- Ensoniq WWW site: http://www.ensoniq.com/

- Epson: http://www.epson.com/connects/support/index.html

- Hewlett Packard: http://www.hp.com/

- Hitachi http://www.hitachi.com/
- Hitachi Download: http://www.hitachi.com/Specs/
- Hitachi Data Systems: http://www.hdshq.com/

- Intel WWW site: http://www.intel.com
- MMX Processor site: http://www.mmx.com

- Iomega Home Page: http://www.iomega.com/.

- Matrox Video
- Matrox WWW site: http://www.matrox.com/
- Matrox FTP site: ftp.matrox.com/pub/video/

- Maxtor's Home Page: http://www.maxtor.com/.

- Micro Firmware BIOS: 800-767-5465
- http://www.firmware.com/
- http://www.firmware.com/gwfaq.htm

- Micronics is now a division of Diamond Multimedia. Thier new
website is,
http://www.diamondmm.com/products/index-system.html
- Micronics motherboard owners should also look at Dick Perron's
hardware page http://www.gw.total-web.net/~dperr/pc_hdwe.htm.

- Micropolis Corporation Home Page: http://www.microp.com/

- Mitsumi CD-ROMs
- Mitsumi BBS: 408-970-0761
- Mitsumi WWW site: http://www.mitsumi.com/frmmai.htm

- NEC
- NEC BBS: 508-635-4706

- Number 9, video accellerator cards.
- Website: http://www.nine.com/
- Drivers FTP site ftp://ftp.nine.com

- Phoenix BIOS: http://www.ptltd.com.

- Philips Computer Technologies
- Philips BBS: 719-593-4081
- Philips WWW site: http://www.philips.com/

- Promise Technology
- FAX: (408)-452-1534
- Voice: (800)-888-0245
- Tech Support: (408)-452-1180
- BBS: (408)-452-1267 (BBS)
- WWW site: http://www.promise.com/

- Quantum Corporation WWW Server http://www.quantum.com/

- Seagate http://www.seagate.com.
- Seagate Software,
- Upgrade your Arcada Backup for Windows95 for free!
ftp://sssmg.seagate.com/pub/arcada/buwin95/abwin95.exe.
- Or upgrade your Conner Backup for Windows95 for free!
ftp://sssmg.seagate.com/pub/arcada/buwin95/cbewin95.exe.
- For other backup software at http://www.sssmg.seagate.com (formerly
Arcada).

- SONY
- BBS: 1-800-955-5107
- Sony's CD-ROM Drivers,
http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/storage/drivers.html

- STB Systems
- STB Systems (Rocket): 800-234-4334 (voice)
- STB Systems: 214-437-9615 (BBS)
- STB WWW site: http://www.stb.com/

- Tseng Labs, Manufactures of the ET6000 chip used in the STB
Lightspeed.
- WWW Page: http://www.tseng.com/

- Toshiba Technical Support: http://www.toshiba.com/tais/csd/support

- Ultrastor BBS: 714-453-8174

- US Robotics: sup...@usr.com, now a division of 3COM.
- 800-762-6163 (faxback)
- 847-982-5092 (BBS)
- 847-676-7323 (fax)
- 847-982-5151 (tech support)
- sa...@usr.com (Sales support)
- 800-DIAL-USR (Sales information)
- USR WWW site: http://www.usr.com/

- Western Digital:
- Phone: 714-753-1234
- Web site: http://www.wdc.com/support/

1.3.5) Where can I get cow spotted (and other) goodies?
Since the spotted cow is the official mascot of Gateway 2000, it
be-hooves us to keep a few cow spotted items around to keep our
systems happy. Here are a couple of items spotted (heh) by Nelia
Lyda: Mouse pad with the required spots (712) 255-3667 $5 plus $3.75
s/h Gateway itself also offers a Microsoft mouse with Gateway's own
cow-spotted mouse pad for $79; you can get this through their add-on
service. GatewayCDI (formerly "The Spot Shop") also sells Gateway2000
related merchandise. They have cow spotted/Gateway2000 shirts, coffee
mugs, ball caps, underwear(!), and the Gateway2000 spotted
mouse pad.

GatewayCDI
2701 Clark Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63103
Phone: 1-800-536-4002 8am-5pm CST
Fax: 1-314-535-3637
http://www.spotshop.com.

I haven't ordered any of these items, but probably will someday. I
*do* have a spotted cow from one of my three year old's farm sets
sitting on my system, just to be on the safe side, however.
[Tod Pike speaking here]
There is also a company that sells dust covers for your Gateway system
(among other things, of course):

PC SOFTWARE & SUPPLY (VISA or MasterCard accepted)
2404 Dakota Ave.
South Sioux City, NE 68776-0278
Phone: 1-800-728-5031 8am-5pm CST
Fax: 1-402-494-8711

1.3.6) How do I contact the 10th Anniversary Club?
The 10th Anniversary Club is no longer being updated.
Craig Moseley ran the site.

Owners of 10th Anniversary systems should check out the problem- and
solution-oriented WWW site of the 10th Anniversary Club. This site,
which deals with issues specific to 10th Anniversary systems,
also has much valuable and clearly presented Gateway-specific
information:
http://www.angelfire.com/sd/10thclub.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with this site, you may find that
it contains a bunch of helpful information, hints and links to other
web sites for owners of Gateway 10th Anniversary and similarly
configured Pentium 133 systems. If your Gateway computer contains any
of the following components, you may find useful information at this
web site:

Aladdin mother board,
Matrox Millenium video card,
Wearnes CDD-620 6X CD ROM drive,
Sanyo CDR-S16 6X CD ROM Drive,
Telepath IIv 28.8 Fax Modem & Faxworks software,
Altec Lansing ACS 450 Speakers,
Colorado Jumbo 1400 Internal Tape Backup Unit,
Western Digital Caviar AC31600 (1.6GB) hard drive

Craig Moseley, 10th...@usa.net

1.3.7) Where are some personal Gateway2000 Homepages?
Not only does Gateway produce fine computers, they also produce loyal
customers. Some of these
have created their own web pages.
Here are some links to other Gateway2000 related pages.

- The Gateway2000 Support Page (one of the first) is down,
http://www4.ncsu.edu/eos/users/p/prhaikal/Home/GW2K/gw2khome.html
- Gateway Users International is down,
http://www.mcs.com/~brooklyn/home.html.
- The GUI E-zine is also down,
http://www.pionet.net/~gui/.
- Craig Moseley runs the 10th Anniversary Club, No Longer updated.
http://www.angelfire.com/sd/10thclub
- Dr. Jarik's Flaky PC Page, formerly the Flaky Gateway Page,
http://execpc.com/~jarik/flakygw.html.
- Ben Myers' FAQs for upgrading Gateway motherboards is at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/Motherboards.html.
- Glen M's Page for Gateway users,
http://www.li.net/~glenn9.
- Steve Lee's Gateway User's Site,
http://www.hgea.org/~slee/Steve05.htm.
- Chris Biow's Monitor FAQ can now be found at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/MonitorFAQ.html.
- Mike Lewis' Telepath Modem FAQ also at
http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/ModemFAQ.html.
- Takashi Shiga's Japanese Gateway 2000 Page.
http://www.kyoto.xaxon-net.or.jp/~takashi/, is down.
- Y. Kishino's Ushikai and Icon's Room.
http://www.ushikai.com/. Home of the Japanesse
Gateway FAQ. Sorry, no english version. "Ushikai" means GATEWAY2000
user in Japanesse.
- Ryoichi's Gateway 2000 User's Page.
http://www.threeweb.ad.jp/~ryoichi/index.shtml.
Japanese only, but some very cool Java apps.
- Dick Perron's Micronics Motherboard page,
http://www.gw.total-web.net/~dperr/micindex.htm.
- Tim Folker's computer page and Cow Pasture webring.
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/6986/
- Jim Payne's new Gateway page. Tips on the G6-400XL.
http://start.at/Gateway2000
- John Toliver's Gateway Users Group website.
http://www.compu-trek.com/gw/
And finally a recent Frequently Asked Question, why am I doing all of
this! Check out the answer in my
mini-FAQ, http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/MiniFAQ.html.


1.4) Rumors about Gateway2000.
1.4.1) Gateway is owned/ has been bought by...
Like many companies, rumors of buyouts and takeovers surround Gateway.
Here are a few that have made their way into
alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.
1.4.1.1) Bill Gates.
STATUS: FALSE
Their is a certain amount of ignorance/paranoia of the computer
industry to those on the outside. This rumor is a result of that. Some
people feel that if it is computers and it has the name "Gate" in it
somewhere then Bill Gates must own it. Also some people believe that
Bill Gates owns or is trying to
own everything.

1.4.1.2) Intel.
STATUS: FALSE
Another version of the Gateway buyout rumor.

1.4.1.3) Motorola.
STATUS: FALSE
This one has floated around the comp.sys.amiga.* newsgroups lately.
They all seem to stem from one individual that seems convinced the
only reason Gateway purchased Amiga is because Motorola bought
Gateway. I can tell you this; anything Motorola does here in Chicago
is big news. I would have heard this one.

1.4.1.4) Compaq.
STATUS: FALSE, but almost true.
Gateway CEO and founder Ted Wiatt did consider selling Gateway to
Compaq, but changed his mind at the last minute.
Ted stood to personally make millions of dollars in this deal but
decided that Compaq's standards were not as high as Gateway's. It has
also been said that he worried what would happen to the people who
worked for him. A new verison of this rumor is that Compaq wants to
buy the Gateway Country Stores or Radio Shack. Neither have been
confirmed.

1.4.1.5) IBM.
STATUS: FALSE.
The latest rumor (end of December, 1997) is that Gateway will be
bought or merge with IBM at the beginning of 1998.
Both companies have denied this rumor.
Currently the best source of information has been CMP Net's TechWeb.
Check,
http://www.techweb.com/investor/story/INV19971230S0001 and
http://www.techweb.com/se/directlink.cgi?CRN19980105S0127

1.4.2) Gateway is going out of business.
STATUS: FALSE
Various sources to this rumor. One points to Gateway's less than
stellar 3Q97 earnings. Another points to the various problems with
tech support, or customer service. And third has even stated because
of Gateway's Midwest roots they couldn't handle business Silcon-Valley
style. Gateway has posted strong 1Q98 earning. So strong that they
were 22% above what industry analysts had expected.
For full information check,
- http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/contact/zdnn/0423/309526.html and
- http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_2141.html

+1.4.3) Gateway (and/or Dell) will use AMD chips.
STATUS: TRUE, but soon to be FALSE
This rumor started on the Dell newsgroup in mid 1998 about Dell using
AMD chips. It quickly morphed into Gateway, not Dell, chunking their
Intel partner and going with AMD.
Gateway has annouced they will begin using AMD K6-3 chips in March of
1999. They will continue to offer chips from Intel, including the new
Pentium III chips. More can be read at,
http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/news/0,4153,1013790,00.html.

Gateway has announced (9/99) that they will no longer be using AMD
chips in their computers.
Check http://origin.msnbc.com/news/313613.asp?cp1=1 for details.


1.4.4) Gateway is moving to San Diego, Irvine, CA or New York.
STATUS: TRUE.
Gateway is moving some business to the coasts, but it's center of
operations will still be in North Sioux City, SD. Here is the
breakdown,
- North Sioux City, SD - Operational headquarters.
- San Diego, CA - New Administrative headquarters. Ted Waitt, will
maintain offices in both locations.
- Irvine, CA - the new site for Gateway Business in conjunction with
ALR.
- New York, NY - Web development headquarters.
You can get the details at Gateway's site at,
http://www.gateway.com/home/aboutgw/pressreleas/pr040798.
And from ZiffDavis Net,
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/content/zdnn/0409/305973.html

--
This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is Copyright © 2000
Timothy S. Brannan.
All rights reserved.

Information has been checked to the best of my ability, but is not
guarantied or warrantied in any manner. Unless specificly noted all
information has been authored by Tod Pike, David S. Eitelbach, or
Timothy S. Brannan.

Gateway & Gateway 2000 are Copyright © 2000 Gateway Inc.
All rights reserved.

All other images are copyrights owned by their respective companies.

This page does not represent the opinions of Gateway2000 or the
University of Illinois at Chicago.

-
Timothy S. Brannan, MS. Ed., Ph.D (ABD)
University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Medical Education
tbr...@uic.edu tbra...@usa.net tbra...@iname.com
The alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000 FAQ http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/gateway.html


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