Gateway is taking aim at Apple Computer and the flat-panel iMac. Gateway has had an all-in-one, flat-panel-based Profile PC series for far longer than Apple’s new iMac. The new Gateway Profile 4 outperforms the iMac for considerably less money ($999 versus $1299 for starter models). Gateway’s new ads use the tagline “Think Smarter,” a play on Apple’s “Think Different” ad campaign.
Apple deserves more abuse than it gets for the overpriced iMacs, but I’m not sure I would buy Gateway’s alternative. I’m not a big fan of all-in-one PCs, and Gateway is still on shaky ground, with a projected loss of $200 million to $250 million this year on revenues of $5 billion.
It’s fascinating to look back at these hardware rivalries. The “all-in-one” craze of that era really defined a specific philosophy in PC design, even if the trade-offs—like the limited upgradeability—were obvious even then. You make a great point about being skeptical of the all-in-one format; for those of us who prefer building our own systems, having everything permanently fused together is usually a dealbreaker.
I’ve definitely developed a preference for modular setups over the years. My current home lab is built around a ProLiant server and an MSA rack https://serverorbit.com/pc-and-servers/proliant-msa-rack, which is basically the polar opposite of a sleek, consumer AIO. There’s something incredibly reassuring about being able to pull a chassis, swap out a failed drive, or re-cable the backplane without having to replace an entire unit. It really makes you appreciate the longevity of enterprise gear compared to consumer trends. Do you think the current move back toward modularity in modern desktop PCs is a reaction to these kinds of closed-off designs, or just a shift in how we prioritize power?
You’ve gone back a long way – this is almost 25 years ago. Modular PCs in 2026 are such a niche but perhaps businesses will begin to move that way in response to the RAM/SSD price rises and shortages. The trend I’m more interested in is whether a market develops for the ultra-high end PCs capable of running local AI models – Nvidia Spark and the others just now appearing. Will the world evolve so that begins to seem normal, or is it only going to ever be a niche for a tiny number of people?