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Computers.

The year in computer hardware was marked by sharply declining prices. Two factors were responsible; manufacturers discovered that personal computers (PCs) priced below $600 sold well, and a series of rebate programs from Internet service providers (ISPs), such as AOL and CompuServe, brought the purchase price of computers within the reach of a mass audience.

The low-cost, or in some cases free, computer movement began with Free-PC, a marketing program offering consumers no-cost PCs if they agreed to view a steady diet of advertising aimed at them on the basis of the demographic details the customer had to provide. While many consumers responded to the Free-PC offer, mass interest in discounted PCs did not occur until retail stores began offering programs in which customers who signed up for three years of Internet service at standard rates got a $400 rebate on new computers. The rebates, combined with new, low-price points pioneered by PC manufacturer eMachines, which sold new PCs without monitors for as little as $400, helped stimulate computer sales. The eMachines pricing strategy enabled it to become a major player in the PC industry in only about four months; by March it was one of the top five PC suppliers in the U.S. retail market. By year's end name-brand manufacturers such as Hewlett Packard and Compaq were offering new computers for under $600.

The rebates were not without controversy, since they merely shifted the time period over which a computer was purchased. An initial fear that the rebate programs might be undermined by the arrival of free ISP service evaporated after the free Net access model failed to catch on in the U.S. A form of free Internet service did become popular in Europe, but it was offered there because ISPs could make money another way, by collecting a portion of the telephone charges customers had to pay to access the Internet.

In the second half of the year, Merrill Lynch was forecasting rapidly diminishing prices and profits for the PC industry--a direct result of the popularity of low-cost PCs. In the face of that trend, IBM, the company that created the PC industry, said it would pull out of the U.S. retail market for consumer computers by early 2000 and concentrate on Internet-only sales. Meanwhile, PC-maker Packard Bell NEC Inc. closed its Sacramento, Calif., manufacturing facility and cut 2,600 jobs as a result of its inability to compete as PC prices continued to sink. Packard Bell NEC conceded that it also was dogged by an image of having poor quality, although it said those problems were behind it.

Lower computer prices caused other changes as well. Intel, seeing a decline in profits from its PC chips, decided to pursue the more lucrative market for telecommunications chips. Other PC makers reversed roles. Dell Computer beat Compaq to become the largest PC supplier in the U.S., but Compaq maintained the number one market share position worldwide.

At the same time, PCs became more fashionable, inspired by the success of Apple Computer Corp.'s colourful and streamlined iMac. Rather than compete only on the basis of price and performance, PC makers hoped to make money with variations in size, shape, and colour. Meanwhile, the iMac continued to boost Apple's market share, as it had since its introduction in mid-1998. The iMac-based iBook was another major driver for Apple.

Some computers cost their manufacturer money. Toshiba said it spent about $1 billion to settle a class-action suit. The suit alleged that Toshiba sold notebook computers with malfunctioning floppy disk drives that could erase or damage data without any warning.

Hand-held computers, led by models from Palm Computing, became increasingly popular in 1999. Analysts predicted that the number sold would increase to 21 million annually by 2003, up from 3.9 million in 1998. Palm, which made products aimed largely at traveling businesspeople, gained considerable publicity by providing one of its new models with wireless access to the Internet.

Home networking was a budding market for computer equipment manufacturers. The idea was to enable households with more than one computer to share a printer or a high-speed Internet connection. Trend watchers predicted that in the future home networks might enable music downloaded from the Internet to be played in different rooms of a home or that a home network might link TV sets, telephones, digital cameras, and smart kitchen appliances.