*** Gateway PCs to Power the 2002 Olympic Winter Games ***
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As thousands of Olympic
athletes converge on Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, they'll
be able to keep in touch with fans, family and friends cheering them on via
video e-mails at Gateway CyberSpot kiosks located around Salt Lake City and in
nearly 300 Gateway stores nationwide.
Gateway -- whose PCs will power the Olympic Winter Games -- will operate
more than 325 Gateway CyberSpots Powered by AT&T across the nation. The
Gateway CyberSpots are just one aspect of Gateway's multiyear effort as the
Official Computer Hardware Sponsor of the Olympic Winter Games. The
technology company has supplied more than 5,500 of its desktop and notebook
PCs and servers -- plus on-site integration and support services -- for the
Games that run Feb. 8-24, 2002, as well as the Paralympic Winter Games that
follow in March.
"The people of Gateway are incredibly proud to provide the PC technology
that will run the world's premier sporting event," said Ted Waitt, Gateway
chairman and CEO. "Gateway's key role on the Olympic technology team gives us
the opportunity to connect everyone in America with Olympic athletes from
around the world -- which is what the Gateway CyberSpots are all about."
The Gateway CyberSpots will allow anyone to record a video message and
email it to an individual Olympian or an entire team, free of charge.
Creating a message is easy: just visit any Gateway store and follow the
simple instructions at the Gateway CyberSpot kiosk. In each store, a listing
of U.S. Olympic athletes will be posted, with local athletes highlighted.
Gateway representatives will be on hand at all kiosks to help if needed. For
a listing of all Gateway stores, visit http://www.gateway.com and click on "Find a
Store."
While supplies last, everyone who shows their support for U.S. Olympic
athletes by sending a Gateway CyberSpot video email will receive a free
commemorative, limited-edition Olympic pin featuring the Gateway cow riding a
bobsled.
The Gateway CyberSpots are the only way to send video emails to Olympic
athletes.
In Salt Lake City, two Gateway CyberSpots Powered by AT&T (a total of
50 kiosks) are housed inside the Athletes' Village on the University of Utah
campus where athletes will be housed during the Games. Another Gateway
CyberSpot, with a total of 16 kiosks, is located at the Main Media Center in
downtown Salt Lake City where more than 9,000 journalists from around the
world will report on the Games. Each Gateway CyberSpot features cutting-edge
Gateway personal computers and high-speed broadband connectivity provided by
AT&T. Athletes can send and receive email, access the Internet, enjoy digital
music and play interactive games.
Gateway employees have been working with the Salt Lake Organizing
Committee (SLOC) information technology leaders and fellow sponsors for more
than two years customizing, integrating and supporting desktop PCs, notebook
PCs and servers in what will be the most technologically advanced Olympic
Games in history. Some 550 Gateway servers and 4,500 workstations and laptop
computers are being used during the Olympic Winter Games and the Paralympic
Winter Games in March. More than 120 Gateway support technicians will be
deployed at 14 Olympic venues and 27 other Olympic sites, manning PCs and
ensuring smooth operations.
"Gateway systems and personnel have successfully prepared for the Games as
evidenced by the latest technical rehearsal we recently completed," said David
Busser, SLOC chief information officer. "We have a robust technology solution
for the Games that has been well tested and we're confident it will perform
very well."
Following the Games, Gateway will donate up to 4,500 of the PCs used at
the Olympic Winter Games to local communities across the United States, with
priority given to community centers whose programs help enhance access to
technology for traditionally underserved communities.
"We're thrilled that the computers that bring the Olympic Games to the
world can become a technology solution for local communities," said Waitt.
"It's another way Gateway is leveraging its Olympic role to benefit as many
people as possible, and it will help create a lasting legacy for the XIX
Olympic Winter Games."
About Gateway
Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW), a personal technology company, improves
people's lives through a combination of the latest and best hardware,
communication tools, applications, training and service, all wrapped in a
custom financing package. The company takes a localized approach, utilizing
its Web site, call centers and nationwide network of Gateway retail stores to
build direct relationships with consumers, small and medium businesses and
government and education institutions. A Fortune 500(R) company founded in
1985, Gateway is ranked as the most admired American company in the Computers
and Office Equipment industry in a Fortune magazine survey(1) and is the top
brand in customer loyalty and for first-time home computer purchases of
Wintel-based PCs(2). For more information, visit Gateway's Web site at
http://www.gateway.com .
(1) Fortune Magazine, "America's Most Admired Companies," February 19,
2001.
(2) From the Harris Interactive Consumer TechPoll(SM) study of 140,000 PC
owners who use the Internet, released March 5, 2001.
SOURCE Gateway
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Related links:
http://www.gateway.com
CONTACT:
Brad Williams, +1-858-848-2511,
brad.williams@gateway.com, or Greg Lund, +1-858-848-2512,
greg.lund@gateway.com, both of Gateway
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