Packard Bell Still Exists!?!

I recall, so many years ago, making fun of friends that had 'package hells'. I don't remember when it happened, exactly, but one day there was no more Packard Bell machines on the market. I thought they were just gone, faded into obscurity, as though plucked from the earth by a merciful god.

As it turns out, though, they're not only still around, but apparently thriving in Europe. They're even about to release a pretty amazing looking new gaming rig:



Clearly this isn't the 486/DX2 with 16MB of RAM Mike and I used to use to troll CompuServe chat rooms in the early 90's (incidentally, I'm equally amazed to find that they're still around too, if only a shadow of their former self).

Their press release can be found here, which is pretty wordy, so you could just read the summation here.

The only thing I don't understand is why the 'i' in iPower is italicized. If the name of your product requires modifying your font face mid-word, you're doing it wrong. I assume they're just trying to disassociate their brand from Apple's iProducts. Either way, the iPower 2.0 rig will feature Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme options, and apparently water cooling.

Obviously we won't see these things in the U.S., but it is just amazing to read that Packard Bell was still alive and kicking. It's like finding out your dead uncle isn't actually dead, but has actually moved to Sweden and amassed a small fortune and now lives in a modest mansion with a reasonably attractive model of a wife.