Take a Seat in the PC Chair

LAS VEGAS -- While Comdex attendees lined up to test drive the Segway scooter that drew so much buzz in the past year or so, across the exhibition hall here people are being drawn to what looks like a jazzy, high-tech dentist chair. You can't ride it, but its creators are certain they've crafted something revolutionary, and they're easily as ardent as the Segway's backers.

The four fellows behind Personal Computing Environments--which has as its logo the peace dove--say they have created a new environment for work and gaming (take your pick). Building on the PCE logo, the combination chair-computer comes in models called Peacemaker (starting at $4000) and Masterpeace ($7000). The ergonomic gizmos are designed to position you with your feet up and your back and arms supported, with one or two (or more) flat-panel displays positioned at just the right spot. A keyboard swings into place at just the right height, and a little mouse shelf is positioned just so, to eliminate arm fatigue and repetitive strain.

"Human beings were not designed to sit in this environment," said PCE President and Chief Operating Officer Allan Quattrain, demonstrating by tapping the air over an invisible keyboard. "You got the carpal tunnel, you got the repetitive strain, you got the lower back pain, you got the upper back pain, you got the eye strain. We want to eliminate that."

Based on activity at the PCE booth, users are interested in a change in computing environments. Within the first hour of Comdex they were swamped, had sold all 20 units they brought, and started taking orders.

Personal Inspiration

The PCs that are part of the chair-computer are built into a case underneath the chair. That chair has a base made of a couple of pipes that lead to the foot rest and pipes that come out of the back and go over the top and serve as the mounts for the flat-panel monitors. The Peacemaker runs on a 2-GHz Intel Pentium 4 and has 1GB DDR RAM, a Western Digital 40GB hard drive, a Logitech keyboard, and a Pioneer North America DVD-ROM 16X. The upgrade features a 3.0-GHz Pentium 4 with 2GB DDR RAM, 180GB hard drive, a 20-inch flat-panel monitor, and a recordable DVD-CD burner.

PCE's genesis was a long flight in 1999 while Chief Technology Officer Benjamin Moglin worked on his notebook. He thought he was comfortable. He had actually gone numb from sitting in a bad position and not having support for his wrists and arms.

He approached Quattrain, who decided a market exists for a seating environment and PC that gives proper support. Research and development started in 2000, and PCE has drawn 108 investors.

Both Quattrain and Paul De Luca, marketing vice president, noted that Moglin is into Zen meditation and is a very spiritual guy. That's where the peace dove logo and theme originate. Moglin favors intense eye contact and moved around the booth in an quick but relaxed way, greeting booth visitors and friends offering congratulations at the launch.

Favorable Reviews

PCE is at Comdex mostly to generate a little buzz, get some feedback, and work on alliances with partners and investors. The buzz part was clearly happening, as attendees wait to try out the models on hand.

"It's pretty cool looking," said Donnie Vendivel, creative director at EBL, a Houston custom software developer. When he heard the idea behind the chair-computer combinations, he said, "It sounds like a dream."

Vendivel wanted to know how the product is different from setting a PC up with a nice desk chair. The idea, De Luca said, is to converge all of the elements of a good, supportive ergonomic chair with the PC.

After Vendivel tried one of the units, he said the devices are somewhat "over built" and should be simplified in design and size. "I'm a designer, and I always think I can do everything better," he said, adding that he likes the concept.