Close on the heels of a similar move by rival Compaq, Hewlett-Packard plans to preview its own forthcoming line of PCs that eschew so-called "legacy" hardware features.

Dubbed e-PC (the "e" stand for "evolution"), the prototype is due to begin shipping in volume next March.

Like the Compaq Vista, the e-PC will abandon such older technologies as ISA and PCI buses and the floppy disk, in a move to reduce cost and complexity.

The story is online at www.zdnn.com .