Digital Trends

Gateway One

October 30th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup and Use

Setting up the Gateway One is about as easy as it gets for a PC - perhaps not as easy as setting up an iMac, but it’s darn close. There are no video cables to connect to a monitor, no cable for the keyboard and no cable for the mouse.

Remove the Gateway One from the product packaging and you’ll see that there are only a few pieces that you’ll have to deal with. First and foremost, place the body of the Gateway One on a desk or table. It’s important to note that there’s a sliding foot on the rear side of the Gateway One. It acts as a stabilizer so the computer doesn’t tip over. When setting the Gateway One on a flat surface, gently press down and back on the top of the computer and you’ll see the stabilizing foot slide into place. If you don’t set the stabilizing foot into place, the Gateway One could tip over unexpectedly.

Next, remove the keyboard and mouse from the box and set them in front of the Gateway One computer. Note the slick look of the clear plastic keyboard overlay. Check out the mouse - there’s no scroll wheel! The mouse has a sensor built in that recognizes your finger movements for scrolling up and down. Pretty cool, huh?

The last major step of setup involves the power brick AC Adapter. Connect the power brick to a surge-protected wall outlet. (If you don’t have a surge protector, get yourself one right away. The Gateway One isn’t a cheap computer, so it should be properly protected from dangerous power surges.) Then connect the special all-in-one cable from the back of the Gateway One computer to the power brick. The all-in-one cable carries power, Ethernet (Internet or network traffic), USB and digital audio.

If you have a DSL or cable modem, or if you use a router, connect the Ethernet cable from the modem/router to the Ethernet jack in the Gateway One power brick. The Gateway One also has built-in wireless Internet, so if you have a wireless router and want to skip cables, you can.

Turn the Gateway One on by pressing the power button located just behind the bottom right side of the computer. Proceed through the Windows Vista setup steps as displayed on the screen. 

Webcam

As mentioned earlier, the Gateway One has a mini-USB webcam that can be removed if desired. Setting up the webcam is as easy as plugging it in. As for using it to record videos or engage in video chat, the webcam is about average quality. The colors of recorded video are somewhat washed out and not-so-special. They’re low-contrast, too. Motion is clean, however, and that’s probably the most critical aspect.

Sadly, the webcam picks up all kinds of ambient noise, including the internal hard drive(s). When playing back recorded video, the sound of drives spinning and accessing data can be clearly heard.

802.11n Wireless

On a positive note, the 802.11n wireless radio works like a charm. Unlike other PCs that have somewhat sloppy control of 802.11n, the Gateway One connects and holds onto 802.11n networks like a Doberman holds on to a meaty steak bone.