By Cheryl Currid

Take it from the Gateway cow who advises the firm's chairman, Ted Waitt, about the best computer offers. For your money, that cow is giving some good advice.

Consider two new desktop models. Gateway's 500SE is a breed apart for value, and the 700XL packs in the latest, greatest and newest technology.

I tried both recently, and I am beginning to understand that an advertising cow could become your next best friend.

For the budget-minded, the $999 500SE is a package to moo about.

In addition to its incredible price, this computer has a 15-inch LCD flat-panel display, which alone a year ago cost more than $1,000.

Today, you get not only the crisp and clear flat-panel monitor but a fully stocked computer.

The 500SE comes with a 1.6-gigahertz Pentium 4 processor, 128 megabytes of DDR SDRAM -- that's the super-fast stuff, 20 gigabytes of disk space, and a 16x CD-RW drive, not to mention the Logitech optical mouse, a built-in 10/100 Ethernet, and a 56K modem.

It is loaded with Microsoft Works Suite 2002, which includes Microsoft Word, as well as Norton AntiVirus -- two pieces of software that none of my PCs go without.

For enthusiasts who want to squeeze every cycle of processing power out of their machines, the Gateway 500XL could make you see spots.

This is the first PC sold nationally with the latest new Pentium 4 2.2-gigahertz processor.

It was also first on the scene with the new USB 2.0.

The unit includes four of these new USB ports that transmit data 40 times faster than the original version.

That means you'll start to see hard drives, CD writers and other devices that previously needed to be installed inside the computer case that are compatible with USB 2.0.

To install one of these devices, just connect this external device via a USB cable. No screwdriver or engineering degree necessary.

The 700XL includes a stunningly beautiful 18-inch flat-panel monitor, a 120-gigabyte hard drive, and an unbelievable 1,028 megabytes of memory. Yes, you read that correctly -- 1 gigabyte of memory.

Add to that a 24x CD-R drive and a writeable DVD drive that stores up to 4.7 gigabytes of data on a DVD, more capacity than seven CDs.

For multimedia projects, it includes an IEEE 1394 port for transferring digital video from a digital camcorder, as well as a SoundBlaster Live audio card -- my favorite for realistic tone -- and five-speaker surround sound.

The Gateway 700XL, a phenomenal example of the latest in technological innovations and raw computing power, is available now from Gateway's Web site or in stores for $2,999.

So, with Gateway's bovine being so generous, maybe dogs are overrated when it comes to picking man's best friend.