  gateway inc., is an american computer hardware company based in irvine, california, which develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories. it became a well-known brand in 1991 when it started shipping its computer hardware in piebald boxes and for its creative advertising in computer shopper and other magazines. gateway was acquired by acer in october 2007, for approximately us$710 million. ==history== gateway was founded on september 5, 1985, on a farm outside sioux city, iowa, by ted waitt and mike hammond. originally called gateway 2000, it was one of the first widely successful direct sales pc companies, utilizing a sales model copied from dell, and playing up its iowa roots with low-tech advertisements proclaiming "computers from iowa?". gateway built brand recognition in part by shipping computers in spotted boxes patterned after holstein cow markings. in 1989, gateway moved its corporate offices and production facilities to north sioux city, south dakota. in line with the holstein cow mascot, gateway opened a chain of farm-styled retail stores called gateway country stores, mostly in suburban areas across the united states. it dropped the "2000" from its name on october 31, 1998. gateway became a leading manufacturer of personal computers and was a pioneer in developing and engineering several products that continued to move windows-based computing forward throughout its history. in 
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