Hewlett-Packard Tuesday said it has cemented a deal that will put some 40,000 PCs in 1,456 Home Depot stores across the country.

The improvements are part of a multi-million dollar upgrade at Home Depot. The deal also includes enhancements to the wiring networks in the stores and new point-of-sale terminals.

The Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer and printer maker said Home Depot chose Compaq Evo D510 PCs for use in its Store Technology Enhancement Project (STEP), an effort by Home Depot to standardize the technology infrastructure in its stores. "This is probably the largest single roll out of this particular PC line since its introduction," said HP spokesperson Bill Carter.

HP said the new Evos will supplement existing UNIX technology from HP that Home Depot uses in its stores and administrative offices. The installation is scheduled for completion during the third quarter of next year.

"A company the caliber of Home Depot must have technology that can stand up to the rigorous use that is just naturally a part of a high-volume retail environment," said Sam Mancuso, vice president of Corporate Accounts for HP.

The majority of the PCs will go to the STEP project. The remaining Compaq PCs will be used to expand Home Depot's in-store, online training and education program for its nearly 300,000 employees. The smallest amount will be passed along to Home Depot executives as employee communication tools.

"The increased stability the new equipment brings will provide obvious benefits from a technology upgrade of this magnitude," said Home Depot chief architect Barbara Sanders. "We expect this effort to provide will pay equally good dividends in terms of productivity and customer service in our stores. After all, the less time our associates spend on the telephone trying to reach the help desk, the more time they are able to spend on the sales floor helping our customers."

In a related story HP CEO Carly Fiorina said the company was on track to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the company's fiscal 2002.

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Fiorina also said HP is ready to defend its No. 1 printer position from upstart Dell Computer, which recently entered the printer sales market.

"The fact that Dell makes an announcement doesn't send us shaking in our boots. Our products have always needed to be competitive - Dell's announcement doesn't change that in any way," Fiorina told a crowd at a Gartner technology conference in Florida.