Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Bob_BobR_Retelle
From: Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: PORTFOLIO is *not* vaporware...
Message-ID: <23088@cup.portal.com>
Date: 14 Oct 89 06:53:51 GMT
References: <891011.18574418.070054@SFA.CP6>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 44

Larry Rymal says:
 
>    With all the usual talk of "Atari's blown it again, etc., ad nausem"
>from many on this net, including myself, it might be refreshing to know
>that product is arriving, at least in this little neck of the woods, this
>IBM and Mac world that I live in.
 
    ...
 
>    Anyway, I think the door is beginning to open.

 
Yes...   but...   the door to what...?
 
I agree that the Portfolio is not "vaporware", but then again, what exactly
IS it..?
 
Is it something that will benefit Atari ST owners..?    No..
 
Is it something that will help promote the Atari ST name in the computing
industry...?    No...
 
Is it something that will be of use to anyone other than owners of IBM PC
and PC clones..?   No...   (not unless you can justify a $400 "phone list")
 
Is it a "standalone" computer..?   No...
 
Is it an economical answer for someone wanting to get into "computers"..?
   No...
 
So...  what exactly IS the Portfolio...?
 
As I see it, the Portfolio is an accessory for an IBM PC system... much
like a fancy monitor stand, or a gizmo that holds papers for you to type
into your text editor...  it  WILL  help you do things like taking notes
on an airplane, or entering "travelling salesman" figures "on the spot"...
but...   that seems to me to be an awfully limited usefulness..
 
If you DON'T have an IBM PC style system, a Portfolio is an expensive toy...
 
No, it's NOT "vaporware"... but neither is the $50 gizmo that makes peanut
butter in your kitchen...  who needs it..?
 
BobR