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From: umapd51@cc.ic.ac.uk (W.A.C. Mier-Jedrzejowicz)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: CALL FOR DISCUSSION ON NEW GROUP
Message-ID: <1991Mar8.022735.2424@cc.ic.ac.uk>
Date: 8 Mar 91 02:27:34 GMT
References: <9102270829.AA09759@nic.gac.edu>
Organization: Imperial College Computer Centre
Lines: 38
Nntp-Posting-Host: suni2cc

If we create a new group I suggest we call it comp.sys.handhelds.rpl. Why?
1. The name "rpl" covers the HP28, the HP48, and any similar new models.
   "rpl" is the name used for the user language and the operating system,
   so it would describe the group without restricting the topics. HP
   advertising for the HP48 describes it as a new standard for the next
   century - even allowing for advertising hype this suggests that HP do
   plan to continue providing rpl handhelds for a considerable time.
   (Lest anyone ask, "rpl" is generally accepted to stand for "reverse 
    polish lisp" - an amalgam of "reverse polish notation" as used on other 
    HP calculators and of features of the Lisp programming language.)
2. It is clear that there will be overlap between comp.sys.handhelds and
   a new group if one is created, whatever its name. At the least, many
   new or potential HP48 users will come to comp.sys.handhelds (or c.s.hp) 
   first. They will ask questions including "should I buy one?", which are
   best answered in a general comp.sys.handhelds area. They will not even
   know the name "rpl" since it is not in the manuals. At about the time 
   such new users get to recognize the name "rpl" they will also be ready
   to move to the more specialized area.
3. Some HP28 users object to the idea of moving to a new group with the 
   HP48 users. They may have to decide among themselves whether to move 
   to the new group if one is formed, but (as an HP28 user myself) I think 
   it more logical they join the new group, and the name "rpl" would make 
   it clear the group is for them too. Users of other HP handhelds such as 
   the HP41 or any new DOS handheld should stay in c.s.h. - until and unless 
   other new areas split off for them - most of their questions will not 
   overlap with an "rpl" area.
4. I suspect many HP48 owners will read both groups, but a sensible split 
   WILL help encourage users of other handhelds to use c.s.h. more. The scope 
   is wider than most people have suggested - Casio BOSSes, Sharp Wizards,
   HP and TI pocket computers, HP, TI, Casio and Sharp advanced calculators, 
   Psion Organizers, the Agenda, the Atari/DIP Portfolio including new models, 
   and the Poqet including new models too just for starters. I am surprised
   that the CMT MCII and CMT MCV have hardly been mentioned here - they are
   roughly the same size as the HP48, though thicker, with a very MS DOS-like 
   operating system. RAM, ROM, and the operating system chip as well, can all
   be plugged in at the back. Does anyone have anything to write about them?
Regards, Wlodek Mier-Jedrzejowicz, Space & Atmospheric Physics, 
                                   Imperial College, London