Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!haven!umbc3.umbc.edu!umbc5.umbc.edu!chuck From: chuck@umbc5.umbc.edu (Chuck Rickard; ACS (UGRAD)) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Two New Computer Announcements - CeBIT Message-ID: <1991Mar28.174527.25534@umbc3.umbc.edu> Date: 28 Mar 91 17:45:27 GMT References: <2867@atari.UUCP>> <2885@atari.UUCP> Sender: newspost@umbc3.umbc.edu (News posting account) Organization: University of Maryland Baltimore County Lines: 104 In article <2885@atari.UUCP> trh@atari.UUCP (T R Hall) writes: I hope you don't mind if I comment on your views... ;-) > Hopefully, if I post this I won't have to repeat it too often: > > 1) I didn't include a monitor port for a couple of reasons: > A) Power > The graphics shifter/video drive circuitry uses almost as much > power as the rest of the system put together. Since the machine > is specifically designed for PORTABLE usage, I made the (fairly > reasonable) assumption that you aren't going to carry a color/mono > monitor around with you. > B) Space > Hey, I tossed out ANYTHING I didn't feel was required in a PORTABLE > machine, to make the machine as small as possible. This is an item I feel is not worth talking about as well. The machine is portable, so who cares if it hooks up to a monitor or not. I think the original poster wants a machine to replace his current machine, so he can have a "double-duty" machine, not two separate ones. > 2) If you look at the so-called competition (Intel machines) I think > you will find that the "note-book" sized units include EITHER a floppy > or a hard disk, but not both. Since this machine was mosty intended to > allow desktop-ATARI users to take specific data/applications with them > on the road, I felt that loading data/programs into the internal Hard > Drive would not be a hardship. Would you rather carry a hard-drive > machine, or a floppy machine with a bunch of floppies that you have to > swap in-and-out? > As far as data transfer, both the Notebook and Pad versions of the > machines will include file-transfer software in the ROMS, transfering > over parallel-ports to other ST's, and serial ports to non-ATARI > machines (hopefuly with an existing protocol, so Atari won't have to > write [shudder!!] MS-DOS software). This is where I think you are wrong. The Panasonic CF-170 (or Tandy 1500HD, same machine) has both a 20 meg hard drives and a 1.44meg disk drive built-in to a really nice notebook machine. The hard drive is a nice 2.5" Conner CP-2024 and is really fast (14ms). It also has room for a 2400baud modem internally, and after looking inside, I found that they could have added more if they wanted to. > 3) Look for high-density floppies, both in desktop machines and in an > external (probably battery-operated) floppy drive for the ST notebook > (or whatever its final name is). We may be slow, but we ain't > Blind/Dumb. I don't know why you guys can't just go totally with 1.44meg drives. Gee, a high density controller for the PC can be had for $30, so the parts can't be that expensive. > 4) Both the STPad and STBook have an "expansion" port that includes all > address and data lines, bus control lines, R/W and a number of ROM > select lines. ALL of the signals needed for the "cartridge port" are > present on "expansion port", so a conversion device need only consist > of two connectors, a PC-board, and a housing. I'm sure some > enterprising developer will make such available at a reasonable price. > Even better, maybe "cartridges" will be upgraded to take advantage of > new features. While I feel its nice that the machine does have expansion, I dread the idea of another interface thingy hanging off the machine. With my ST, I had a machine around 3 feet wide counting all the crap hanging off the ends. > 5) Maybe we should take a vote: Should we let everybody add their 2 cents > to the design, increase the size of the machine, delay it a few months/ > years, increase the price, etc? :) :) :) :) :) 8) 8) 8) 8^) 8^) 8^) Before making machines, maybe you should... (1) Ask some people what they want. (2) Check out the competitors machines. (3) Think. I know doing these might add some time to the process, but other people seem to do it and come out with machines in a decent time-frame. > Oh, incidently, in the reprint from Tom Harker (ICD) he mentions that >the note-book machine has JEIDA cards. He was a little confused; The note-book >machine has the hard-drive as storage, the PAD machine has JEIDA cards, but NO >hard-drive (the pad is intended to be hand-held; one twist and BOOM! the >hard-drive would crash). While it would be nice if the laptop had the JEIDA card socket, I really don't think it would be necessary. Anyway, how expensive is it to add one of those sockets to the machine. The whole PC card setup only costs $79.95, so it can't really cost that much. > TRH > >[PLEEEEAAAASSSEE note the smileys above! don't send me votes/suggestions/etc; >it's hard ENOUGH to get through my mail/news each morning.] If sounded harsh, please don't take it to be mean, but after 6 years of dealing with this crap, I feel that I have a right to say something. -- Chuck Rickard (chuck@umbc5.umbc.edu)