Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!aero-c!gumby.dsd.trw.com!deneva!news
From: thomsen@spf.trw.com (Mark R. Thomsen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: 20 Meg floppies and a laptop NeXT
Message-ID: <2824A434.159C@deneva.sdd.trw.com>
Date: 6 May 91 00:32:51 GMT
References: <1991May4.132003.17343@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Sender: news@deneva.sdd.trw.com
Organization: TRW Inc., Redondo Beach, CA
Lines: 28

In article <1991May4.132003.17343@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>  
ta-aca@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Andrew C. Athan) writes:
> One of the things that makes the NeXT what it is is its MegaPixel display
> (i.e. 1M of pixels).  I don't think a decent, readble 1024x1024 or ~1100x800
> or whatever will be small/portable enough.  Backlighting?  Swapdisk?  Under
> 12 pounds?  Not with the battery it would take to power the thing for any
> significant amount of time.  A decent unix in 80 Megs?  I wouldn't want to
> try it ... especially not NeXTStep anyway (ok, so you could put two drives
> on, but that would EASILY blow your $5k and increase the size of the battery
> and the weight).

The Sony 3250 has a 1-bit display comparable to the NeXT in pixel count,
a 20 MHz R3000, Unix, considerable memory and storage (when outfitted all
the way up, 32MB RAM + 400MB HD), and a size that is 'luggable'. It is
not the dream machine, but such a machine may be on the way. Then we just
get NeXTstep running, port some apps, and ...?

A portable NeXTstation would be sometimes useful. I wonder, however, if
something different might be in the works. How about a PenPoint product
that is fully file compatible with NeXT, uses speech recognition (Sphinx,
maybe), and costs $1000? You download some stuff and take it with you,
enter some data, edit some stuff, and transfer files using any available
comms (net, phone, fax, whatever). A complementary product that supports
needs of people on the go might be more marketworthy than a portable
equivalent in the near term. A portable NeXT will be expensive for a while
but a PenPoint product might be timely and (relatively) inexpensive.

Mark R. Thomsen