Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!lsuc!jimomura From: jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) Subject: Portfolio, HP-95, M-100 & Reply-To: jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) Organization: Consultant, Toronto Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1991 15:27:10 GMT Message-ID: <1991Jun9.152710.20556@lsuc.on.ca> Well, I've gone and done a very silly thing. I've put down 2/3d of the price for a Portfolio. I came up a bit short this week so I couldn't pay for it completely, but I'll pay the balance in a couple of weeks and pick it up. But I think a few comments about why it was a "very silly" thing to do might be worthwhile to help other people decide about these things. In our family, we have 2 Tandy Model-100 laptops. We got them early on when they first came out. I personally bought a Sharp PC-1500 when it was relatively new and I bought, and still own a PC-5000 laptop. I've had over a dozen computers over the years and I have 5 right now, not counting the Portfolio, and we've had a wide array of calculators. So I have a fairly good idea of what is "really useful" and what is "sucker bait." Cut to the Chase: Both the Portfolio and the HP-95LX are, for the most part, "sucker bait." Sorry guys, but if your read the ads and then think about practical field usage, the conclusion is inescapable. And the sales trend of the Portfolio confirms it. They are toys for people like me who like to "play with technology." If you want something practical to get real work done, go elsewhere. Let's group the functions. First there's the Calculator/Clock function set (CC), and then the Calendar/Phonebook/Diary function set (CPD) and then there's the WordProcessor/Spreadsheet function set (WPS). I've divided it up because there are distinct products available on store shelves already for CC and CPD. Rolodex in particular has a CC unit which does not have a clock, so that it can't fulfill the CC functions. This was a strange move because there are a number of CC/CPD capable products on the market by Casio, Sharp and Texas Instruments. The CC/CPD products around are *very* functional. I know a lot of people who carry these around in their pockets and *use* them. Mainly they use the calculator function and the phone book. The Calendar function isn't that useful for them. Peole still scribble notes on slips of paper rather than fight with the small keyboards. Also, for people like me, the basic clock functions are very good. I have a half dozen wrist watches and generally don't wear any of them. I keep my best watch in my pocket and pull it out when I want to see the time. I *hate* wearing wrist watches. But them main point is that the size is critical. The first generation Casios were shirt-pocket size. The latest 64K size ones are still pants-pocket/jacket-pocket size and are just about the largest practical size for most people. The Portfolio and the 95LX are simple too big and too *heavy*. most people are simply not going to use them for this function. They'll get all their data on and then realize tht they don't want to carry something that big. What about keeping it in your briefcase? Sure, but then you have to stop and fish it out of your briefcase. And that's if you even have your briefcase with you. You take your briefcase to lunch with you? I don't. You've just had lunch and you want to check your schedule for the afternoon and maybe make a phone call. Sorry, the Portfolio/95LX is in the briefcase sitting by your desk. "I know, I'll call my secretary and she can get it out of my briefcase and tell me what's on the schedule!" Uh, yeah. Or better yet, I'll transfer the data from my Portofolio/95LX to this Texas Instruments CC/CPD thing to take with me to lunch! Uh, yeah. Ok, well that leaves the WPS functions. But for these functions, the notebook computers from the Model-100 down to the latest techno-flash things from Toshiba, Sharp and others (the Atari even if you're not an MS-DOS thinker) are far more practical. For word processing, you really want all the screen size you can get. 80 columns pretty much necessary for format preview, though I'll give that up for the character font soze of the Model-100 to some degree. But more than that even, you really need a good keyboard. The idea that you're going to dink around on those tiny arrow keys and edit a letter on an airplane shows a person who doesn't know the value of time. Better to wait till you get a chance to set up a laptop where you can *fly* through the work. If you want to work on a plane, then the notebook computer will at least sit on your knees (especially if you're smart enough to stick some double sided tape on the bottom of the computer) and you can get *real* work done. As for those little notes they show in the ads to your secretary and such, well, a little sheet of paper is still more practical. Download it to her computer? How 'bout just handing her the note? As I said, the Portfolio sales are apparently dropping as people realize that these are not really useful for much. HP-95LX's aren't any better. The keyboard is closer to my Sharp PC-1500 which makes it even less practical than the Portfolio for WPS functions. The extra memory? It's pretty worthless really. It doesn't help the CC/CPD functions (64K is far more than enough for most people). I could not believe the comment by Andrews & Reinhardt in May 1991's Byte Magazine. They're big "insight" into these machines was that the Portfolio's 128K RAM was "not enough to run 1-2-3 ... ". They seemed not to know that the Portfolio comes with a 1-2-3 compatible spreadsheet in ROM. I'm not on BIX lately, but I'm sure somebody has pointed that out by now. And the downside is that it drains batteries faster. So what am I going to do with my Portfolio when I get it? Well, I'll probably use the CPD functions. I know they're impractical due to the size of the machine, but like most techno-addicts, I'll push myself into using it -- for a while. Eventually I'll give up due to the lack of real utility of having the information on yet another machine that I'm not going to take with me anywhere, but it's the old "lemming-run" that we all go through. After that I'll program a couple of games on it. I may even do some "useful" applications for compiling race statistics for Radio Control car racing (which is my favorite hobby). Calculator use? Nope. I have a good calculator which is smaller and "pocketable" and has good functions programmed in with minimal keystrokes to use them. Actually, in the long run, I'll probably replace it with one of the family's Model-100's and a Texas Instrument CC/CPD product. Now that would be *useful*! Anyway, now that I've embarrassed Atari and HP, let me say tht there are some things that they could bring out that would probably sell. First, I'd like to have a Forth-like language. Actually, I've been thinking about this one for some time now. What I want is Forth with support for a single data register (long/word/byte addressable). I'd support Inc, Dec, Compare, Load, Stack, Clear, Boolean tests and arithmatic functions for the register. Forth purists would probably scream, but the increased utility would be worthwhile. Secondly, or alternatively, an RPN (HP-like) calculator card would be nice. Also, I haven't seen a Portfolio disassembled, but it would have been interesting to have the keyboards interchangeable. Consider replacing the full keyboard with a "data entry" keyboard. All it would have would be the numerical keypad (& functions), the function keys and the cursor control keys -- all *large size* and well laid out. That would make it a very good "on-the-site" data entry tool, and coincidentally, make it a much better game machine. . . . :-) -- Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880 lsuc!jimomura Byte Information eXchange: jimomura