Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!malgudi!caen!uwm.edu!convex.csd.uwm.edu!anthony From: anthony@convex.csd.uwm.edu (Anthony J Stieber) Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds Subject: Re: Portfolio, HP-95, M-100 & Message-ID: <12951@uwm.edu> Date: 10 Jun 91 04:37:12 GMT References: <1991Jun9.152710.20556@lsuc.on.ca> Sender: news@uwm.edu Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Lines: 91 In article <1991Jun9.152710.20556@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: >there are a number of CC/CPD capable products on the market by >Casio, Sharp and Texas Instruments. What machine does TI sell? I haven't heard of it before. >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. Well, my Psion Organiser II does fit in my shirt pocket at about 1x3x5 and it can hold two 256K RAM paks. Admitably it's a bit large, perhaps too large for some people. > The Portfolio and the 95LX are simple too big and too >*heavy*. most people are simply not going to use them for this For me, these two machines are larger than I might want to carry around. I'd have to try them out for a week to know. But the larger size and clamshell case may be worthwhile. My pants pockets are big enough to carry either machine (and not much else :). >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 I agree, word processing is difficult with such a small system. But a pocket sized system is the only one that I can carry *everywhere*. It is little larger than the small notebook, calender, pen, nevermind a calculator that I used to carry around. The qwerty keyboard is not the ultimate in keyboard input. The only reason it exists at all is because it's a standard. I've found I can type reasonalbly on a rather small 6x6 key, alphabetic keyboard, and with only one hand, leaving the other to hold the machine. When I know I'll want to do some text intesive work, I'll drag my MS-DOS laptop along (like taking notes in class, or meetings). > 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? How about just emailing it? One the uses for small machines like these are as portable terminals. I can call in from anywhere there is a phone and exchange messages. Certainly they make less sense if you're standing next to a person, unless their handheld is readily compatible with yours. There are organizations where a specific handheld is used widely. Those that don't have a use for a handheld, have devices to read the removable RAM cards the handhelds use. Imagine thinking of a proposal and working on it spontaneously while at lunch, then handing a secretary a RAM card with a spreadsheet and accompanying document. This can be done right now with an Atari Portfolio, and probably has been done. > 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 & I've typed in over 128K of data into my handheld, and I wish I could store all of it. Unfortunatly RAM for any handheld is still quite expensive. With more storage I would transfer material from other sources, such as documentation. >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 When it comes to specialty machines like these, the "experts" don't seem to know much. They might have been refering to the monster spread sheets that take up 2MB of EMS, although I don't know how many people actually make them that big. >sell. First, I'd like to have a Forth-like language. Actually, There is a forth for the Portfolio available, it's on atari.archive.engin.umich.edu. There's a mail server for this site too, I think. If you really want a sort of forth like machine, check out the HP-48SX. -- <-:(= Anthony Stieber anthony@csd4.csd.uwm.edu uwm!uwmcsd4!anthony Psion Mailing List subscriber submissions psion ----------\ the (human) moderator psion-owner -------+--@csd4.csd.uwm.edu subscriptions and file requests psion-request ----/