Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!think.com!laird From: laird@think.com (Laird Popkin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds Subject: Re: A bunch of Portfolio notes... Keywords: AtariUser, Portfolio Message-ID: <1991Jun21.010142.14033@Think.COM> Date: 21 Jun 91 01:01:42 GMT References: <1991Jun20.001203.24928@rick.cs.ubc.ca> <1991Jun20.190320.8089@lsuc.on.ca> Sender: news@Think.COM Reply-To: laird@think.com Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA Lines: 113 In article <1991Jun20.190320.8089@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: >In article <1991Jun20.001203.24928@rick.cs.ubc.ca> b3300876@rick.cs.ubc.ca (george chow) writes: > >>Megabyte Computers in Texas will now upgrade the Portfolio to 512K of internal >>memory. The modification must be done at their site and includes a six month >>warranty on the Portfolio. The cost is $350, or new Portfolio units with the >>upgrade already installed are available for sale. For more information call, >>(817)589-2950. >> [munch munch] > Now that was interesting because I thought I'd heard that >the Portfolio was expandable back when it was first introduced. >So from the above 2 notes I guess that Atari never expanded >Portfolios beyond 128K RAM? The Portfolio was designed to have either 128K or 512K of internal SRAM. All MegaByte Computers is doing is (carefully) pulling out the surface mounted SRAM chips in the PF and replacing them with higher capacity chips. Atari may have decided that since a third party company was selling a PF internal RAM expansion there was no need for Atari to release a "fat PF". Atari's market for the PF is the "pocket organizer" market, and I'd guess that they don't see too much of a market for a $700 PF (a guess at what a PF would sell for with 512K SRAM). >>Alwin says that Atari is planning to enter the notebook computer arena by >>producing a notbook version of the Atari ST, called the ST-BOOK. The price >>spread betwen a built-up Portfolio and a base ST-BOOK would be too small. >>What does this mean for Portfolio users? Perhaps we shouldn't expect a Portfolio >>II soon, despite rumors that it is already in production. But Atari and a number > > Well, I'd guess that a "Portfolio II" would still fit into >the current scheme of things. I have no information about such >a machine, but from my current messing around, and in light of >the HP-95LX I could see them bringing out something. I think >what might be a sellable product would be 320 * 100 pixels of If there are too many pixels, either the pixels shrink (bad for visibility) or the PF would have to be larger (bad for portability). The current display is sufficient for my needs. Lots of pixels would be OK as long as the characters stay large, I suppose. But the more pixels there are, the more power the display draws. Everything's a tradeoff... I like the PF particularly because it's small, runs forever on batteries, and readable. >display, an "industry standard" memory card slot in place of the I would like to see a PF with the new PCMCIA slot. Of course that means incompatibility with all of the PF cards out now, but it opens the doors to all of the ROM applications available for other DOS palmtops. >current slot, a slightly revised keyboard and at least 258K RAM Where did you come up with an odd number like "258K"? >standard with the expansion up to 1 Meg., but with the current >60 pin expansion buss. That would be usable to "bridge the gap" >between the current Portfolio and some future machine that >might take off in a new "form factor" direction. Especially >a 320 pixel wide display. That would be a neat trick to play >on HP. It's only a few more pixels than the HP-95LX as far >as I can tell (nobody has counted them for me, but I'd guess they >are using 240 * 128), but there are some nifty tricks you can >use by having special fonts for 64 character and 80 character lines. >A 64 character line would be readable enough for spreadsheets and >an 80 character line could be used for "text format previewing". >I wouldn't advertise the 80 character line font as being "readable" >but in fact it can be read. We used to use a font of this pixel >range on the original Radio Shack Color Computer for "previewing" >and I found that I could get used to it enough to read the text. >But the 64 character line font would be the *real* surprise. Such >a font would be quite usable for spreadsheets. I'd like to see a Portfolio II, with 512K RAM standard and a nicer (but no larger) keyboard. The current display is sufficient, though I wouldn't object if Atari could expand the display to use more of the "cover" area. But I wouldn't want much smaller characters -- IMHO readability is more important than the number of characters on the display. Incidentally, someone has posted a program that displays 60 columns by 10 lines on the current PF. He is working with Atari, apparently, on a way to patch the OS to add a 60x10 display mode transparently to applications. > So for a display that would cost about the same as the HP to >make you could have greater functionality. I could see HP executives >pulling out their hair on that point. Well, the HP95LX has a faster processor, but processor speed isn't a big deal (IMHO) for a handheld. It'd be interesting to see if Intel has made a CMOS (low power) 8087 -- that would be nice, though probably too expensive to be worth while. Perhaps as an add-on? >>is planning to release the Power BASIC compiler, and Hyperlist, an outliner. > > Hmm. I thought these were supposed to have been available by now? Me too. Power BASIC has been done for a while as far as I know. I have seen programs that were compiled using Power BASIC... I plan on buying both of these when they come out. > Ick. That was something I was just about to look into. Literally >look into -- I was about to take apart my Portfolio and see what the >guts were like. Sounds like a surface mounted ROM, or worse. . . . You could hardly expect Atari to use socketed DIPs in something as small (and low cost) as the PF. >-- >Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880 >lsuc!jimomura >Byte Information eXchange: jimomura - Laird Popkin, Thinking Machines Connection Machine: Massively parallel supercomputer. Also a cool black cube with more blinking lights than you can shake a stick at.