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From: aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: HYPERION - Portable PC Question!
Message-ID: <900014@ccvaxa>
Date: Wed, 17-Sep-86 15:55:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ccvaxa.900014
Posted: Wed Sep 17 15:55:00 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Sep-86 01:42:12 EDT
References: <7241@sun.uucp>
Lines: 33
Nf-ID: #R:sun.uucp:7241:ccvaxa:900014:000:1672
Nf-From: ccvaxa.UUCP!aglew    Sep 17 14:55:00 1986


The dope on the HYPERION:

    The Hyperion PC is MS-DOS compatible with the IBM PC, and even 
with most programs that access BIOS, or the hardware directly, under
MS DOS. The big exception is the keyboard. The Hyperion uses a 
different keyboard controller, at a different location, producing
different codes, than the IBM PC.

    What this means, of course, is that programs like Flight Simulator
that do not use the BIOS to read the keyboard will not work. Fortunately,
this is mainly games, not important programs.

    What can you do?: (1) Patch what is necessary to read the Hyperion
keyboard into your game. I've seen this done once, but it isn't fun.
(2) Don't play games. (3) Get the Hyperion conversion kit.

    Yes, there is a kit to upgrade the Hyperion to fairly complete PC
compatibility. It was about to become a product when Comterm dropped the
Hyperion. Actually, later revs of the Hyperion are almost true compatibles,
but I don't think they were sold in the States. 
    There is a company in Toronto selling the conversion kit - at least there
was as of this time last year. Sorry, I threw out the name - it was a bit too
expensive. In this day of 600$ clones it would have been better to buy the
clone. NB. it is not simply a new BIOS.

    In my honest opinion, the best thing to do would be to not worry about
games, and to use it for important software. Oh, yeah - I was a Hyperion
owner. Word processing on the Hyperion got me through my last year of school.
Also the higher-than-PC resolution graphics.

Andy "Krazy" Glew. Gould CSD-Urbana.    USEnet:  ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!aglew
1101 E. University, Urbana, IL 61801    ARPAnet: aglew@gswd-vms