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From: baker@hpsemc.UUCP (John Corey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: need info on laptops
Message-ID: <3530002@hpsemc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 7-Oct-87 18:24:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpsemc.3530002
Posted: Wed Oct  7 18:24:17 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 11-Oct-87 03:24:09 EDT
References: <14876@clyde.ATT.COM>
Organization: HP SEMC, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 32

> My name is Curtis Jackson, and I want a laptop portable computer.
> Being a rank amateur in the field of home computing, I'm asking for
> advice, experiences, and even used equipment.
> 
> Here's what I would like to get:  Bear in mind that I want this for
> writing fiction, not software, so the only computing power I need is
> for text editing (I'll upload the stuff to another system to typeset
> it), and I'm quite willing to write my own visual editor in the machine's
> native assembler if a good text editor isn't readily available.

Last week I started using a HP laptop.  Given that I work for HP, I just
borrowed one for a couple of months.  I am trying to decide if it will
help me do ALL the things I do better than using a paper-based time manager
system.

The HP will not meet all you requirements.  It has no disc drives built
in.  I have my doubts about the reliability of a system which has
mechanical systems built in.  I have let a HP Portable Plus fall on the
floor to highlight how well built it is.  Depending on you needs, a modem
may give you all the transfer capabilities that you need.

If you are writing fiction, I would focus on systems which will support the
word processing package (or editor) which you want to use.  Using the same
package on the "host" and the portable is best.

Give some hard thought as to how you will really use the system.  If you
really want to carry it around daily, weight and reliability will be
key.  If you will only move it on weekends, higher weight and less
strict enviromental constraints might fit.

John "baker" Corey
hplabs!hpsemc!baker