cc.fdc@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA (03/07/84)
From: Frank da Cruz <cc.fdc@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA> I'm writing this note on an IBM Portable PC which we have on loan for a few days, using KERMIT in H19 emulation mode with EMACS. KERMIT seems to work just fine on this new machine; I didn't test it extensively, but I transferred a few files back & forth with no difficulty at all, and the terminal emulator works fine with EMACS. A couple impressions about the portable PC -- the 8.5" amber screen is awful. I have nothing against amber, but the monitor is driven by the IBM color adapter, so you get the low resolution characters and the disconcerting flicker during scrolling. There's no monochrome option. The keyboard is exactly like the PC/XT keyboard, except with a different base that folds onto the front of the unit. The cord plugs into the front of the unit (hooray!) with a phone jack and stores inside the keyboard. I installed an IBM async adapter and it worked fine right away (at 4800 baud). I notice there are 6 expansion slots. 4 of them are very short, 1 is a little bit longer, and one appears to be ALMOST long enough for the AST or Quadram multifunction boards. There's an annoying high pitched noise coming out of the vent in back. The noise plus the flicker would make this machine no fun to sit in front of all day. But the compatibility and the keyboard beat the PCjr. Speaking of the PCjr, we have one of those on loan for a few days too and will try to get KERMIT running on it if we can. - Frank -------