crand@cetc.Wichita.NCR.COM (Collette Rand) (01/12/88)
We've been looking for a portable or a laptop here at work.
Our requirements are as follows:
A hard disk (20 meg.)
Either a 5 1/4" disk drive or a cable link to a desktop
An internal modem (preferably 2400 baud)
640K minimum of memory (preferably expandable to 2 meg at least)
RGB video port
Serial/parallel ports
"Good" screen (ambiguous enough for you?)
80286 processor (80386 if we can afford it)
We've looked at the Compaq Portable III and the Toshiba T1100 and the
Toshiba 3100 and the NEC Multispeed HD. Recently we found an article
in INFO WORLD advertising a "Roadrunner" by Micro Express. They said
they make this machine themselves. Micro Express is advertising a
"Roadrunner 386" with 2 meg of memory, 1.2 meg floppy drive, serial/
parallel ports, 42 meg hard drive, and a Super-twist LCD display.
Oh, our optimum price range is $3K. Of course if we have to go up
or down a little bit we could probably arrange it (with some heavy
talking!).
Has anyone out there heard of this company? Anyone out there LOVE
their laptop/portable? PLEEEEEEEEASE, let me hear from you.
Thanks in advance for your considerate and prompt cooperation.
**Rest assured that since no one here listens to me, these questions
are my own!
--
Collette Rand | NCR: 654-4741 (316) 688-4741 C.Rand@Wichita.NCR.COM
NCR - CETC | <{ece-csc,hubcap,gould,rtech}!ncrae!ncrwic!crand
3450 N. Rock Rd. | <{sdcsvax,cbatt,dcdwest,nosc.ARPA,ihnp4}!ncr-sd!
Wichita, KS 67226 | ncrwic!crandkgregory@bbn.COM (Keith D. Gregory) (01/13/88)
In article <117@cetc.Wichita.NCR.COM> crand@cetc.UUCP (Collette Rand) writes: > >We've been looking for a portable or a laptop here at work. >Our requirements are as follows: > > A hard disk (20 meg.) > Either a 5 1/4" disk drive or a cable link to a desktop > An internal modem (preferably 2400 baud) > 640K minimum of memory (preferably expandable to 2 meg at least) > RGB video port > Serial/parallel ports > "Good" screen (ambiguous enough for you?) > 80286 processor (80386 if we can afford it) > >We've looked at the Compaq Portable III and the Toshiba T1100 and the >Toshiba 3100 and the NEC Multispeed HD. First off, what will you be using this beast for? A couple of possibilities: 1 - For employees to take home at night / on business trips 2 - For employess to use on planes trains and automobiles In case 1, you probably want a portable, such as the Compaq. Since it will be used as a "computer away from computer", you will want a system that is at least equivalent to the one that you're used to. I haven't spent much time looking at such things, but the Compaq Portable II (the small one) would probably be what you want. It has a gas-plasma screen, which some people like and some hate, and is in all other respects equivalent to a desktop machine (exepts that it weighs around 25 pounds). If #2 is your wish, then you will want a laptop. Forget the HD - it makes battery use impossible. I have the Zenith Z-183, which meets all of your above requisites except the HD - 640k, 2 drives (3-1/2), serial/parallel/RGB ports, option for built-in modem, and option for an external 5-1/2 floppy (as well as a bus extension, for such things as HD's). The battery lasts for 3-4 hours, which is more than enough to cover my morning/evening commute (as a contractor, I can't afford a 3 hour commute :-) I'm not sure whether the FAA would allow you to use it on a plane - you might want to check on that. What else can I say - it's slower than my AT (I replaced the original 80c88 with an NEC V-20, which runs at 8MHz), but is comfortable to look at (Blue backlit screen), and will do just about anything that is wanted (although I wouldn't want to spend 8+ hours a day using it). The Toshiba laptops, while on the surface impressive, suffer from one bad point - they are laptops which are competing with portables. You give up a full-sized keyboard (read AT or XT size), but still have to run off a battery. ** Any other comments? Any Holy Wars about to be started? :-) ** -kdg
steve@slovax.UUCP (Steve Cook) (01/13/88)
For what its worth..... I don't know much about their laptop system but I recently bought an XT turbo system from Micro Express. They seem to provide a fairly decent product at a good price. Not much in the way of documentation though. Perhaps thats different for the laptop.
freiburg@pioneer.arpa (Dana Freiburger) (01/13/88)
I have recently purchased a Toshiba T1200, with has 1 3.5 floppy and a 20 meg hard disk. Runs off the builtin battery for 2-3 hours at a time, but I use the (provided) AC adapter at home. Like having a UPS. For about the same about as a Mac SE HD you get a true portable PC, 80C86 running a 9.54 Mhz (room for a 8087). The manuals from Toshiba for the T1200 and MSDOS 3.2 are very good. You can get a internal 1200 baud modem too. Its a nice unit. Hope my feedback helps your decision. ******************************************************************** My opinion, get your own!. Telephone: (415) 694-6555 ********************************************************************
ignatz@chinet.UUCP (Dave Ihnat) (01/14/88)
The Zenith Z-183 has been released with a 20Mb Winchester; rumors are that a 30 or 40Mb unit is in the works. This machine has a twisted-crystal LCD backlighted display with a true 2-1 aspect ratio (i.e., identical with a standard CRT display), a decent keyboard, and quite acceptable battery life. Weight, with Winchester is--if I remember correctly--about 17 lb. or so. I've had a Z-181 (the floppy-only version) for almost a year now, and am still quite satisfied with it; for me, that's pretty unusual. The newer versions of the machine are 4.77/8Mhz (I do wish they'd gone for 10Mhz, but you have to make some tradeoffs.) Price for the Z-181 is $1650 from Zenith (not list--they have high list prices, but *always* seem to come down about 20% or more.) The Z-183 should be acquirable for about $2300. The warranty is for 1 year parts&labor. I've been hauling this box in to work and back on a daily basis for almost a year, and it's been quite reliable. Once I had a problem with the internal modem, and Zenith found a replacement for me in 1 day. Overall, not the cheapest portable, but possibly the one with the best display and keyboard, and good service. -- Dave Ihnat ihnp4!homebru!ignatz || ihnp4!chinet!ignatz (w) (312) 882-4673
heiby@mcdchg.UUCP (Ron Heiby) (01/14/88)
Dana Freiburger (freiburg@pioneer.UUCP) writes: > I have recently purchased a Toshiba T1200, with has 1 3.5 floppy > and a 20 meg hard disk. Runs off the builtin battery for 2-3 > hours at a time, but I use the (provided) AC adapter at home. I was just looking at the data sheet on the T1200 and it says that the battery is good for 7 hours. I'm planning on buying a laptop this spring/summer in the T1200 capability range, but battery life is important to me. I'd like something at least 5 hours. 2-3 is a bit short for what I have in mind. Does anyone know the straight story on battery life? Does Dana have a bad battery or does the data sheet have a "typo"? Also, is there a car adapter for the T1200? The sheet I have doesn't mention one. -- Ron Heiby, heiby@mcdchg.UUCP Moderator: comp.newprod & comp.unix "Intel architectures build character."
pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) (01/14/88)
In article <5972@ccv.bbn.COM> kgregory@ccv.bbn.com (Keith D. Gregory) writes: >In article <117@cetc.Wichita.NCR.COM> crand@cetc.UUCP (Collette Rand) writes: >> >>We've been looking for a portable or a laptop here at work. >>Our requirements are as follows: >> >>[summary: 20 MB HD, 5.25 disk or link, modem (2400 pref'd),640K RAM exp >> to >=2MB, RGB, Ser, Parallel, nice screen, '286 or '386] >> >>We've looked at the Compaq Portable III and the Toshiba T1100 and the >>Toshiba 3100 and the NEC Multispeed HD. > >First off, what will you be using this beast for? > >1 - For employees to take home at night / on business trips > >2 - For employess to use on planes trains and automobiles > >In case 1, you probably want a portable, such as the Compaq. >...(exepts that it weighs around 25 pounds). ^^^^^^^^^hardly portable nowadays! Toshiba 3100/3200/5100 are far more portable; only around 15 pounds! The 3100 is rather old now. The 3200 has all that Compaq has, (including slots), plus EGA, less weight, easy to carry case. [3200 summary: Avail end of 1/88, $3700 discounted, 12 MHz '286, 40 MB fast HD, 1 MB RAM exp to 4 MB (all excess is EMS and/or extended), EGA gas plasma, full size kbd, 1 16 bit AT slot, 1 8 bit 1/2 slot, socket for external 101 key kbd if you care] The 5100 is like the 3200, but switch to 16 MHz '386, remove the internal slots so the case is more like the 3100. Avail 2/88, $4700 discounted. Note that the list price just went up to $7000 (falling dollar strikes again-- unlike the others, this computer is still made in Japan). I'm *sure* there will be a 5200 soon. >If #2 is your wish, then you will want a laptop. Forget the HD - it makes >battery use impossible. >[talks about Zenith Z-183 which has it all except HD]. Why forget the HD? The new Toshiba 1200 lasts up to 5 hours with a 20 MB hard disk and ~10 MHz 8086 and 1 MB RAM (can carve the excess into EMS and/or battery-backed up RAM-Disk). Typical time seems to be 3-4 hours. But you can carry an extra battery cartridge if you are really all that hot to go. The whole thing only weighs 10 pounds, so it is still not too bad if you carry more batteries. With the fast 8086, the permanent RAM disk, and instant-on startup, (oh- and an 8087 socket), it isn't all that bad compared with an AT. Especially when you get to keep your HD on the road. The thing I like best about the T1200 is that they've really done the power system right. All batteries are rechargeable. First, a slow-drain battery that maintains clock/cal for a *very* long time, no matter what else you leave on. Second, the main battery. Third, an instant-resume battery that maintains the RAM and port info whenever the main battery is dead or the power is off. This is *really* great. If you turn off the system, or let the main battery die, or take it out (to put a new one in).... the next time you turn on the system, it will come up *exactly* where you were before, even right in the middle of a program! Who needs a boot disk or autoexec? Why wait for lotus to start up? The only drawback is that, since the resume- battery is 'hidden' behind the main battery in the power chain, it takes a while to get it fully charged the first time. >The Toshiba laptops, while on the surface impressive, suffer from one bad >point - they are laptops which are competing with portables. You give up a >full-sized keyboard (read AT or XT size), but still have to run off a >battery. A strange comment! 'Have to run off a battery'???? Nawww. You can leave it plugged in all you want. You GET to run off a battery whenever you want! The 3200 and 5100 have socket for full sized keyboard. All the Toshibas have a nice keyboard anyway: you give up the numeric-pad numbers, but not the cursor controls. They have a nice inverted T cursor set, plus Hm/End/etc. The one bad thing is that Grey-minus and Grey-plus are a pain (on all but the 3200). > >** Any other comments? Any Holy Wars about to be started? :-) ** > >-kdg My advice: 1) If you care about batteries, or if you are not spending someone else's money :-), the Toshiba T1200 is a real nice choice. 2) If you have $$$, don't mind a power cord, and can wait a little, go for the T3200 or T5100. 3) If you have more time than $$$ and don't mind having a luggable instead of something really light, then go put together one of the new lunchbox-clones. I saw around 2 dozen companies at COMDEX all selling AT-Compaq-Portable-Lunchbox-Clones based on a case and motherboard made by someone or other. Add HD, memory, and go! Something equivalent to Compaq Portable III was only $2495! I even saw one with a real color EGA screen in it. Tiny, but it worked! They all weigh around 25 pounds, and caveat emptor on service... but hey, you've got strong arms, right? Other thoughts: 25 pounds is NOT portable, except for short walks to/from a car. 15 pounds is portable, but not if you have to carry it very long (airport lines, taxi lines, long airport aisles, big building hallways, etc) 10 pounds is great. However, if you carry it around all the time (like many writers I know), it gets to be a drag. 6 pounds is not noticeable. Like a book. New thing I'm checking on: 2400 baud internal modem for laptops. From a third party. Cheap. For Toshiba and other laptops! In the meantime: The Worldport 2400 modem is cheap, plugs in any serial port, is the size of a cigarette pack, enough Hayes compatibility to work right, even has a speaker! A great thing to have if you don't insist on having everything really *inside* your laptop. Re: external 5.25 drives or links to PC's: If you don't have a PC around, go ahead and get the external drive if needed. If you *do* have a PC, get File Shuttle. Fastest, easiest PC to PC file transfer anywhere! >15K bytes per second (>1MB/minute). You can easily pick whole directory sets on one PC, hit a key, and off they all go to the other one. Pretty cheap too. (I have a way to do 70K/sec between 2 PC's, but no time to implement it...THAT would really be nice! Maybe someday...) Time to quit. Pete -- OOO __| ___ Peter Holzmann, Octopus Enterprises OOOOOOO___/ _______ USPS: 19611 La Mar Court, Cupertino, CA 95014 OOOOO \___/ UUCP: {hpda,pyramid}!octopus!pete ___| \_____ Phone: 408/996-7746
karthur@codas.att.com (Kurt_R_Arthur) (01/15/88)
In article <3413@mcdchg.UUCP> heiby@mcdchg.UUCP (Ron Heiby) writes: > > Dana Freiburger (freiburg@pioneer.UUCP) writes: >> I have recently purchased a Toshiba T1200, with has 1 3.5 floppy >> and a 20 meg hard disk. Runs off the builtin battery for 2-3 >> hours at a time, but I use the (provided) AC adapter at home. > > I was just looking at the data sheet on the T1200 and it says that > the battery is good for 7 hours. I'm planning on buying a laptop this > spring/summer in the T1200 capability range, but battery life is > important to me. I'd like something at least 5 hours. 2-3 is a bit > short for what I have in mind. Does anyone know the straight story > on battery life? Does Dana have a bad battery or does the data sheet > have a "typo"? Also, is there a car adapter for the T1200? The sheet > I have doesn't mention one. Battery life in the laptop world is very much a function of what the operator is doing. This is because a lot of disk access (especially fixed disks) and backlighting the screen will dramatically shorten the amount of time you can use your laptop. If you turn off the backlighting, and never access the disk you will probably get 7 hours. If you turn on the backlighting and run very disk-intensive activities (like compiles or database indexing or whatever), you will be lucky to get 2 hours. I have no insight into your proposed application, but most places I would want to compute at have current, so battery life is not critical (3 hours or less is fine for me). I have no imformation about a car adapter for the Toshiba. Regards, Kurt Arthur Software Services of Florida, Inc.
Steven_M_List@cup.portal.com (01/16/88)
pete@octopus.UUCP (Pete Holzmann) posted an exceptionally informative article about portables/laptops. I wanted to take a moment to thank him publicly. This article was filled with useful information and a sprinkling of educated opinion. This is one of the things that makes the network valuable, rather than just another mail service. Thanks Pete - I learned and enjoyed.
pjh@mccc.UUCP (01/17/88)
Anyone connected with a college can get Zenith computer products at wonderful
prices, too. For example, I bought a Z-181 when they first came out for $1399.
--
Peter Holsberg UUCP: {rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh
Technology Division CompuServe: 70240,334
Mercer College GEnie: PJHOLSBERG
Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800