maverick@floopy.UUCP (Thomas "Maverick" Schwarz) (03/06/89)
I know this has probably been discussed on the net before but since I am new
to the net I thought I would ask. I am interested in finding out if any of
you know of any plans for a portable Amiga. (How about it C/A?) I have
been out many times and wished I had a portable Amiga because I have come
up with a possible solution to a programming problem I have been having but
I have to wait until I get home and by then I have either forgotten my idea
or lost the piece of paper I wrote it on. Come on Commodore, how about a
portable Amiga? I would appreciate any and all comments (flames excluded)
on this subject.
--
____
/ / / Amiga 1000 | Thomas "Maverick" Schwarz - Sirius Software
/ / / The Machine | Box 349 Caromar Dr. Mars, PA 16046
____ / / / That Made It | (412) 443-6918
\ \ \/ / / Possible! |
\ \/ / / -- |UUCP: {allegra,cadre}!pitt!darth!floopy!maverick
\/_/_/ First! | or: {allegra,cadre}!idis!insight!thomas_schwarzw-colinp@microsoft.UUCP (Colin Plumb) (03/07/89)
I doubt it. Very little need. Also, portable == LCD, and I don't know how you'd do a Copper for an LCD display. The Amiga is pretty tied to its video. -- -Colin (uunet!microsoft!w-colinp) "Don't listen to me. I never do." - The Doctor
thompson@savax.UUCP (thompson mark) (03/07/89)
In article <816@microsoft.UUCP> w-colinp@microsoft.uucp (Colin Plumb) writes: >I doubt it. Very little need. Also, portable == LCD, and I don't know >how you'd do a Copper for an LCD display. Actually, at AmiExpo some group was showing and selling portable Amigas. They were basically just an amiga stuffed into a suitcase with a ruggedized keyboard case and a small monochrome CRT. The whole thing looked like something out of James Bond. They were selling them for somewhere around $2200. I don't remember the name of the company though. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Mark Thompson | | decvax!savax!thompson Designing high performance graphics | | (603)885-9583 silicon today for a better tomorrow. | --------------------------------------------------------------------------
ralph@atrp.media.mit.edu (Ralph L. Vinciguerra) (03/08/89)
Actually, I had thought of turning an A500 into a portable. It would take a battery pack (or a good long extension cord) and one of these LCD panels that can handle normal NTSC video. You see, a sufficiently powerful LCD panel should be able to use serial video input. If it took some slightly strange syncing, that could be solved by a small amount of extra circuitry. Should no LCD be available a little tiny 12V CRT, perhaps with some magnifying optics that fold up should work. I'm also considering a 12V adapter setup so I can run my Amiga 500 on a sailboat (for navigation and racing) and in my car (for fiero on-board computer diagnostics). Gee, now I *am* having fun yet.
simon@copper.columbia.edu (Thor Simon) (03/08/89)
Actually the guys at AmiEXPO were selling a _trans_portable, with the difference being that whereas a portable can be used anywhere, a transportable requires a 120v outlet. Also, theirs used a tiny amber CRT, which was a real power glutton and the reason for the outlet requirement. I talked to the designer, who said that for $2500 more, which would make the price ~$5000, he could have put in a LCD display and a battery. As it was, I'm doubtful they sold any, and they only brought one to the show anyway. Assorted bits&pieces of info I also picked up about this company's portable and portable amigas in general: A 2000 is too big and complex to be remounted as a portable without complete board redesign. The portable _does_ have space for a hard drive AND controller. It's a stock 500 with a beefed up power supply. It can be used with a tiny color monitor too, but just barely gets 60 cols. Unfortunately, I forgot the company's name, but if anybody wants to know where to get one, mail me and I'll dig up their card.
sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (03/14/89)
In article <816@microsoft.UUCP>, w-colinp@microsoft.UUCP (Colin Plumb) writes: > I doubt it. Very little need. Also, portable == LCD, and I don't know > how you'd do a Copper for an LCD display. The Amiga is pretty tied to > its video. I think there is just as much need for a portable Amiga as there is for any portable computer. I would love to be able to fold up my amiga and take it on trips with me, to my friends house, to the local amiga group meetings, etc. It's kind of hard to take my current system apart and haul it around. As for LCD screens, I remember reading about an LCD screen that would emulate a CRT. In other words it had the hardware built into it to convert the CRT port output into LCD input. You could plug this baby right into a CGA adaptor (which means it would probably work on an Amiga) and it would work. I saw it in a mag called EE times or something like that (it's been a year or so). Has anyone else heard of such an animal? I would settle for just a transportable amiga. One that still needed AC power (instead of batteries) that was easy to fold up and take along. Come to think of it, with the LCD screen I mentioned, if it still exists, and my amiga 1000, that would be all that I need to make a transportable. The biggest hassle of moving my amiga is the monitor. -- John Sparks // Amiga | {rutgers|uunet}!ukma!corpane!sparks \X/ UUCP | >> call D.I.S.K. @ 502/968-5401 thru 5406 << Death is nature's way of telling you to slow down.
odin@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (Jon Granrose) (03/16/89)
Well, I for one, would love a portable or transportable Amiga. I think CBM is really missing out on a market here. If they could come out with the equivalent of a 500 with 1M RAM, 1 3.5" drive, 20meg hard drive, modem and some sort of screen, I would probaly have bought that instead. Being a student, I move around a lot and being a CIS major I bring my computer everywhere I go. Last summer, my 20 meg hard drive got trashed in transit which left my with a crippled computer for the entire summer. Major Bummer. I would give almost anything to have a truly portable Amiga and be very happy with just a transportable one. Jon _____________________________________________________________________________ |Jon Granrose | ARPA: odin@ucscb.UCSC.EDU |CIS: 74036,3241| // Only | |Cowell College, UCSC | UUCP: ...!ucbvax!ucscc!ucscb!odin |\X/ Amiga!| |Santa Cruz, CA 95064 |Bitnet: odin%ucscb.ucsc.edu@cunyvm.bitnet ~~~~~~~~~~| |"A mind is a terrible thing" "Remember, no matter where you go there you are"| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~