01659@AECLCR.BITNET (Greg Csullog) (12/01/89)
I like the Portfolio concept but I think that Atari should extend it. Just about everyone I know who has had to lug a Zenith, Toshiba, etc laptop with a 20 meg drive agrees that its a pain (in the shoulder as well as other places). Myself and a few others have taken to travelling with the old Radio Shack Model 100 because it is light, has a good keyboard, nice built in software and a modem (albeit 300 baud). The M100 keyboard is also preferred to the Portfolio's. A few years ago, an 8K M100 sold for $299 Canadian - the bargain of the century. Atari should get its OEM to bring out an M100 sized portable that has: 1. an 80 x 24 LCD display 2. an internal 1200/2400 baud modem 3. DOS (80c88) or TOS (CMOS 68000) 4. parallel/serial ports If NEC could engineer the M100 about 4/5 years ago, Atari should be able to do something similar with a DOS/TOS system this year. There is a large number of people who hate heavy laptops and would love a light laptop. Unlike the Poquet or the Portfolio, it does not have to be ultra small, like I said, the M100 scale is great. If a popular WP and SpreadSheet were included (Word Perfect Executive and Quattro) the system would sell well. Hell, Atari could buy the rights for the M100 and sell it as is. Believe me, the concept of a light portable would do well if marketed right (then again Atari has not been known for its marketing skill!)