Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) (10/12/89)
With all the usual talk of "Atari's blown it again, etc., ad nausem"
from many on this net, including myself, it might be refreshing to know
that product is arriving, at least in this little neck of the woods, this
IBM and Mac world that I live in.
At our university, I saw two Portfolios that just arrived. One was
at the bookstore labeled to go to the legal school and the other is going
to the sports department.
To top it off, if you call 1-800-443-8020, you will not only get a
nice lady answering with "Portfolio Hotline" but she will quickly tell
you where your quickest dealer is. To be frank, I was so flabbergasted
at the professionalism that I forgot to ask if I could have ordered a
Portfolio via the same number.
I did retain enough mental capabilities to ask if I could have some
material for the Portfolio. "Why yes. What is your address?" I actually
remembered my address.
Anyway, I think the door is beginning to open.
Larry Rymal: |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET>towns@atari.UUCP (John Townsend) (10/13/89)
in article <891011.18574418.070054@SFA.CP6>, Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET (Z4648252) says: > > > With all the usual talk of "Atari's blown it again, etc., ad nausem" > from many on this net, including myself, it might be refreshing to know > that product is arriving, at least in this little neck of the woods, this > IBM and Mac world that I live in. > At our university, I saw two Portfolios that just arrived. One was > at the bookstore labeled to go to the legal school and the other is going > to the sports department. > To top it off, if you call 1-800-443-8020, you will not only get a > nice lady answering with "Portfolio Hotline" but she will quickly tell > you where your quickest dealer is. To be frank, I was so flabbergasted > at the professionalism that I forgot to ask if I could have ordered a > Portfolio via the same number. > I did retain enough mental capabilities to ask if I could have some > material for the Portfolio. "Why yes. What is your address?" I actually > remembered my address. > Anyway, I think the door is beginning to open. > > Larry Rymal: |East Texas Atari 68NNNers| <Z4648252@SFAUSTIN.BITNET> As for your question, yes! You can order Portfolio from the same line as you called for information or you can order it from any of the speciality dealers that are currently carrying the product. For your closest Portfolio dealer, call the toll free 800 number listed above. As for the service, thanks for the comments.. I will pass them along to the tired Portfolio Group (Boy are they busy!).. -- John Townsend ames!atari!towns Atari Corporation, Technical Support
Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com (10/14/89)
Larry Rymal says: > With all the usual talk of "Atari's blown it again, etc., ad nausem" >from many on this net, including myself, it might be refreshing to know >that product is arriving, at least in this little neck of the woods, this >IBM and Mac world that I live in. ... > Anyway, I think the door is beginning to open. Yes... but... the door to what...? I agree that the Portfolio is not "vaporware", but then again, what exactly IS it..? Is it something that will benefit Atari ST owners..? No.. Is it something that will help promote the Atari ST name in the computing industry...? No... Is it something that will be of use to anyone other than owners of IBM PC and PC clones..? No... (not unless you can justify a $400 "phone list") Is it a "standalone" computer..? No... Is it an economical answer for someone wanting to get into "computers"..? No... So... what exactly IS the Portfolio...? As I see it, the Portfolio is an accessory for an IBM PC system... much like a fancy monitor stand, or a gizmo that holds papers for you to type into your text editor... it WILL help you do things like taking notes on an airplane, or entering "travelling salesman" figures "on the spot"... but... that seems to me to be an awfully limited usefulness.. If you DON'T have an IBM PC style system, a Portfolio is an expensive toy... No, it's NOT "vaporware"... but neither is the $50 gizmo that makes peanut butter in your kitchen... who needs it..? BobR
Xorg@cup.portal.com (Peter Ted Szymonik) (10/15/89)
I saw the Portfolio at the WAACE Fest and i've also been very impressed with the Atari ads that have been appearing in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. My dealer now has two Portfolio's and is taking orders - he is waiting for all the accessories to come out before selling Portfolio. Peter Szymonik Xorg@cup.portal.com
andyc@hplsla.HP.COM (Andy Cassino) (10/17/89)
Bob Retelle writes: | |I agree that the Portfolio is not "vaporware", but then again, what exactly |IS it..? | |Is it something that will benefit Atari ST owners..? No.. | |Is it something that will help promote the Atari ST name in the computing |industry...? No... | | (and other rhetorical questions deleted...) |---------- Well, based on what I saw at my Atari dealer Saturday, it's something that is getting one heck of a lot of people to come in to the store that might not otherwise visit. My dealer didn't seem to be the least bit unhappy about having people lined up to look at the thing! Funny how people looked at the ST systems while they waited - obviously something they had not done before. The dealer just hired a new saleperson - between the increased traffic thru the store and the TOS 1.4 installation, two people can't keep up with the demand! Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those solely of the author, who has no pecuniary interest in the companies mentioned. Copyright (c) 1989 by Andrew Cassino. All rights reserved. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% % Andy Cassino % % uucp: hplabs!hplsla!andyc domain: andyc%hplsla@hplabs.hp.com % % Hewlett-Packard Lake Stevens Instrument Division % % 8600 Soper Hill Road Everett, WA 98205-1298 % % (206) 335-2211 % %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (10/17/89)
>>>>> On 14 Oct 89 06:53:51 GMT, Bob_BobR_Retelle@cup.portal.com said:
bob> So... what exactly IS the Portfolio...?
bob>
bob> As I see it, the Portfolio is an accessory for an IBM PC system... much
bob> like a fancy monitor stand, or a gizmo that holds papers for you to type
bob> into your text editor... it WILL help you do things like taking notes
bob> on an airplane, or entering "travelling salesman" figures "on the spot"...
bob> but... that seems to me to be an awfully limited usefulness..
bob>
bob> If you DON'T have an IBM PC style system, a Portfolio is an expensive toy...
I disagree. I was very, very interested in purchasing a Portfolio
until I saw the cost of the accessories needed to make it a useful
machine. I don't own a PC; I own an Amiga 1000.
The Portfolio can serve as an "on-the-go" text editor for editing
correspondence and even reading netnews (one of my intended uses). It
can transfer files to non-IBM machines via the serial port.
Unfortunately, the cost of a Portfolio with one 128K memory card and
the serial port extension is $680. A Toshiba T1000 with a full-size
screen, 512K memory and one 720K floppy drive is $600 street price.
The Portfolio is smaller, but the T1000 is still acceptably small and
much more functional.
--M
--
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\/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc.
portuesi@SGI.COM