portuesi@tweezers.esd.sgi.com (Michael Portuesi) (09/29/89)
I didn't get any responses to my request for information about the Atari Portfolio, but I did get the following info by calling Atari and reading a review of the Portfolio in _MicroTimes_, a computer newsmonthly in California. I hope it helps other people who are considering the Portfolio. I quote the questions from my original post, followed by the information I was able to get: > 1. Does the Portfolio have a serial port? What is the highest baud > rate supported over the serial port? Yes, serial ($79.95 option) and parallel ($49.95 option). Highest baud rate on serial port unknown. > 2. What kind of memory technology does the 640K expansion use? How > much will it cost to upgrade a Portfolio to 640K? An upgrade memory expander is available (extra 256K+ and second card drive), $229.95. Two of these would be needed to expand to 640K. > 3. Is there an optional external floppy drive? no, but a PC memory card drive can be attached to standard PC. > 4. What is the storage capacity of the external memory cards? How > much does a memory card cost? What is the I/O speed of these cards? Memory cards are battery-powered RAM devices. They come in 3 sizes -- 32, 64, and 128K 32K 79.99 storage cards plug into Portfolio card drive 64K 129.99 treat just like floppy. 128K 199.99 > 5. Does the Portfolio offer any sort of graphics capability? Can the > display handle inverse video and the IBM graphics character set? "very limited graphics capability", according to the Atari spokesperson. > 6. Is the bundled software included in a built-in ROM, or does it > come on memory cards? applications prorgrams are built in. > 7. What version of MS-DOS does the Portfolio use? Is MS-DOS built > into ROM? Are external MS-DOS commands also built into ROM? MS-DOS 2.11 is built into ROM. > 8. The Portfolio supports a 40x8 virtual view onto an 80x24 screen. > Is it possible to make applications which simply use the 40x8 physical > screen only? I would prefer to see only a little bit of a document > rather than a scrolling view of one-sixth of a standard display. The bundled applications will work either in 80x25 virtual scroll mode or in 40x8 physical mode. [I assume that it is possible to write or modify existing MS-DOS applications such as MicroEmacs to function within the 40x8 physical display]. > 9. Do MS-DOS programs that assume a monochrome display adapter and > simply blast bytes into display memory work on the Portfolio? "yes, on the whole", according to Atari. They do not guarantee that all monochrome-adaptor based applications will work, however. > 10. How long does the Portfolio run on three AA alkaline batteries? 6-8 weeks of normal usage (every day 1-2 hours). Portfolio provides a battery low message when battery goes low. > 11. does the portfolio keep contents of its memory when it is shut > off? Yes. same with RAM storage cards. RAM cards are just like a floppy disk -- they may be removed from portfolio and keep their contents indefinitely. Atari wants a direct sale dealer network for the Portfolio -- currently the list of dealers carrying the Portfolito is rather small. According to the representative I spoke to, Atari has few dealers for the Portfolio now, and expects to expand their dealer list 1 or 2 percent at most in the future. ------ Now that the whole story is in, I can honestly evaluate whether or not a Portfolio would suit my needs. I have a rather long commute back and forth to work each day, which I could put to productive use with a portable computer. Besides the built-in calendar/diary and address book, I would need to be able to run MicroEmacs to edit programs and correspondence (my fingers have Emacs ingrained in them too much to learn the commands for the built-in editor), and be able to transfer files to my workstation at work or my computer at home via a serial port. For my use, I would need the following: Portfolio $399.95 Serial Port $79.95 to up/download stuff 128K RAM card $199.95 to hold Emacs + file transfer program ------- total for min. usable system $680 I can buy a Toshiba T1000 for $600 (street price), which gives me more standard memory (512K), a larger display (80x25), a larger keyboard, and a standard 720K floppy drive. The only advantage the Portfolio has is its smaller size and weight, although the Toshiba is much smaller than many laptops, weighing only six pounds. Given Atari's method of distribution for the Portfolio, it seems unlikely that I could buy one at similar discount prices to make its "bang for the buck" ratio competitive with the Toshiba. I'm not sure "Power without the Price" is the appropriate description for the Portfolio. --M -- __ \/ Michael Portuesi Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Inc. portuesi@SGI.COM "The best length for television programs is either 30 seconds or 8 hours." David Byrne