koo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Kane Koo) (12/02/90)
Like the subject line says, some HP150 stuff...I know that this might just be a tall order, but any help would be appreciated... First, are there any decent text editors (or even word processors) available for this machine? I only have edlin, which is that free editor (u get what u pay for :)) that comes with DOS, and would rather use something else to write code...or anything! Second, I am also looking for some sort of terminal emulator which has the standard file-transfer protocols (i.e. Kermit, u/xmodem). I have heard of a VT-100 emulator, but I don't know much about it... FInally, what actually happened to the 150? Did it just die out? We have a couple at school for instrumentation purposes, but I haven't seen nor heard a thing about the 150... Your help would be appreciated. Thanks Kane -- ***************************************************************** Kane Koo (215) 573-5579 Internet: koo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu MEAMer and programmer UseNET: uunet!eniac.seas.upenn.edu!koo "Where do the children go?/Between the bright night and darkest day"
belkin@teecs.UUCP (Hershel Belkin) (12/04/90)
/ teecs:comp.sys.hp / koo@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Kane Koo) / >Like the subject line says, some HP150 stuff...I know that this might just >be a tall order, but any help would be appreciated... >First, are there any decent text editors (or even word processors) available >for this machine? I only have edlin, which is that free editor (u get what u >pay for :)) that comes with DOS, and would rather use something else to write >code...or anything! There's actually quite a bit available, though you might have some difficulty locating it... I use a version of "emacs" (there are 2 versions that run on the 150), and I also have a stripped version of "vi" which uses a real termcap file to define the 150 terminal! For word processing, there is Wordstar (ugh), Microsoft WORD (1.10), and even WordPerfect (if you first load the PD PC Emulator (more about that later..) >Second, I am also looking for some sort of terminal emulator which has the >standard file-transfer protocols (i.e. Kermit, u/xmodem). I have heard of a >VT-100 emulator, but I don't know much about it... There is Kermit for the 150 (good), and HP had a VT100 emulator which was passable. Best is Reflection (several versions) which gives vt100/200, and HP terminal emulations (the HP emulation is better/faster than the 150 terminal firmware!) There are other emulators; I'm only commenting on those I have or have used. >FInally, what actually happened to the 150? Did it just die out? We have >a couple at school for instrumentation purposes, but I haven't seen nor >heard a thing about the 150... There are a number of versions of this story. HP will tell you that it's a simple matter of IBM winning out in the de-facto standard game. I maintain that there was also a great mis-marketing of the product (which IMHO could have defined the standard if it had been marketed properly). As a former ISV (Independent Software Vendor) for the 150 (in it's brief heyday), I know a lot about the 10 situation -- in some ways (unfortunately) more than many at HP who were involved in the product. I spent many days visiting and talking to HP150 dealers, and saw early on that HP had totally mis-represented the product to them. (Well, enough of that!) Basically, the 150 is no longer manufactured. Many are still in service although most have been relegated to terminal status it is still a great terminal!) There are still some of us :-) who use it -- occasionally -- as a PC. Of course, it is similar in power to the original IBM PC, and how many of those are still in serious use? (Forget I asked :-) Where to get software? Best source of cheap software is INTEREX, which will sell you a set of about 60 disks of Public Domain (sort-of) stuff. A lot of it is not worth mentioning, but the PC emulator program is well worth it! (Emacs, etc. also are available from them). The PC emulator attempts to make the 150 a lot more PC-compatible, and does a pretty good job. Unfortunately, any program which by-passes MS-DOS conventions and (for example) directly addresses the screen or I/O ports, will still not work. WordPerfect 4.2 will run under the emulator. So will RBASE 5000, Norton Utilities (3.00), and others... A version of Lotus 1-2-3 (1a*) was available, also GWBASIC, Diagraph, Picture perfect, etc. Most MS-DOS compilers will run (MS-C, MS-Fortran, MASM, Turbo Pascal, etc. etc.) -- none of these require the emulator. If you'd like any other info on the 150, contact me via e-mail. I've got all the technical manuals, etc.. +-----------------------------------------------+-------------------------+ | Hershel Belkin hp9000/825(HP-UX)| UUCP: teecs!belkin | | Test Equipment Engineering Computing Services |Phone: 416 249-1231 x2647| | Litton Systems Canada Limited (Toronto) | FAX: 416 246-5233 | +-----------------------------------------------+-------------------------+