hgw@julia.math.ucla.edu (08/01/89)
Presently, I am evaluating two terminals for a lab I are about to set up. The two terminals are: Wyse 50 and the Freedom 1. Yes, I am aware of the reputation of the Freedom 100's but this newer one seems pretty good. Does anybody have any comments on the two? I'm looking for reliablility and servicability. I'd like to repair as many of the terminals as I can before sending it out to a third party board swapper. One more thing, anybody have any comments between amber and green screens? Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Harold Wong (213) 825-9040 UCLA-Mathnet; 3915F MSA; 405 Hilgard Ave.; Los Angeles, CA 90024-1555 ARPA: hgw@math.ucla.edu BITNET: hgw%math.ucla.edu@INTERBIT
davidc@vlsisj.VLSI.COM (David Chapman) (08/02/89)
In article <1508@sunset.MATH.UCLA.EDU> hgw@MATH.UCLA.EDU (Harold Wong) writes: >[Wyse 50 vs. Freedom 1] I had a Freedom 100 on my Morrow (CP/M) and never had any problems with it. I don't know what their reputation is. I know nothing about Wyse terminals. >One more thing, anybody have any comments between amber and green screens? This is a sensitive subject for me. I was evaluating Qume VT102 terminals a few years ago. I got the termcap entry set up and working and had decided that I liked the thing. Then someone brought in the "newest ergonomic" model: amber screen. We were told that these were better than the green one I had been using. Well, within two hours my color vision was really screwed up and I had a headache. Looking at something black & white, I saw black & blue. Everything else looked funny too. The headache came from the lack of contrast on this particular monitor. I haven't worked with an amber monitor since, at least not long enough to get a headache. But every time I try and read from one, my color vision starts to go. Some people swear by amber monitors. I'd quit before I would work on one. In general it's probably just personal preference, but I would be a wreck if I had to stare at one of those things all day. If you're going to be buying several, try and get a green evaluation unit in as well as an amber one. Have the intended users work for a day at each. You may find that you buy a mixture of them. Ergonomics is NOT a fixed set of rules: "do this." Really it's listening to the users of the equipment. The only "rules" are rules of thumb that work MOST of the time and point you away from inflexible, unadjustable, uncomfort- able equipment. Just my $0.02 worth. >Harold Wong (213) 825-9040 -- David Chapman {known world}!decwrl!vlsisj!fndry!davidc vlsisj!fndry!davidc@decwrl.dec.com
rsilvers@palladium.UUCP (rsilvers) (08/02/89)
In article <1508@sunset.MATH.UCLA.EDU> hgw@MATH.UCLA.EDU (Harold Wong) writes: >Presently, I am evaluating two terminals for a lab I are about to set up. >The two terminals are: Wyse 50 and the Freedom 1. Yes, I am aware of the I am using a Wyse 50 now. It sucks. If you hold down the control key to long, it goes into insert mode. DEL puts it in a funky block mode. The backspace and delete keys are in the wrong place. The ESC key is to close to the TAB key. The left shift key is to small, and has a useless function key to the left of it. The caps-lock key is easy to hit by mistake. It should be below they keyboard as far as I am concerned. As far as terminals go, I think the DEC vt320 is good. As far as the best keyboards in general, it would be between the NeXT and the Ardent Titan. (The worst are the Stellar GS1000 and the DG Aviion 88K, both use IBM-PC type keyboards.) --Rob. -- Robert S. Silvers Epoch Systems, Inc., 313 Boston Post Rd. West, Marlborough, MA 01752 ...!linus!alliant!palladium!rsilvers -or- ...!harvard!cfisun!palladium!rsilvers (508)481-3717
dmt@PacBell.COM (Dave Turner) (08/05/89)
>In article <1508@sunset.MATH.UCLA.EDU> hgw@MATH.UCLA.EDU (Harold Wong) writes: >[Wyse 50 vs. Freedom 1] >One more thing, anybody have any comments between amber and green screens? Maybe it is just that my eyes are getting old but I prefer green over all other colors. Green seems to focus better. I have used a 5620 for about four years and can read it from about five feet away even with its small characters. I had an amber screen 620 next to the 5620 and found that the 620's larger characters were harder to read from any distance. Before I got the 5620 I used a terminal with a white on black screen. When I switched from the green screen to the white screen, the white characters had a pink tint. Too bad the 630 isn't available in green. -- Dave Turner 415/542-1299 {att,bellcore,sun,ames,decwrl}!pacbell!dmt