tab@auc.UUCP (Terrence Brannon ) (03/20/88)
What company makes the T1000? What is the price?
ray@madnix.UUCP (Ray P. Hill) (03/21/88)
Since I didn't get even one responce (email or posted) I'm assuming my post did
not did make it to the full net.
The quest for a cheap laptop terminal:
--- ----- --- - ----- ------ ---------
I'm searching for a cheap 9600 baud laptop terminal for a unix system.
That implies a 9600 baud serial port, terminal emulation program that supports
something termcapable, 80x25 char screen and a price not more than $800. Also
IBM PC compatibility would be a definite plus but not required. These are the
options I have found mail-order so far (also the cheapest prices found). I am
interested in getting more information (plus or minus) on these options and
prices. I am also interested in other options. Here's what I have so far:
----------------------------------------------------
Toshiba 1000 $759
512K, 3.5" 720K disk, MS-DOS in ROM,
80x25 Super Twist, 80c88 4.7MHz,
serial & printer ports
----------------------------------------------------
Sharp 4501 $695
80188, 7.16MHz, 80x25 Super Twist,
720K disk, printer port, MS-DOS,
serial port optional, 256K, 7 hr
battery (can anything with a 80188
truly be called PC compatible?)
----------------------------------------------------
Bondwell Model 8 $750
512K, 3.5" 720K disk, 300 baud modem,
serial & printer ports, real time clock,
RGB & B&W video ports, MS-DOS, GW BASIC
----------------------------------------------------
Either post or e-mail responses. Any e-mailed responses will be
summarized and posted. Thanks.
Ray Hill
--
UUCP: {harvard,rutgers,ucbvax}!uwvax!nicmad!madnix!ray
{ihnp4,decvax}/dyer@spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer) (03/22/88)
I just bought a T1000 last week (and am typing on it now!) I find it
has all I need for a terminal-away-from-home: it's light, readable-enough,
and light. I'm running MSKERMIT.EXE straight from Columbia's distribution,
which means that it's a PC through and through. Just fine emulation of
a VT100 using the latest MSKERMIT. By all means get the 768K RAM card--
it fill out RAM to 640K (from 512K) and can be used as a "hard RAM disk",
i.e. Drive C: is MSDOS in {RAM (with a hack to allow config.sys stored in
RAM) and drive D: is a 640-odd K non-volatile RAM disk, which is lighter,
faster and more convenient than having two 3.5" floppies. Drive A: is the
floppy, and an external 5.25" floppy can be connected is desired.
It's REAL cute, handy and portable, and for all the talk about faster V20/V30
chips, this 4.77 mhz machine is plenty fast for terminal emulation.
--
Steve Dyer
dyer@harvard.harvard.edu
dyer@spdcc.COM aka {ihnp4,harvard,husc6,linus,ima,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!dyersamia@violet.berkeley.edu (Samia Benidir) (03/25/88)
In article <32179@auc.UUCP> tab@auc.UUCP (0-Terrence Brannon ) writes: >What company makes the T1000? What is the price? The T1000 laptop is a Toshiba DOS-based microcomputer. It is very light, nice and cheap (I believe it is around $700 now). I enquired about laptops recently. I ordered a Zenith Z183 because, apart for the system which is comparable to the powerful laptops, it has a nicer clear, backlit display, a better, light touch keyboard, and a good educational discount. One drawback: it is heavier that the Toshiba laptops; so, if you are planning to carry it around, get a Toshiba 1000 or 2200. The following are the messages I received when I asked for recommendations of a good laptop: (For more information, laptops have been reviewed in the latest issue of "PC Magazine") Samia _______________________________________________ From RON%PSUVM.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu Thu Mar 3 08:24:43 1988 I replied to your inquiry about laptops yesterday and noted that my major complaint with the Zenith 183-92 was the 10 meg harddisk. I have just discovered that there is a new model, the Z183-93 which has a 20 meg disk. Our University price for the 20 meg version is only $150 more than the price for the 10meg version. So I really have no complaints about the Z-183 except that I wish I had the 20 meg disk version. Hopefully I will be able to upgrade! __________________________________ From NUZENITH%NDSUVM1.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu Thu Mar 3 11:42:23 1988 I own a Zenith 181 laptop with ms-dos 3.2 and 3.5" drives. It's wonderful. I use it mainly as a desktop computer becasue it doesn't take up my entire desk top! It batteries are rechargable are runn from 2-4 hours ( from my experince) depending on screen intensity, drive use, and modem use. I use a CGA color moni tor when at home ( it has a built in RGB port) and it has an excellent LCD disp lay ( it's great to work by but lacks the color that is am used to.) I also have an external 5 1/4" drive which make sit easy to transfer between media ansd it has a port for an external hard disk ( Zenith sells a 20 mg versi on) , an internal 300/1200 or 300/1200/2400 modems are available. Memory is a full 640K and it runs at 8/4.77 mhz cpu speed. Weight is 12 lbs.......... oh it also has an 80287 chip socket .. well i can't think of any thing else if you have any question fell free to dro p a line. John R. holand ____________________________________________________ From sun!rayssd!turbo.RAY.COM!jim@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU Thu Mar 3 13:25:30 1988 I have a friend who is using a Toshiba laptop on a similar trip. He is also using a portable (battery powered) printer made by Kodak. They both look like good machines. _____________________________________________________ From gatech!mcdchg!heiby@rutgers.edu Thu Mar 10 09:05:24 1988 I bought the Toshiba 1200 a few weeks ago and am very happy with it. It has 640K of memory, plus additional memory (to complete 1Meg) that can be partitioned into "Hard Ram" (a RAM disk that doesn't go away on re-boot) and EMS 3.2 RAM. The keyboard has a nice feel. The screen is quite readable. It has a built in serial and parallel port. Modem expansion is available in its internal slot, although I will probably go with one of the new "pocket" modems. It comes with MS-DOS 3.2 and mine came with SideKick (maybe they all do). I bought at ElekTek in the Chicago area. (I think they advertize in Byte.) I paid $2300 plus tax. I walked out with the computer, two boxes of 3.5" floppies, and a DB9->DB25 adapter for the RS-232 port, with tax for under $2500. Oops. Forgot to mention that the 1200 has a 20Meg hard disk. There are quite a few nice touches that Toshiba has added that make it a real pleasure to use. -- Ron Heiby, heiby@mcdchg.UUCP Moderator: comp.newprod & comp.unix "Intel architectures build character." ____________________________________________________ From agate!pasteur!ames!hao!gatech!ncsuvx!cscadm!mauney Thu Feb 25 02:13:12 PST 1988 Zenith has a very nice educational discount. My campus bookstore sells the 183 for around $2000. Toshiba also has an educational discount. Check it out before you buy. Jon Mauney mauney@cscadm.ncsu.edu ______________________________________________________ From: isis!aburt (Andrew Burt) I purchased a Toshiba T-1000 for my father-in-law last week and have been very impressed with it so far. For the $800 price tag (mail order) it is a fantastic unit. 6 lbs, very quiet, able to handle procomm at 19200 bps between PC's (I don't have another unit with a 3.5" floppy). Nothing abnormal about it (e.g., regular PC clock speed, all keys are on the keyboard (even F11, F12, keypad-"+" and keypad-Enter via a special key, screen I/O isn't too slow). It handles CGA graphics -- by representing all non-background colors (or possibly it's non-black -- I haven't checked) as dark on the light background; thus you can't distinguish colors, but you can see what is going on. They keyboard has a layout I really like; nothing is in an annoying place and it feels comfortable to type on. It came with sidekick, if that interests you. I would recommend getting two floppies if you don't mind the added weight. Or a hard disk for that matter. Check into the full Toshiba line as they have many between the T-1000 and the top model (5100 I think). You should be able to get plenty of bang for the buck if you spend $3K. My father-in-law's main criteria was weight, and this is one of the lightest laptops around. Their accessories seem vastly overpriced ($90 for a carrying case, when the unit itself has a hard shell and handle!), $300 for an internal 1200 bps modem (I'd sooner get a pocket modem for ~ $150), $500 for an external 5.25" floppy, etc. I'm tempted to get one of these for myself. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask; I don't mind pestering my father-in-law to play with it... -- Andrew Burt isis!aburt ______________________________________________________ From tim@ducat.caltech.edu Thu Feb 25 10:38:39 1988 Caltech has an agreement with Toshiba to get their laptops at reasonably good prices. You might look into something similar. Tim ________________________________________________________ From ucsd!sdcc6.ucsd.edu!loral!jlh@ames.arc.nasa.gov Thu Feb 25 18:17:16 1988 I, too, am investigating laptops. As far as I'm concerned the only ones worth looking at are the Toshiba, compaq, and grid. This is due to the screen, compare the toshiba 3100 screen with something like an NEC and you'll see what I mean. I had a toshiba for 3 weeks to evaluate and had no problems with it. Unfortunately, our end customers are military contracters and we're not sure how selling them toshiba anything will go over after their russian sub propellor fiasco. I'd appreciate it if you could forward any replies you get to me. Thanks. Jim -- Jim Harkins Loral Instrumentation, San Diego {ucbvax, ittvax!dcdwest, akgua, decvax, ihnp4}!sdcsvax!sdcc6!loral!jlh _____________________________________________________ From agate!ucbvax!decvax!purdue!gatech!rebel!george Tue Feb 16 13:37:11 PST 1988 Olivetti M10 Laptop (very similar to Radio Shack Model 100/102): 32K ROM plus 32K Non-volatile RAM, just over 4 lbs. Runs off batteries for 20 hours (or AC with 6v adapter) Separate, rechargeable battery for RAM refresh 8 line X 40 char tiltable LCD screen, adjustable contrast Built in 300 baud modem, system clock, bar code reader port Parallel and Serial ports (in addition to modem) Expansion port (may be used for external disk drives) Keyboard has nice feel, arrow & function keys Built in ROM based software: Microsoft BASIC, word processor, scheduler, address book, communications program Operations and quick reference manuals Soft carrying case Direct connect phone cable for modem Cassette recorder interface cable for additional storage Like new condition $150 for everything (AC adapter is not included) Perfect as portable terminal or for data entry/storage. -- George M. Sipe, Phone: (404) 662-1533 Tolerant Systems, 6961 Peachtree Industrial, Norcross, GA 30071 UUCP: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,linus,rutgers,seismo}!gatech!rebel!george ____________________________________________________ From agate!ucbvax!husc6!hao!dinl!ericson Wed Feb 17 18:29:19 PST 1988 Date: 17 Feb 88 20:20:28 GMT --- FOR SALE --- IBM PC-compatible Portable Computer System ASKING $800 FOR TOTAL PACKAGE 1 Otrona Portable Computer: 8 Pounds (without auxilliary monitor) Includes both MS-DOS 2.2 & CPM 2.2 IBM PC (8086) co-processor card with 256K RAM upgradeable to 640K RAM 2 360K, 5.25" floppy disk drives, NEW Disk caching 2 Serial I/O ports Built-in Monochrome Display Hi-resolution CRT with graphics capability 80 columns x 24 lines Auxilliary 13" Pi2 green-phosphor monitor GPIB interface 110/220 power Real-time Clock Video output port Video and I/O cables Software, with documentation (too many to list, but includes: Wordstar MultiPlan Condor DBMS QMODEM PROCOMM MODEM7 MS-BASIC BDS C Or make me an offer. Eric Ericson (...!hao!dinl!ericson) 303-977-0325 / 303-681-2313 _____________________________________________________ From agate!ucbvax!hplabs!cae780!tektronix!tekcrl!jans Tue Feb 23 23:28:25 PST 1988 Date: 19 Feb 88 16:24:11 GMT Phoenix Leasing is doing it again -- selling factory reconditioned GRiD portable computers at about 1/3 of list price -- only this time, they are the current, battery operable, IBM-compatible GRiDCase line rather than the obsolete Compass line. The basic machine has either an LCD or plasma screen, 80C86, 512k RAM, 720k 3 1/2 inch floppy, 4 ROM sockets, RS-232 and Centronics ports, external keyboard connector, clock/calendar, internal/external power supply, DC power jack, and speaker, all in a rugged, die-cast magnesium case. The GRiDCase Plus adds a larger keyboard, EMS RAM capability, and a Pocket Floppy port. A number of options can be ordered, and will be factory installed and tested during reconditioning. Price Model Description $995 1250 GRiDCase 1: LCD display. $1075 1252 GRiDCase 2: nnhanced, supertwist LCD display. $1500 1260 GRiDCase 3: plasma display. $1350 1253 GRiDCase 2 Plus: enhanced LCD, 71 keys. $1700 1263 GRiDCase 3 Plus: plasma, 71 keys. add $300 for internal 10MB disk instead of floppy. add $175 for internal 1200/300 modem. add $150 for 8087 numeric processor. add $150 for RGB color video output port. There are also a few of the Compass computers left, from $350, and some software, mostly for GRiD-OS -- call for details. Contact Patti Rossi at Phoenix Leasing, 800/227-2626, for more information. I have no connection with Phoenix, other than that of a satisfied customer. I purchased 3 of the Compass computers last time around, and a bunch of software. :::::: Software Productivity Technologies --- Smalltalk Project :::::: :::::: Jan Steinman N7JDB Box 500, MS 50-470 (w)503/627-5881 :::::: :::::: jans@tekcrl.TEK.COM Beaverton, OR 97077 (h)503/657-7703 :::::: ________________________________________________________ From RON%PSUVM.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu Tue Mar 1 09:06:14 1988 I am using a Zenith 183 laptop. It has a 10 meg hard disk, 3.5 floppy, builtin modem, 640k memory and numeric co-processor. I love it. My only 2 complaints are that the disk is only 10 meg (but i think there will be a 20 meg version soon- the manual is writtenm as if there already was a 20 meg version but i was told not) and the speaker is very tiny so speaker oriented programs (music generators and such) don't sound too great. The display is quite easy on the eyes (for a laptop). There is an rgb jack and I often use a color monitor instead of the lcd display but the lcd display is quite readable. It runs off of battery or ac. I also have a great companion program for it, if you need to get files from other machines. The program is called LAP-LINK. You connect the two machines via the serial ports (using the 4 headed cable supplied) and run laplink on both machines. The screen is split into two windows one showing remote files, the other showing local files. You can then transfer files between the two machines at 115K baud. Works great. All in all the 183 is a great deal. We paid about $2,000.00 for our setup. (That includes a hefty university discount) Let me know if there are any other questions I can answer for you. Ron McCarty Behrend College Station Rd Erie PA 16563 814-8986252 ___________________________________________________ From moore@ncsc.ARPA Tue Mar 1 16:04:20 1988 I don't have any experience personally, but the newest issue of PC Magazine has an article on them...(Power to Go, Vol 7 No 6). Jim ________________________________________________________ From alex@CS.UCLA.EDU Tue Mar 8 16:14:08 1988 I just bought a Zenith 183. It comes with a 20mb hard disk and one 3 1/2 floppy drive. I wouldn't buy a laptop without a hard disk. I played around with a Toshiba 1100, a laptop with two floppies, but it was way too slow, and it was a real pain to manipulate floppies when travelling. The Zenith has a wonderful backlit screen. The bright blue is easy on the eyes, and the screen doesn't have the usual headache-inducing flicker so common in the first round of laptops. But if the screen isn't good enough for you, there's a slot for an optional monitor. I also bought an 2400 baud internal modem card to go with it. The cost: $1999 for the 183 $359 for the modem $154 for tax ----- $2512 This was a special price through UCLA, but it might be available to you UCB people as well. The modem price is on the high side, but the convenience of an internal modem is worth it. Let me know what other responses you got. I'm curious as to just how good a deal got. I'm pretty happy with it now, but... Alex ______________________________________________ From NUZENITH%NDSUVM1.BITNET@jade.berkeley.edu Tue Mar 8 19:10:53 1988 ZENITH LAPTOPS: The Zenith 183 is an excellent choice...but if this gentle man is associated wi th a Unversity/college.. Zenith has an educational discount program. I am a Zenith rep. on campus her at NDSU in Fargo ND. and Zenith has a price of $1,799 for a Z-183, internal 1200 modems are about $240.00 and they have a 2400 baud version available also. The Zenith laptop is the best i've used ( of which include the Z-170 . blech. . the IBM convertible, NEC's, Toshiba ( although this is very good also)) I would reccomend the Z-183 or the Toshiba. The Toshiba has a lot a good perfor mance reports but I prefer the Zenith laptop displays over the toshiba and this is important to me. Also the Zenith has a 9 pin RGB port to used an external monitor at the office. If Contact your University Computer Center to see if the have an Educ. Discou nt program , if not get back to me and I can ask some ppl. and see if you can save some money. John R. Holand NuZenith @ NdsuVm1.Bitnet ____________________________________________________________ ____________________ Tahia | ((( __/\__ | El Djazair | ((( \ / | Samia Benidir | ((( /_/\_\ | samia@violet.berkeley.edu |_________|__________|
mehr@polygon.UUCP (Mark Ehr) (03/26/88)
From article <32179@auc.UUCP>, by tab@auc.UUCP (Terrence Brannon ):
> What company makes the T1000? What is the price?
The T1000 is made by Toshiba Corp. The price with a 1200 baud modem (internal,
Hayes compatible) is usually around $1000. It's a good computer...I have
one myself and have no complaints, other than the fact that the screen is
kind of small and should have been backlit. I just plug it into a normal
composite monitor when I am not on the road.
Mark Ehr @ Polygon Network, Dillon, CO (uunet!polygon!mehr)david@dhw68k.cts.com (David H. Wolfskill) (03/27/88)
In article <237@madnix.UUCP> ray@madnix.UUCP (Ray P. Hill) writes: >.... >The quest for a cheap laptop terminal: >--- ----- --- - ----- ------ --------- > I'm searching for a cheap 9600 baud laptop terminal for a unix system. >That implies a 9600 baud serial port, terminal emulation program that supports >something termcapable, 80x25 char screen and a price not more than $800. Also >IBM PC compatibility would be a definite plus but not required.... Now, my ideal would be rather more modest: *just* a terminal -- perhaps with enough room to plug a (decent -- TB+, for example) MODEM in. Of course, part of the reason for this is my deep-seated prejudice against Intel chips and IBM PC-type things; more practically, I commute from one place to another via bicycle. Therefore, I would prefer to have less to break (it would be difficult to persuade me that of two otherwise equivalent devices, one of which has some sort of disc drive and other does not, that the one *with* the disc drive would be more rugged), have less mass to lug around, and less to pay for. Of course, others are welcome to their IBM PC compatibility; I just wish the manufacturers would give those of us who want *less* a chance. Any takers? david -- David H. Wolfskill uucp: ...{trwrb,hplabs}!felix!dhw68k!david InterNet: david@dhw68k.cts.com
dyer@arktouros.MIT.EDU (Steve Dyer) (03/28/88)
>Now, my ideal would be rather more modest: *just* a terminal -- perhaps >with enough room to plug a (decent -- TB+, for example) MODEM in. >Of course, part of the reason for this is my deep-seated prejudice >against Intel chips and IBM PC-type things; more practically, I commute >from one place to another via bicycle. Therefore, I would prefer to >have less to break (it would be difficult to persuade me that of two >otherwise equivalent devices, one of which has some sort of disc drive >and other does not, that the one *with* the disc drive would be more >rugged), have less mass to lug around, and less to pay for. TI makes a series of portable LCD-based terminals which are a follow-on to their old Silent-700 terminals. I have also seen a portable VT100 LCD terminal advertised in the pages of Digital Review and/or DEC Professional. Let me say, however, that if you get a Toshiba T1000 with a "hard RAM" card, you won't ever have to use the floppy disk drive more than once. Drive C: (the boot disk) is in ROM, and drive D: is the non-volatile RAM. You can ignore drive A, the floppy disk. You can have Kermit or whatever you like sitting on drive D:, ready to run. Because of the economies of scale, you will be hard pressed to find a portable terminal substantially cheaper than the T1000 (or a similar machine.) The T1000 has also been designed for light weight; I'm sure the competing portable terminals will weigh a lot more. I don't like the 8088 particularly well either, but I'm not willing to pay a high premium for my prejudice if there's an 8088-based machine which does everything I need. Do you really want to carry around a Telebit TB+ on your bicycle?? :-) --- Steve Dyer dyer@arktouros.MIT.EDU dyer@spdcc.COM aka {harvard,husc6,ima,ihnp4,bbn,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
fosterm@ogcvax.UUCP (Mark Foster) (03/30/88)
In article <dhw68k.6208> david@dhw68k.cts.com (David H. Wolfskill) writes: > >... part of the reason for this is my deep-seated prejudice >against Intel chips and IBM PC-type things Don't be too surprised when you open up any given terminal (laptop or otherwise) and find (gasp :-) an 8080, Z-80, or somesuch CPU running the show -- it just is a dedicated machine running a single ROM/PROM-based application. (Yeah, I know, this isn't *really* what you meant... ) ---- Mark Foster CSE Systems Support Oregon Graduate Center fosterm@cse.ogc.edu