lauren@RAND-UNIX.ARPA (08/16/85)
People considering the purchase of portables for use on planes should think carefully given the new rules most likely to be enacted by the FAA for carry-on baggage. The rules may very definitely limit you to one item in most situations, or to the amount that will fit under the airline seat in any case. This will mean that most of the portables, plus even a smallish overnight bag, will go over the limit, and force you to check at least some of your baggage into never-never land-- a fate worse than death. Myself, I like my little Epson Geneva. It's light, small (it drops right into my bag with everything else) and I don't normally have to even bring the floppy drive along since it has a big ram disk. The screen is only 80 X 8 physical, but that's inside a big sliding virtual window (or even two separate windows) and turns out to be VERY usable for almost all purposes. The ability to have that much power in a very light, small package that just slides in with your other stuff in a cloth bag is a big win! The nicads also last a LONG time on a charge (10 to 20 hours is typical) and the machine has all sorts of autosleep and autowakeup features that make it very handy when traveling. When I must have a floppy, I bring the nicad powered floppy drive along. To my mind, a portable that you have to carry separately from the rest of your stuff isn't really portable--that's why I like the Geneva portable. --Lauren--