sutter@osu-dbs.UUCP (11/07/83)
Regarding the ad in Business Week, 14-Nov-1983, on pp76-77: This ad paints a glowing picture of the GRiD Systems Corp. Compass computer system. It is being marketed as a half-briefcase-sized businessman's tool. It features: 8086 & 8087 processors 384 Kbytes bubble 256 Kbytes RAM 16 Kbytes ROM Built-in auto-dial, auto-answer 1200 baud modem RS-232C and RS-422 serial ports IEEE 488 interface bus 24x80 screen - "electroluminescent" technology (??) graphics capability GRiD Management Software or... "...use many of the programs written for IBM's PC" LAN support available disk drives, printers, plotters available 15x11.5x2 inches 4.9 kg (10lb, 12.5oz) magnesium case (bombproof?) Has anybody seen one of these, or is it too new? Are there any technical reviews around? Any more tech info than from a magazine like BW? Is the company reputable? And the other important question: has anyone written a Termcap entry for it yet? (BTW, I'm in Ohio and the company is as below. No commercial connections involved, of course. I'm not an adwriter.) If you are as eager to get information as I am, the company is: GRid Systems Corp. 2535 Garcia Ave. Mountain View CA 94043 (800)222-GRID --Bob Sutterfield sutter@...cbosgd!osu-dbs
greg%brl-bmd@sri-unix.UUCP (11/08/83)
From: Gregory Hogg <greg@brl-bmd> Hello, I use one at work and it is a very neat machine! There were two things that you have wrong; one that the screen is only 24 lines by 53 chars unless you use a very small char set then it is 80, the other is that it is not possible to write a temcap entry for it as it has no cursor addr. There is a vt100 emulator for it however that gets around this problem. The only problem I have had with it is that they can get so HOT that to pick it up will cause a burn! That is way the case is maginesum, a very good heat conductor. It is really to bad this machine is $10k as I would love to have one at home. Gregory Forrest Hogg
ABN.COSCOM-CE%usc-isid@sri-unix.UUCP (11/08/83)
I have seen and used the GRID computer. It does fulfill the statistics you quoted. The software package is integrated well so that the spreadsheet, wp, graphics, etc are easy to use , have the same command keys when possible, and can exchange data. The plasma screen is very sharp and provides good monochrome graphics. The box is magnesium because the case is used to conduct heat from the unit. All those electronics are hot! The rumor is that some of the electronics will be replaced with CMOS which is much cooler. With the exceptions of the external battery pack and no printer, it is a complete computer. It is sturdy and now claims to run MS-DOS and many IBM software packages. (The original operating system was CCOS?? their own) They have optional hard disks and a printer can be used. They can be netted using the Compass Local net controller. The original software entry method was to be to called Grid Central in Calif and download the purchased software. I have not as yet seen a floppy disk used. Kevin Rappold
hugh%hel-ace@sri-unix.UUCP (11/09/83)
From: Hugh A. L. Dempsey <hugh@hel-ace> I've used the GRiD Compass Computer and I think that it is excellent. It is supposed to withstand 100 g's of acceleration; part of the reason for that magnesium case. There is no fan for cooling--which makes it very quiet in operation--but does cause the case to get "comfortably warm"--to quote the salesman. You can get a 10M hard disk drive with a 380K floppy disk drive built-in for backups to attach to the Compass for another $4000. A single floppy for travelling costs about $1000. You can get BASIC, PASCAL, and FORTRAN, with C being promised in the near future. There are various application programs available: a VT100 terminal emulator for telephone connections, a spreadsheet program, a graph maker, a word processor, and a data base manager. All of the above application programs use the same commands and write mutually accesible files: you can easily transfer the data from your spreadsheet to your graph maker. You can find reviews of the Compass in back issues of BYTE, Personal Computing, and Popular Computing. hugh@brl
earl%brl-vat@sri-unix.UUCP (11/09/83)
From: Earl Weaver (VLD/ATB) <earl@brl-vat> And, as I recall, it seemed to weigh a ton. I guess it's only ten pounds or so but it seemed awfully dense (and not that small--it wouldn't fit in my briefcase...).
leimkuhl@uiuccsb.UUCP (11/10/83)
#R:osu-dbs:-38300:uiuccsb:4400022:000:555 uiuccsb!leimkuhl Nov 9 14:00:00 1983 I saw a brief report on this computer about 6 months ago in Mini-Micro Systems, and Grid has been running really dumb ads in the WSJ for the thing for 1 or 2 months now. It appears to be a quality portable designed for the accounting executive type. That means it costs a lot (>$8K min. config.) and you shouldn't expect software support other than basic Visicalc type stuff. It's probably aimed at too small a market to encourage large scale software/hardware development. I'd like to hear what others think. Anybody see one yet? -Ben Leimkuhler
msc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (11/15/83)
GRiD have been around for a couple of years. I have seen their
system twice at shows in San Francisco. The screen is very sharp
and the whole package is nice.
The drawback is the price which, since you didn't mention it in
your article, I gather didn't appear in the Business Week article.
Last I heard it cost $8000.
--
Mark Callow, Saratoga, CA.
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