mpj@sequoia.cray.com (M. P. Johnson) (06/28/91)
Hi all, I tried the HP95 here in France - I love it! The screen really is readable like they said. I have a few questions before I buy one: 1) In terminal emulation mode (or indeed running PC programs) can one pan the physical screen around the whole of the 80*25 virtual screen? Or does one need to set LINES & COLUMNS for vi ? 2) Does BASICA or GFA BASIC run completely compatibly on the 95 ? If so, is it possible to put the HP in sleep mode, setting an alarm to make it wake up and run a program or continue the current one? 3) Can BASIC programs interface with the data entered with all the built-in applications (ie are the data-files easily readable) ? Although the keyboard is small and really a calculator keyboard, I still found it possible to type at 3cps, enough for note-writing! Finally, if anyone has info regarding compatibility with full-size PCs I would be interested in their experiences. Thanks very much, Marvin Johnson.
fin@norge.unet.umn.edu (Craig A. Finseth) (06/29/91)
In article <045249.10338@timbuk.cray.com> mpj@sequoia.cray.com (M. P. Johnson) writes: >I tried the HP95 here in France - I love it! The screen really is ... >1) In terminal emulation mode (or indeed running PC programs) >can one pan the physical screen around the whole of the 80*25 virtual >screen? Or does one need to set LINES & COLUMNS for vi ? One doesn't *need* to set LINES and COLUMNS. vi (and any other MSDOS program that assumes a 25 x 80 character screen) should work fine. You may choose to set them if you think that the display will be more pleasing. I choose to run my editor in 16 x 40 mode. >2) Does BASICA or GFA BASIC run completely compatibly on the 95 ? >If so, is it possible to put the HP in sleep mode, setting an alarm >to make it wake up and run a program or continue the current one? I'm sure that BASICA won't work, as it doesn't work on any non-true blue machine. GFA *might*. In my experience, BASIC interpreters have a lot of system dependancies in them. On the other hand, HP did a REALLY GREAT job of making the 95 compatible. Try before you buy. >3) Can BASIC programs interface with the data entered with all the >built-in applications (ie are the data-files easily readable) ? Some yes, some no. Lotus files, for example, are Lotus files. The HP calculator stores its equations in ASCII. The appointment book, communications configurations, and phone book files seem to be (undocumented) binary files. >Although the keyboard is small and really a calculator keyboard, >I still found it possible to type at 3cps, enough for note-writing! So do I, and more. >Finally, if anyone has info regarding compatibility with full-size PCs >I would be interested in their experiences. Given the obvious limitations, I find that HP has done an excellent job. While I haven't tried lots of programs, the ones that I have tried have all worked flawlessly. Craig A. Finseth fin@unet.umn.edu [CAF13] Networking Services +1 612 624 3375 desk Computer and Information Services +1 612 625 0006 problems University of Minnesota +1 612 626 1002 FAX 130 Lind Hall, 207 Church St SE Minneapolis MN 55455-0134, USA