latenser@unlinfo.unl.edu (dan latenser) (06/18/91)
Perhaps some proud owner of a HP 95 could perform a bit of experimentation. There is a dos command (CTTY) that changes the standard input and output console to an auxiliary console. CTTY (Change Console) accepts the name of ANY character-oriented device that is capable of both input and output. It was intended to allow users to install custom device drivers. CTTY is effective only for programs that use Dos function calls (i.e. not programs like basic etc). The command: A>ctty com1 will redirect the I/O to the serial port. And the command: A>ctty con will reverse the procedure. This will (on a standard pc) allow basic operations to be performed from a standard character device like a terminal. Imagine using a custom character device driver to allow the use of a simple VT-100 terminal (or another PC) to type text into the HP 95. Now imagine a cheap custom serial keyboard that used the HP-95's serial port to allow a full size keyboard to be connected. Sounds interesting to me. Any experimenters out there in HP Land? latenser@unlinfo.unl.edu