frank@grep.co.uk (Frank Wales) (05/07/91)
Under the subject: "HP-32S II Curiosity", in articles <1991May2.190426.20539@Think.COM> and <7360104@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>, laird@think.com (Laird Popkin) and rrd@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Ray Depew) write: >Blah MS-DOS rhubarb 95LX mumble Poqet foo spreadsheet bingle PC... This reader dozes for a while, only to be woken when Laird muses: >I think it'll be a while until we see the palmtop Connection Machine. Easy. Just get 50 million lemmings to buy them, and as if by magic the HP 65536CX will appear as a shimmering cube in a pocket near you, complete with CM-DOS 3.2.2, Lotus 1-2-many, Big Bird communications software and the Freudelbrot hypnosis and personal analysis package built-in. -- Frank Wales, Grep Limited, [frank@grep.co.uk<->uunet!grep!frank] Kirkfields Business Centre, Kirk Lane, LEEDS, UK, LS19 7LX. (+44) 532 500303
akcs.falco@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Andrey Dolgachev) (05/08/91)
Along the note of Portfolios, 95, Poquet, etc. the following is taken
from a recent article reviewing the Casio Boss, Sharp Wizard, Poquet PC,
and the Atari Portfolio.
"None has a seperate numeric keypad." (Unlike the 95LX)
"Even simple tests [Atari and Poquet PC] revelaed shortcomings that would
keep them from being the first choice in a portable computer."
"The Pquet PC was the largest of the tested units. The screen displays
25 lines of 80 characters each in text or CGA mode, but the small
character size and excessive reflectivity make it ht eleast readable
display in the group.
The Poquet PC's keyboard had the largest keys and the best feel, but
typing was equally quick and accurate on the Wizard."
(Yup, the screen is bigger than a 95LX and so are the keys, but typing
is the same as a Wizard, which is at most, as good as a 95LX. Of course,
typing is really subjective, but I've used the 95, and typing is
extremely easy, prob. 30 wpm compared to my usual 70.)
"the Poquet PC's 3.5 inch PC floppy-disk drive. This battery-operated
drive [external, optional] can read from and write to 720k and 1.4
megabyte DOS floppies." (Now, this I like)
(Now for the Portfolio)
"The keyboard is the worst of the tested group. Because of its stiff,
tilted buttons and the raised lip that blocks the space bar, touch-typing
is impossible."
"The Portfolio is the worst-designed unit among the palmtop organizers.
Its poor keyboard and failure to wrap text to fit its screen make it a
drudge for those on the go."
(Here's their summary)
"The Atari Portfolio is a complete disappointment. It lacks the design
sophistication of the other units, and its clunky keyboard and poor
screen manageent make it virtually unusable.
I admire the Poquet PC's engineering, but I can't recommend its
purchase except as a conversation pieve. those requiring the power of a
PC on the road will be happier in the long run with a laptop-for about
the same price.
"
--The above is taken from the June 1991 issue of MacUser, page 111-8.
In addition, I used the 95LX today, along with some of the other
palmtops, and the 95 is really a joy to use. The keyboard is great, as
is the screen and speed.The applications are totally IBM type in the good
sense. You press Menu to get the menubar, like say Microsoft Works for
the IBM. When you press a key, such as Q, it executes that menu command
(QUIT in this case), there are submenus which replace the main menu,
instead of being pull-down, but otherwise they function the same way as
the Menus on the better IBM software. This is for all the applications,
even the HP calculator simulator. The World time is nice, there are a
lot of cities, and you can program in your own. The Appointment,
Calendar, and To-Do list all run flawlessly and are on a completely
different level than the Wizard or Boss or etc. Filer is a simple DOS
shell with additional additions for the 95 and easier to use than std.
becasue there's no C: prompt. It's more like Xtree than a DOS shell,
actually, you move down the disk list with the arrow keys, and the menu
lets you do wdo the commands (run, view, etc.) Most importantly, the HP
quality is very evident. When closed, it's very small, and very light,
smaller and lighter than a 48. At the store where I saw it, Ulrich's
Electronics in Ann Arbor, Mich. it was only $525. It really has to be
seen and played with to be believed though.
---FalcoHCLIMER%UTCVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (Harold Climer) (05/08/91)
BTW the word is wakened. And you live in the land of our mother tongue !
I will however agree that the HP 32 stuff was getting old. Just like me.
Harold Climer
Physics Department
U. Tennessee At Chattanooga
U.S.Alaird@think.com (Laird Popkin) (05/08/91)
In article <2826ee5e:2620.15comp.sys.handhelds;1@hpcvbbs.UUCP> akcs.falco@hpcvbbs.UUCP (Andrey Dolgachev) writes: >Along the note of Portfolios, 95, Poquet, etc. the following is taken >from a recent article reviewing the Casio Boss, Sharp Wizard, Poquet PC, >and the Atari Portfolio. > >"None has a seperate numeric keypad." (Unlike the 95LX) True. They all provide a numeric keypad overlaid on the QWERTY keyboard. >"Even simple tests [Atari and Poquet PC] revelaed shortcomings that would >keep them from being the first choice in a portable computer." Of course -- they, like the 95LX, were designed to be a portable extension to another computer. The article pretty much concludes that if you want a portable computer, you should buy a laptop computer and get a larger display, a larger keyboard, and more storage. [evidence that tiny computers with tiny screens and tiny keyboards have limitations deleted] [some statements that he saw a 95LX in a store and liked it deleted] > ... When you press a key, such as Q, it executes that menu command >(QUIT in this case), there are submenus which replace the main menu, >instead of being pull-down, but otherwise they function the same way as >the Menus on the better IBM software. This is for all the applications, >even the HP calculator simulator. Just like a Portfolio... The World time is nice, there are a >lot of cities, and you can program in your own. The Appointment, >Calendar, and To-Do list all run flawlessly and are on a completely >different level than the Wizard or Boss or etc. Filer is a simple DOS >shell with additional additions for the 95 and easier to use than std. >becasue there's no C: prompt. It's more like Xtree than a DOS shell, >actually, you move down the disk list with the arrow keys, and the menu >lets you do wdo the commands (run, view, etc.) Just like the Portfolio... Most importantly, the HP >quality is very evident. When closed, it's very small, and very light, >smaller and lighter than a 48. At the store where I saw it, Ulrich's >Electronics in Ann Arbor, Mich. it was only $525. It really has to be >seen and played with to be believed though. For 2.6 times the price of the Portfolio... ($525 vs. $200) In case anyone is curious, I (today) decided to buy a Portfolio over the 95LX because I could get the Portfolio for $200, and when technology advances to the point where a _full_ function computer can be handheld, I'll buy one of those, and until then the Portfolio is sufficient for my needs. The incremental improvement of the 95LX over the Portfolio didn't justify the difference in price for me. Look, Falco, I am not saying that the Portfolio or any other handheld computer is better than the 95LX. My _only_ point in this entire discussion has been to point out that HP _didn't_ invent the handheld computer market, or even the subset of that, the handheld DOS computer market. Their entry into the market looks quite good, and may well be "better", but it's not different from any of the other machines available in any fundamental way. Even Apple, a company not noted for it's humility, didn't claim to have created the portable computer market when it introduced the Portable Mac, and it was the first one to run the *real* Macintosh operating system, as opposed to a clone. :^) > ---Falco - Laird Popkin, Thinking Machines Connection Machine: Massively parallel supercomputer. Also a cool black cube with more blinking lights than you can shake a stick at.
frank@grep.co.uk (Frank Wales) (05/09/91)
In article <1991May8.000043.11046@Think.COM> laird@think.com writes: >My _only_ point in this entire discussion has been to point out that >HP _didn't_ invent the handheld computer market, Go on, then, convince me that either the HP-65 wasn't the first handheld computer, or that another company had a handheld computer prior to 1974. -- Frank Wales, Grep Limited, [frank@grep.co.uk<->uunet!grep!frank] Kirkfields Business Centre, Kirk Lane, LEEDS, UK, LS19 7LX. (+44) 532 500303
laird@think.com (Laird Popkin) (05/12/91)
In article <1991May09.154521.16505@grep.co.uk> frank@grep.co.uk (Frank Wales) writes: >In article <1991May8.000043.11046@Think.COM> laird@think.com writes: >>My _only_ point in this entire discussion has been to point out that >>HP _didn't_ invent the handheld computer market, > >Go on, then, convince me that either the HP-65 wasn't the first handheld >computer, or that another company had a handheld computer prior to 1974. OK, let me reprase that. My _only_ point in this entire discussion has been to point out that HP _didn't_ invent the handheld computer market with the 95LX. As you point out with the HP-65, there have been a number of programmable handhelds for quite a while. And, needless to say, handheld DOS computers, even ones with scheduling, spreadsheet, etc., software. - Laird Popkin