graff@mlpvm2.iinus1.ibm.com ("Michael Graff") (12/11/90)
I ordered the latest developer info pack from Atari, and it's different from the info posted here a few days ago. First, you're required to sign up as a developer and order the developer starter kit for $160. The starter kit includes the tech ref, the emulator software (for testing Pofo programs on a regular PC), and one year of developer technical support. The sign-up form asks all kinds of questions like how many programmers do you have and what will you be developing and when will it be released. Also, you need to sign a non-disclosure agreement. It's not clear, however, if they would turn you down if you simply said you wanted to develop software for your own personal use. Once you've signed up, the prices for the individual Pofo items are very good (price list dated 10/26/90): Portfolio $195 Parallel interface 25 Serial interface 40 AC adapter 5 32K RAM card 40 64K RAM card 65 128K RAM card 100 PC card drive 50 They also have prices for EPROM cards and EPROM writer adapter boards. If you just want a few things, you're probably better off just ordering them from a mail order firm like J&R Music World and avoiding all the paperwork since the $160 starter kit would offset any price savings. But if you really are interested in developing programs for the Pofo, the developer prices are really nice. --Michael
borasky@ogicse.ogi.edu (M. Edward Borasky) (12/17/90)
Is it possible to get Laxen-Perry FORTH into a PORTFOLIO? That way, the PORTFOLIO could be used as a STAND-ALONE development system; you wouldn't NEED anything else! You'd still need the hardware reference manuals, of course, but you could develop anywhere -- in a plane, a rest room in a shopping mall, in the car while your wife is driving -- ANYWHERE!
jims@momenta (Jim Straus) (12/20/90)
borasky@ogicse.ogi.edu (M. Edward Borasky) writes: >Is it possible to get Laxen-Perry FORTH into a PORTFOLIO? That way, >the PORTFOLIO could be used as a STAND-ALONE development system; you >wouldn't NEED anything else! You'd still need the hardware reference >manuals, of course, but you could develop anywhere -- in a plane, a >rest room in a shopping mall, in the car while your wife is driving -- >ANYWHERE! I'm not sure about Laxen-Perry Forth, but I've put a variant of a Forth for the HP Portable into the Portfolio. It is small enough to allow me to jump into the Editor to create programs and then load the files into the Forth. I have done development while flying. The biggest problem is accidentally crashing the machine with bad code. Care is required to make sure that the write-protect switch is set before trying out any changes to a program.