andy@ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU (Andrew Purshottam) (12/14/89)
Hi, I looked at the portfolio at Winners Circle (popular Berkeley
Atari/Commodore shop) and was quite impressed with what Atari had
put in handheld for $400. What stopped me from buying it was the
information that it came with only 32K of memory, and that no expansion
boards were yet avvail (this was about 3 weeks ago, so my info may
be obselete). The expansion, when avail was 256K for (I think) about
$300. (Atarians on net please correct me.)
Has anyone investigated the possibility that Portfolios can be
ungraded w/SIMs? The guy at store said you needed special memory
upgrade from Atari, but he also admitted that he had nevere opened it up
fully and studied it. He said that while it was not reasonable to
think of using MS dos software with unexpanded machine, it
has built in software that one can use. (I was quite impressed
at both the knowledge and honesty of WC people; have not bought
anything from them yet, but probably will).
Andynews@udenva.cair.du.edu (netnews) (12/15/89)
In article <20665@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> andy@ucbarpa.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Andrew Purshottam) writes: >Hi, I looked at the portfolio at Winners Circle (popular Berkeley >Atari/Commodore shop) and was quite impressed with what Atari had >put in handheld for $400. What stopped me from buying it was the >information that it came with only 32K of memory, and that no expansion >boards were yet avvail (this was about 3 weeks ago, so my info may >be obselete). The expansion, when avail was 256K for (I think) about >$300. (Atarians on net please correct me.) > I'm not an Atarian, but I'll tell you what I *think* I know. The Portfolio comes with 128K of RAM for DATA storage. Programs (worksheet, editor, diary, etc.) are stored in a seperate 256K ROM. Now the 128K is normally split between normal RAM and a RAM drive (your C> drive). One review (PC Computing) says that it can be expanded to 640K, I have no idea how though. The machine also has a "CARD-DRIVE", not unlike a floppy disk drive, built in to the machine. Cards can be used like floppies in sizes of 32K-$80, 64K-$130 and 128K-$200. This is like your A> drive, although you can now dedicate all of your RAM drive (C>) to RAM. Plans are for a second card drive to be available in January. Also a "CARD-DRIVE" that attaches to your desk-bound PC. There are also plans for application software distribution directly on CARDs. Some other specifics: The worksheet is Lotus 1-2-3 compatible (I've tried this, it works quite well.) The editor is ASCII compatible, The Diary and Address book are in a simple ASCII format. I downloaded my "POWER-UP ADDRESS BOOK PLUS" file without a hitch from my desk-bound PC. It runs DOS 2.11 and uses 3 AA batteries, I've used mine a month so far on the batteries that came with it and I've used it a lot! Serial and Parallel ports cost extra, $80 and $50 respectively. Although I'm all for buying it from the dealer where you looked at it (I did too), Atari will FedEx you one for a 30 day Trial! 800-443-8020. Two interesting reviews are in the December 89 PC Computing and in the Dec. 26 89 PC Magazine. Pretty fair reviews. After speaking with Atari, (great support BTW) they seem to have big plans for this little box. For $400, I recommend it highly. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert L. Dahlen - Director, Information Systems & Technology University of Denver - Denver, Colorado 80208 (303) 871-4385 INET:bdahlen@du.edu BITNET:bdahlen@ducair UUCP:ncar!dunike!bdahlen
jwt@atari.UUCP (Jim Tittsler) (12/15/89)
The unexpanded Portfolio comes with 128Kb of RAM that can be partitioned by the software between use as a RAM disk and as DOS "system" memory. Since I tend to run mostly DOS software, I usually keep the RAMdisk small to maximize the size of the TPA. The people that exclusively use the built-in applications favor larger RAMdisks. There will be expansion memory modules for the Portfolio (although they are not shipping yet) that will expand the memory in 256Kb blocks. Each module also has another memory card slot (card drive), for more flexibility with memory cards. The modules pass the expansion bus through, so another peripheral can be snapped on outside the expansion memory. The Portfolio uses all surface mounted chips, as you would expect in a unit this size. There is no way to plug in more memory in the base unit itself. Jim Tittsler, Systems Engineer, Atari Corp.