Seiler@mit-xx.arpa (03/30/83)
From: Larry Seiler <Seiler@mit-xx.arpa> Some people are asking what a Robin is... The Robin, more commonly known as the VT18X, is a board made by Digital Equipment Company to plug into their VT100 terminal and convert it into a personal computer. It has Z80, 64Kbytes RAM, 8Kbytes ROM, RS232 port, printer port, and two 180Kbyte 5.25" floppy drives. It runs CPM and (in a package deal that DEC has been offering since last November, at least I think they are still offering it) comes with Multisoft Basic, Multiplan, and the Select word processor (by the way, if anyone cares to tell me (not the list) why Select is/isn't good, I'd like to hear). You can still use the VT100 as a terminal, and you can also buy Polygon communication software for file transfers (assuming you don't want to use MODEM7 for free). You can also get a second dual floppy drive. In terms of price, I'd say that it is a good deal if you already own a VT100, and too expensive otherwise. The Rainbow (which has already been described here, but I'll send you info if you want it) is sort of upward compatible with the VT180. That is, the Rainbow can read VT180 disks (but not write or format them) and run programs written for the VT180. Larry -------