dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o) (05/11/91)
In the quest for the cheapest, lightest laptop, one option is the Tandy WP-2. It is NOT a MSDOS machine. It is just a word processor + comm machine. It is light (3lbs), thin (1"), cheap ($350), has a real keyboard, has spelling checker and thesaurus, runs on standard AA batteries, can take an optional external floppy. It is not the perfect machine by any means, but if you just need to type in text and do remote dialup while on the road, it is a cheap and minimally bulky way to go. Cheers, Dan Ts'o 212-570-7671 Dept. Neurobiology dan@rna.rockefeller.edu Rockefeller Univ. ...phri!rna!dan 1230 York Ave. tso@rockvax.bitnet NY, NY 10021
aaron@jessica.stanford.edu (Aaron Wallace) (05/13/91)
In article <1106@rna.UUCP> dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o) writes: > > In the quest for the cheapest, lightest laptop, one option is the >Tandy WP-2. It is NOT a MSDOS machine. It is just a word processor + comm >machine. It is light (3lbs), thin (1"), cheap ($350), has a real keyboard, >has spelling checker and thesaurus, runs on standard AA batteries, can take >an optional external floppy. > It is not the perfect machine by any means, but if you just need to >type in text and do remote dialup while on the road, it is a cheap and >minimally bulky way to go. I too was looking at this machine. I like the physical aspect, but the one I played with was impossibly slow to type on when inserting text--the letters appeared about 1 or 2 per second. I'd also recommend the Laser PC/4. This too is not a DOS machine. It runs off 4 AA batteries for about 40 hours, weighs about 2 pounds, has a very readable 4x40 screen, has 32K of static memory, and 2 meg of ROM with various applications, such as a spelling checker, work processor, PC4->PC link software, Lotus-like spreadsheet, BASIC, and various appointment/scheduler type things. All for $249. My only nit with the machine is that the key- board's feel takes some getting used to, but it's miles above anything on a Portfolio or Boss/Wizard thing. It's definitely touch-typable. To get one of these, you'll need to contact Laser directly--and I don't have their number with me. Oh, you also get some PC Tools software and all necessary cables with the machine. If I hadn't just gotten hooked on my $300 MiniSport, I'd still haul it around with me; at 6 lbs and 3 hours of mattery life in the MiniSport, the PC4 may yet see more life!!! Aaron Wallace
priol@irisa.fr (Thierry Priol) (05/14/91)
From article <1106@rna.UUCP>, by dan@rna.UUCP (Dan Ts'o): > > In the quest for the cheapest, lightest laptop, one option is the > Tandy WP-2. It is NOT a MSDOS machine. It is just a word processor + comm > machine. It is light (3lbs), thin (1"), cheap ($350), has a real keyboard, > has spelling checker and thesaurus, runs on standard AA batteries, can take > an optional external floppy. > It is not the perfect machine by any means, but if you just need to > type in text and do remote dialup while on the road, it is a cheap and > minimally bulky way to go. > Is it a new machine ? -- Thierry PRIOL Phone: 99 36 20 00 IRISA / INRIA U.R. Rennes Fax: 99 38 38 32 Campus Universitaire de Beaulieu Telex: UNIRISA 950 473F 35042 RENNES CEDEX - FRANCE E-mail: priol@irisa.fr