erc@radon.berkeley.edu (Eric Ng) (03/07/91)
I just got the "Early Spring 1991" copy of the DAK Industries catalog and noticed that they were selling NEC UltraLites with 640k RAM and 1M RAM disks for $699 (with the 2M RAM disk version going for $899). The catalog lists the original retail price for these units at $2,999 and $3,699 respectively. Also included (supposedly for free) is MS Works 2.0. Any opinions on these UltraLites? With the built-in 2400 baud modem, V30 processor, and MS-DOS 3.3, it seems like it would make a nice portable word processor/terminal/editing machine (i.e., loading up Freemacs onto the RAM disk and ...). And what's the display quality like? I use a Toshiba T5100 as my main machine and have been quite spoiled by the clarity of a gas plasma display ... -eric -- eric ng 1906 milvia street berkeley california 94704 ..!uunet!irss.njit.edu!erc ...!ucbvax!radon!erc erc@irss.njit.edu erc@radon.berkeley.edu
brian@motcsd.csd.mot.com (Brian Smithson) (03/12/91)
I have a few questions about the Ultralite as well:
1. "How compatible is it?" In particular, is the display some kind of
recognized adaptor (e.g. CGA, EGA, etc) and if so, which? How about
the serial port -- is it the same as COM1 on everyone else's box?
How about the V30? I've never used any of the Vx0 chips -- any
gotcha's about them versus the corresponding 80X86 chips?
2. What happens to the ramdisk if the battery expires when the unit is
running? How about if the unit is powered off? How about if the
battery pack is swapped without an active AC power connection?
Does the ramdisk lose it's tiny little mind, or is it kept alive
by the clock/calendar battery? What kind of warning is given about
battery condition?
3. About those ROM card applications: do they include a normal disked
version of the product, so like if I bought 1-2-3 I could run it
on the Ultralite in ROM and on some other box on disk? If not,
are the ROM applications accessible as normal DOS files, and are
they the same programs as the corresponding disked versions?
A related question: do the ROM applications actually execute from
ROM or are they loaded into memory and executed there?
4. How is the keyboard feel? Although it is "full sized", I imagine
that the "full size" is only in two dimensions. How about the
key travel? Do they have an (annoying) mechanical keyclick to
compensate for short travel or anything like that?
Please reply or post soon -- I'm in the mood to go shopping... :-)
--
-Brian Smithson
Motorola Inc., Computer Group, Commercial Systems Division
10700 N. De Anza Boulevard, Cupertino, CA 95014 USA, (408)366-4104
brian@csd.mot.com, {apple | pyramid}!motcsd!brianbstantus@sleepy.bmd.trw.com (03/26/91)
We are considering purchasing an NEC ultralite to use whihle traveling. DAK has one for $699.00 in it's spring catalog. Any comments on the NEC ultralite and/or DAK would be appreciated Thanks in advance Bob
plm@cbnewsi.att.com (peter.l.mc cann) (03/29/91)
From article <1308.27edbf20@sleepy.bmd.trw.com>, by bstantus@sleepy.bmd.trw.com: > We are considering purchasing an NEC ultralite to use whihle traveling. > DAK has one for $699.00 in it's spring catalog. Any comments on the NEC > ultralite and/or DAK would be appreciated > > Thanks in advance > > Bob I saw the same ad in the DAK catalog, read the whole ad, the more you read the more you find out you have to spend to get something usefull. I've seen toshiba T1000 on sale for less than 1K. I think the Toshiba would be a better bet. I use one for work except for the fact that I have to carry floppies with me. It serves my purposes. Also I bought for my dad the "Marriage Saver" from DAK. This is the infrared "stereo" headphones. When it Arrived I was completely unimpressed with the product in one word it was "CHEAP". Whether or not this is indicative of all DAK products or not, I probably won't ever buy a product from them again. We sent it back. ****************************************************************** | THE MASKED KARROT Pete McCann | \|/ | |_| ---------- [==] pete@superman.ATT.COM | IF IT DOESN"T | \--o--o--/ / | FIT USE A |===\ ^ /===/ | BIGGER HAMMER | \ -- / / | ==\ /== | = \/ = | == == | ******************************************************************
syali@acsu.buffalo.edu (Sy Ali) (03/29/91)
I got got one from DAK. I'm not displeased with it. If theres enough interest I'll post a review. Email me if you're interested. Cheers, Sy. -- Internet: syali@cs.buffalo.edu UUCP: syali@sunybcs.uucp Bitnet: syali%cs.buffalo.edu@ubvm.bitnet Syed Ali, Dept. of CS, 226 Bell Hall, SUNY@Buffalo, Buffalo NY 14260. ``It's not what you do; it's who sees you do it!''
xap27@EVAX.IASTATE.EDU (04/10/91)
I have had friends who have ordered from DAK in the past. The only problem is that sometimes the item, being an off brand, was of low quality. The NEC ultralite, being a non-"off brand", should be OK. Otherwise no problems w/ service, or anything like that.
cho@sol4.cs.psu.edu (Sehyeong Cho) (04/17/91)
I just got a catalog from DAK. They're selling NEC Ultralite for $699. (w/free MS Works) It's a true notebook running on V30. almost 8X11 size, 4.4 lbs w/Battery. It's got an internal 2400b modem and comm. program in ROM too. The problem is, it doesn't have any disk drive :-) (Though it's got a 1M ram disk, besides 640K conventional mem.) Does anyone have this little one? I just wonder if it's really usable without a disk drive. -- | Yesterday I was a student. Sehyeong Cho | Today I am a student. cho@cs.psu.edu | Tomorrow I'll probably still be a student. | Sigh.. There's so little hope for advancement.
smb7@jaguar.ucs.uofs.edu (BRANCATI STEPHEN M) (04/24/91)
I saw someone talking about an add in a DAK catalog offerring NEC ultra lites for $699, and sure enough a day later a DAK catalog showed up at my door (how convenient). Would anyone out there like to offer their opinions on the NEC Ultralite (the original--no disks of any kind, v30, 640k + 1meg Ramdisk) and the price it is being offered for. I'm really wondering about battery life and does the "Silicon Hard Disk" lose its contents when the charge goes. (Maybe I hope for too much.) Thanks.
brian@king.csd.mot.com (04/25/91)
smb7@jaguar.ucs.uofs.edu (BRANCATI STEPHEN M) writes: > I saw someone talking about an add in a DAK catalog offerring NEC ultra >lites for $699, and sure enough a day later a DAK catalog showed up at my door >(how convenient). Would anyone out there like to offer their opinions on the >NEC Ultralite (the original--no disks of any kind, v30, 640k + 1meg Ramdisk) >and the price it is being offered for. I'm really wondering about battery life >and does the "Silicon Hard Disk" lose its contents when the charge goes. (Maybe >I hope for too much.) Well, depending on what you want to do with it, $699 can be an attractive price. Another $200 for the second 1MB of silicon hard disk is a bit difficult to swallow, but I bought it anyway. The battery lasts about 2 hours (less if you're using the modem, more if you lower the CPU speed). The battery is replaceable, so if you get an extra one or two you can get that much more use before finding a power outlet. The silicon hard disk is powered by a seperate non-replaceable battery which recharges along with the main battery. It supposedly lasts for a week without a charge. If the disk battery goes, so does your data. However, if the main battery goes, your disk data stays put. If you want more info, including some informal reviews and discussion about applications, you may want to subscribe to the UltraLite mailing list. Send your subscription request to: ultralite-request@csd.mot.com You'll get back issues as well as new traffic. -- -Brian Smithson Motorola Inc., Computer Group, Commercial Systems Division 10700 N. De Anza Boulevard, Cupertino, CA 95014 USA, (408)366-4104 brian@csd.mot.com, {apple | pyramid}!motcsd!brian