kunau@cray.com (Timothy Kunau) (11/14/90)
Does anyone out there own/use a Macintosh Portable on a regular basis? I have the opportunity to pick one up fairly inexpensively and was wondering what luck other people have had with the unit. Software compatibility problems? Battery problems? Screen problems? What sort of "real world" experiences do others have with this beast? I'm a little tired of the hype, Thanks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | Timothy M. Kunau Cray Research Inc. | | E-mail: kunau@cray.com 655E Lone Oak Dr. | | AT&T: +1 612/6833649 Eagan, MN USA 55121 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------
a577@mindlink.UUCP (Curt Sampson) (11/14/90)
> kunau@cray.com writes: > > Does anyone out there own/use a Macintosh Portable on a regular > basis? I have the opportunity to pick one up fairly inexpensively > and was wondering what luck other people have had with the unit. It is large. Very large. It makes my T1000XE look positively miniscule by comparison. It's definitely not a laptop. My biggest problem with it is the non-backlit screen. It makes it very difficult to use. You have to have light almost directly behind you, but not quite (otherwise the screen will glare). This cause shadows to be cast from the LCD pixels onto the backplain behind them, giving a sort of "doubling" effect. Ow! cjs -- Curt_Sampson@mindlink.UUCP (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) {uunet|ubc-cs}!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!Curt_Sampson curt@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca
infocenter@urz.unibas.ch (11/15/90)
In article <3813@mindlink.UUCP>, a577@mindlink.UUCP (Curt Sampson) writes: >> kunau@cray.com writes: >> >> Does anyone out there own/use a Macintosh Portable on a regular >> basis? I have the opportunity to pick one up fairly inexpensively >> and was wondering what luck other people have had with the unit. > > It is large. Very large. It makes my T1000XE look positively miniscule by > comparison. It's definitely not a laptop. > > My biggest problem with it is the non-backlit screen. It makes it very > difficult to use. You have to have light almost directly behind you, but not > quite (otherwise the screen will glare). This cause shadows to be cast from > the LCD pixels onto the backplain behind them, giving a sort of "doubling" > effect. Ow! > > cjs > -- > Curt_Sampson@mindlink.UUCP (Vancouver, B.C., > Canada) > {uunet|ubc-cs}!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!Curt_Sampson > curt@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca all your comments are true, but if you get it for a good price and if you are not hiking around with it, then you make a good deal. It's a really neat machine! It's a real Mac that doesn't waste to much space on your desk, cause you can put it to the side. The used material is of good quality (harddisk, display etc.). bye .................................................................... Didi ****************************************************************************** * Universitas Basiliensis InfoCenter * ******************************************************************************
sas@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Scott Sutherland) (11/22/90)
In article <1990Nov15.112118.1177@urz.unibas.ch> infocenter@urz.unibas.ch writes: >In article <3813@mindlink.UUCP>, a577@mindlink.UUCP (Curt Sampson) writes: >>> kunau@cray.com writes: >>> >>> Does anyone out there own/use a Macintosh Portable on a regular >>> basis? I have the opportunity to pick one up fairly inexpensively >>> and was wondering what luck other people have had with the unit. >> >> It is large. Very large. It makes my T1000XE look positively miniscule by >> comparison. It's definitely not a laptop. You are right about that, it's not a "laptop," but luckily, I rarely need to work on my lap. >> My biggest problem with it is the non-backlit screen. It makes it very >> difficult to use. You have to have light almost directly behind you, but not >> quite (otherwise the screen will glare). This cause shadows to be cast from >> the LCD pixels onto the backplain behind them, giving a sort of "doubling" >> effect. Ow! There have been a few times when I would have liked a backlit screen. In fact I have started bringing a book light with me when I'm using an LCD overhead projection platform, so that I can see the screen with the lights out. By the way, that works really well - you just clip it on the handle over the screen. It even fits in the Portable case. Anyway, although I have had some need for backlighting, I don't consider it a real problem. I also have not run into a problem seeing the screen from an angle. Usually, a simple adjustment of the contrast helps a lot, and unless the light is *really* bright the shadows are not too bad. An interesting note, I have both the Portable and a IIci on my desk and I probably get about equal use out of both. I do most of my development work on the IIci and al of my communications on the Portable (it is dance.ohio- state.edu). I think the 2-page monitor on the IIci is much harder on my eyes than the Portable is. >> cjs >> -- >> Curt_Sampson@mindlink.UUCP (Vancouver, B.C., >> Canada) >> {uunet|ubc-cs}!van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!Curt_Sampson >> curt@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca > >all your comments are true, but if you get it for a good price and if you are >not hiking around with it, then you make a good deal. Right! Big airports without motorized walkways are the *worst*. >It's a really neat machine! >It's a real Mac that doesn't waste to much space on your desk, cause you can >put it to the side. The used material is of good quality (harddisk, >display etc.). I agree. I've had no major problems, other than a floppy drive that came unplugged. > >bye .................................................................... Didi > >****************************************************************************** >* Universitas Basiliensis InfoCenter * >****************************************************************************** A few thoughts of my own: I would purchase a Mac Portable again, even at the going rate. All in all, I think it is a fine machine for most uses. If you get it, count on buying a memory upgrade for it. That way you can run a RAM disk, and you won't have to wait for the HD to spin-up very often. Something else that no one has mentioned is that it travels well. It is not too big for use on the seat-back table on the airplane, and it easily fits under the seat or in the overhead. Since it sets-up and turns on quickly, it doesn't slow you down going through security or customs. If your flight is long, you may be glad that the battery life is 8+ hours, and you can plug it in almost anywhere in the world without any sort of a transformer. Well, I think I'll take my portable outside, and enjoy one of our last "warm" sunny days :-). Cheers, Scott Sutherland --- Scott Sutherland scott@dance.ohio-state.edu Staff Software Developer The Ohio State University, Department of Dance