zlraa@iceman.jcu.oz (Ross Alford) (07/31/90)
I am seriously considering buying an Atari Portfolio, but have one unresolved question: If I buy the RS232 adapter for it, how do I *initially* get a program into it that will do file transfers through the RS232. No software appears to come with it, the Portfolio has no built-in programming language, so how do you bootstrap a serial communication program into it in the first place. Note: no-one I know nearby has one of the parallel file transfer packages, so I can't count on borrowing one of those. On the same subject, is the Portfolio's serial port compatible with PC/XT? Will programs that directly manipulate the hardaware work? Failing that, is the BIOS compatible enough that PC RS232 BIOS calls function? Anyone want to comment on the BIOS-level compatibility of the Portfolio in general? Ross Alford zlraa@iceman.jcu.oz zlraa@marlin.jcu.au.edu
emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) (08/01/90)
In article <871@iceman.jcu.oz> zlraa@iceman.jcu.oz (Ross Alford) writes:
I am seriously considering buying an Atari Portfolio, but have one
unresolved question: If I buy the RS232 adapter for it, how do
I *initially* get a program into it that will do file transfers
through the RS232.
There are some amazingly tiny bootstrap programs for ms-dos kermit,
i'd see about keying in one of those. ftp from watsun.cc.columbia.edu.
--Ed
Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept <emv@math.lsa.umich.edu>hburford@enint.Wichita.NCR.COM (Harry Burford) (08/02/90)
emv@math.lsa.umich.edu (Edward Vielmetti) writes: >In article <871@iceman.jcu.oz> zlraa@iceman.jcu.oz (Ross Alford) writes: > I am seriously considering buying an Atari Portfolio, but have one > unresolved question: If I buy the RS232 adapter for it, how do > I *initially* get a program into it that will do file transfers > through the RS232. >There are some amazingly tiny bootstrap programs for ms-dos kermit, >i'd see about keying in one of those. ftp from watsun.cc.columbia.edu. >--Ed >Edward Vielmetti, U of Michigan math dept <emv@math.lsa.umich.edu> Currently Atari is including the parallel interface with their port. this is aparently a bi-directional interface and you will not need the serial to communicate with the PC. As far a comm. goes, there is a comm program as well as spread sheet, word processing, scheduler, + others built into the stock port. I don't own one yet so I'm not sure how well they work. (when I said PC above, I meant a host PC that the port would comm. with) -- Harry Burford - NCR Peripheral Products Division, Printer Products PHONE:316-636-8016 TELEX:417-465 FAX:316-636-8889 CALL:KA0TTY SLOWNET:3718 N. Rock Road, Wichita KS C-$erve:76226,2760 Cherokee N7476R SS: 9.5 Harry.Burford@Wichita.NCR.COM
SLSW2@cc.usu.edu (Roger Ivie) (08/07/90)
In article <871@iceman.jcu.oz>, zlraa@iceman.jcu.oz (Ross Alford) writes: > If I buy the RS232 adapter for it, how do > I *initially* get a program into it that will do file transfers > through the RS232. Very good question. > > On the same subject, is the Portfolio's serial port compatible with > PC/XT? Will programs that directly manipulate the hardaware work? > Failing that, is the BIOS compatible enough that PC RS232 BIOS calls > function? Anyone want to comment on the BIOS-level compatibility > of the Portfolio in general? Everything that I've tried at a BIOS level has worked. Nothing that I've tried at a hardware level has. The RS232 port is definitely BIOS compatible. I've played with it and done some playing with the screen (I wrote a small terminal emulator using BIOS calls for both the screen and the serial port). Before the requests start pouring in, it is not fit for external consumption. No, I won't post it. -- =============================================================================== Roger Ivie 35 S 300 W Logan, Ut. 84321 (801) 752-8633 ===============================================================================