gh0t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Gordon Hester) (03/22/90)
I would like to have a portable computer to take on trips with me so that I could use it to edit papers, write memos while things are fresh in my mind, and other text creation and editing tasks. I use ms word 4.0 on my mac. I just can't see shelling out $7000 for a mac portable for these lightweight, mundane uses. Besides, I don't _have_ $7000 to shell out for a portable! does anyone know of a portable I could use that would be "compatible" with my mac in the sense of being able to edit existing word 4.0 files and create new text files that I could then transfer to my mac and edit as word files with minimal hassle? I'm looking for something in the $2000 or under range. thanks for any advice. gordon hester
philip@Kermit.Stanford.EDU (Philip Machanick) (03/22/90)
In article <0a1xxuW00Uh_Q1nkoC@andrew.cmu.edu>, gh0t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Gordon Hester) writes: > I would like to have a portable computer to take on trips with me so > that I could use it to edit papers, write memos while things are fresh > in my mind, and other text creation and editing tasks. I use ms word 4.0 > on my mac. I just can't see shelling out $7000 for a mac portable for > these lightweight, mundane uses. Besides, I don't _have_ $7000 to shell > out for a portable! > > does anyone know of a portable I could use that would be "compatible" > with my mac in the sense of being able to edit existing word 4.0 files > and create new text files that I could then transfer to my mac and edit > as word files with minimal hassle? I'm looking for something in the > $2000 or under range. Uh, sacrilege, but since Apple doesn't cater for your needs and you _really_ need something "lightweight", how about a nice cheap "PC clone" portable with 3.5" diskette drive? If you have a high-density diskette drive on your Mac, you can read the PC disks using Apple File Exchange. Otherwise, you'll need a serial cable and file transfer software. Word on the PC should be compatible (check this out: I last did this a couple of years ago). Philip Machanick philip@pescadero.stanford.edu
casey@ultra.com (Casey Cox) (03/22/90)
In article <1990Mar21.222227.12671@Neon.Stanford.EDU> philip@pescadero.stanford.edu writes: >In article <0a1xxuW00Uh_Q1nkoC@andrew.cmu.edu>, gh0t+@andrew.cmu.edu >(Gordon Hester) writes: >> I would like to have a portable computer to take on trips with me so >> that I could use it to edit papers, write memos while things are fresh Speaking of protable Macs, on pages 14-15 of the latest MacWeek there is a huge ad from Outbound Systems that shows a nice portable mac that weighs about 9 pounds. Does anyone have any experience with this thing? -- Casey Cox Ultra Network Technologies / 101 Daggett Drive / San Jose CA 95134 casey@ultra.com ...!ames!ultra!casey (408) 922-0100
topgun@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Chandra Bajpai) (03/22/90)
>Speaking of protable Macs, on pages 14-15 of the latest MacWeek there is a >huge ad from Outbound Systems that shows a nice portable mac that weighs about >9 pounds. Does anyone have any experience with this thing? > Is Outbound Systems (Boulder, CO) the same company as Wallaby (Boulder?, CO)? Wallaby announced a similar system last fall. Could some one post the specifications for this machine? Does the system support ADB and the 1.44M SuperDrive? Thanks, Chandra topgun@brandeis.cs.edu
hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) (03/24/90)
In article <1990Mar22.144543.12214@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu> topgun@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Chandra Bajpai) writes: > Is Outbound Systems (Boulder, CO) the same company as Wallaby > (Boulder?, CO)? > Wallaby announced a similar system last fall. Yes. Herb Poppe NCAR hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu 1850 Table Mesa Drive Boulder, CO 80307-3000 (303) 497-1296
werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) (03/24/90)
In <6722@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) writes: >> Is Outbound Systems (Boulder, CO) the same company as Wallaby >> (Boulder?, CO)? >> Wallaby announced a similar system last fall. >Yes. did they go Chapter 11 and start over? (never a confidence inspiring practice - says this industry watcher ....)
bruce@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Bruce Burkhalter) (03/24/90)
In article <1227@hedora.cs.utexas.edu> werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) writes: >In <6722@ncar.ucar.edu> hpoppe@ncar.ucar.edu (Herb Poppe) writes: >>> Is Outbound Systems (Boulder, CO) the same company as Wallaby >>> (Boulder?, CO)? >>> Wallaby announced a similar system last fall. > >>Yes. > > did they go Chapter 11 and start over? (never a confidence > inspiring practice - says this industry watcher ....) No, nothing like that at all. Apparently another company had first use of the name Wallaby so instead of going to court about it they changed their name. They also felt "Outbound" better described their company and product than "Wallaby". I got this information from talking to someone at Outbound and from information they sent me. Bruce Burkhalter Berkeley Systems, Inc. bruce@cory.berkeley.edu
topgun@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu (Chandra Bajpai) (03/25/90)
In article <23405@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> bruce@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Bruce Burkhalter) writes: >In article <1227@hedora.cs.utexas.edu> werner@cs.utexas.edu (Werner Uhrig) writes: [Text on Outbound Portable deleted] Is Outbound going to have a legal problem with Apple with this semi-compatible machine? I wonder how they got around the patents Apple has on the IWM Floppy Disk Controller and ADB. -Chandra Bajpai topgun@brandeis.cs.edu
pophal@nicmad.UUCP (Gerry Pophal) (03/27/90)
In article <0a1xxuW00Uh_Q1nkoC@andrew.cmu.edu> gh0t+@andrew.cmu.edu (Gordon Hester) writes: >I would like to have a portable computer to take on trips with me so >that I could use it to edit papers, write memos while things are fresh >in my mind, and other text creation and editing tasks. I use ms word 4.0 >on my mac. I just can't see shelling out $7000 for a mac portable for >these lightweight, mundane uses. Besides, I don't _have_ $7000 to shell >out for a portable! > >does anyone know of a portable I could use that would be "compatible" >with my mac in the sense of being able to edit existing word 4.0 files >and create new text files that I could then transfer to my mac and edit >as word files with minimal hassle? I'm looking for something in the >$2000 or under range. > >thanks for any advice. > >gordon hester The Atari Stacy portable at about $1500 combined with the Spectre at $300 and some mac plus ROM chips might be what your looking for. See MacWeek Nov.21'89 page 6 for more info. The Stacy is a 15 pound 8 Mhz 68000 with up to 4 Mbyte ram and 40Mbyte hard disk (both optional). It comes with a trackball, 3.5" floppy, backlit supertwist LCD screen and 1 Mbyte ram. The Spectre is available from a company called Gadgets by Small (303) 791-6098 . It is a mac emulator that allows Atari ST computers to run mac software. The ROMs must be purchesed separately and are reportedly avalaible through some mail-order suppliers. I have not seen or tried this combo yet but would like to hear from anyone that has. ZZ