2 Nov
2007
2 Nov
'07
2:18 p.m.
David Griffith wrote:
I'm thinking of a device about the size of a
couple CD jewel cases that
has two serial ports, a ps/2 or usb port, VGA port, power jack, and
perhaps a JTAG header concealed within. This device is a regular RS232
serial terminal. Plug in a monitor, keyboard, and something talking rs232
and you're ready to go. Inside there would be a microprocessor, some ram,
some flash, and an FPGA to take care of glue logic and talking to the VGA
port. The FPGA would be loaded with the digital schematics of a
particular terminal and its firmware, for instance, a Wyse 85 or 99GT (my
favorites). That would get you most of the usual emulations.
How hard would it be to create something like this? How much would it
cost?
oooh, neat!
So, I'm thinking that even I can still read 132 x 40 on a 10"
diagonal screen. If a 10" LCD was the "boxtop", that gives you a 6" x
8" form factor, inclusive of everything but the keyboard. If you wanted
to go seriously compact, use one of the fold-up Palm keyboards. Me, I
have fat fingers and would prefer a PS/2 or USB port.
Would it be practical to have some sort of removable storage - flash
drive, CF, or whatever - act as the ROM? That way one could use a VT320
with a PDP-11 and a 3153 with an RS/6000, with no more trouble than
swapping CF cards.
Doc