18 Jul
2010
18 Jul
'10
7:25 p.m.
The Psion 5, though, was all this as well plus a whole
lot more; a
connected communication tool which could interchange files and media
with desktop PCs, sync with PC desktop PIM tools and more besides. It
was effortlessly better for me than anything Palm ever produced (and
yes, I owned several), less clever but far more practical than the
Apple Newton (and yes, I owned several), and made the PC-compatible
pocket computers (Atari Portfolio, HP LX and Omnigo, Poqet etc.) look
like pathetic also-rans.
The HP95LX/100LX (and I assume the 200LX, although I have never used one)
have 1 feature that is essential for me, and another that is highly
desirable.
The first is a good terminal emulator, with plain text, kermit and xmodem
up/down loading. For working on classic computers (which is what I do all
the time, of course), a machine that will fit in my pocket or sit on top
of a cardcage and which will let me grab data from a serial port, or work
as a consolr on a PDP11 or VAX and then let me upload any captured data
to another machine (any other machine -- kermit runs on just about
everything I own) is very handy.
The standard serial cable terminates in a DE9 socket, wired as a DCE (so
you can plug it straight into a PC serial port to transfer data to/from
the PC). Since I have several of the 4-pin HP serial cables, I modified
one by cutting off the PC connector and soldering a DB25 plug wired as a
DTE (with the handshake lines strapped together). This means I can use
my 95LX as a terminal without needing any other adapters.
The seocnd feature, the one I find highly desirable is the calculator. It
has an RPN mode, you see. And having got used to such machines, there is
no way I would go back.
The other thing I need in a palmtop is a text editor. Since I format text
with LaTeX if I want a formatted document, I don't need a word processor
on the palmtop, just a way of creating and editing text files. The HP's
hae a suitable editor, I think other palmtops do too.
The thing I most certainly do not want is automatic synchronisation with
desktop PC applicators. It's extremely unlikely I use those appliations
anyway, and there is problably no documentation on how to transfer data
to/from anything else. I prefer standard transfer systems (Kermit,
Xmodem), I'll work out how to updata the files on the PC...
Or course your needs are probably very different to mine. But for me the
HP95LX does what I want. other machines don't. The one thing I miss is a
built-in programming lagnuage (you don't even get DEBUG on the European
models). But I can live with that.
-tony