On 18 May 2011 14:06, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
On 5/18/11 8:45 AM, Mr Ian Primus wrote:
My criteria are:
* no larger than a Cambridge Z88. * daylight readable screen. *
operates on batteries. * preferably with some kind of programming
language/environment.
I'd welcome suggestions from members of the list as to what I could
take this year that would be fun to explore but also practical
enough to use day to day to write text for the website. I will take
a laptop for uploading text via wifi, so some sort of PC
connectivity is a must (although this could be as simple as an
RS232 cable).
I don't know how common they are over there, but the Tandy model 100
and 200 computers would fit the bill. They're small, and run on AA
batteries. The LCD's are pretty decent (compared to others of the
era), and they have built in BASIC as well as a simple word processor
and termianl program. They have RS232. They also have a nice well
made keyboard. The two machines are pretty much the same - but the
200 has a bigger screen and looks more like a laptop, the 100 doesn't
have a hinged lid, since the screen is smaller and fits above the
keyboard.
?There's also the NEC PC-8201 and PC-8300. ?These were all built by Kyocera.
?Olivetti also sold at least one machine built on that design, but I don't
know the model number(s).
?These are all larger than a Z88, though. ?I think the "no larger than a
Z88" requirement will make this pretty much impossible. ?The Z88 is pretty
tiny.
I suppose it depends where you're standing, as it were, but to me, the
Z88 is a pretty huge portable device. It's bigger than some modern
notebook computers. There are a whole host of smaller portable
battery-powered devices, but not many bigger - various PC notebooks &
a handful of non-PC notebooks (various Apple Mac notebooks, the Acorn
A4, the Tadpole SPARC laptops and not much else). There were various
luggables but they were all mains-powered.
Of the same form factor as the Z88 - the Epson HX-20, the Tandy Model
100 and its relatives, the Amstrad NC100/150/200, and the Alphasmart
Dayna.
Smaller - sheesh, how long have you got?
Old school: Newbrain.
Psion: Organizer & Organizer II; Series 3/3a/3c/3mx (& clones); Series
5/5mx (& clones); Revo, Siena (& clones); MC series. All programmable
in OPL, of course.
Various Merkin poor copies of Psions ;?) ... HP 95LX, OmniGo models,
Jornada 710/720/730; Poqet; Atari Portfolio.
Sharp made various pocket-sized BASIC-programmable devices of which I
know little, such as the PC-1500, and various companies did similar.
This list recently discussed a remarkable Russian one which is a
PDP-11 compatible.
I could go on, but this would become an essay, which although fun
won't pay the bills.
There are *dozens*, quite probably *hundreds*, of battery-powered
programmable portable computers smaller than the Z88!
The only way I can interpret your "I think the "no larger than a Z88"
requirement will make this pretty much impossible" statement is if you
are thinking of something entirely different when you read "Z88".
This is a Z88:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_Z88
You can't be thinking of a ZX81 - that is bigger than lots of
pocketable computers - most Psions, the Sharp devices, all the HP LX
and Omnigos and so on.
Perhaps a Z80? A bare chip? But even so, there are surely lots of
smaller CPUs, surely...
--
Liam Proven ? Info & profile:
http://www.google.com/profiles/lproven
Email: lproven at cix.co.uk ? GMail/GoogleTalk/Orkut: lproven at
gmail.com
Tel: +44 20-8685-0498 ? Cell: +44 7939-087884 ? Fax: + 44 870-9151419
AIM/Yahoo/Skype: liamproven ? MSN: lproven at
hotmail.com ? ICQ: 73187508