3 Feb
1999
3 Feb
'99
9:37 p.m.
At 10:51 PM 2/1/99 -0600, you wrote:
> Computer (Sharp) or the Model 100 (Kyocera).
I'm not sure about the M200,
> but I suspect it might have been made by Kyocera as well. Uncle Roger
> knows more about all of the different Kyocera clones.
I didn't know about the Kyocera connection,
however. Interesting....
Tandy may have *made* the m100; Kyocera *designed* it. I think Tandy
redesigned it (tweaked it) into the 102; they probably did the design
(based on the original Kyocera design) of the 200.
FYI, there are 9 versions of Kyocera's design:
Kyocera KC-85
TRS-80 Model 100
TRS-80 Model 102 (mostly the same as the 100, only lighter and cheaper)
TRS-80 Model 200 (clamshell, with larger screen)
NEC PC-8201 (Japanese version, with Katakana? charset in ROM)
NEC PC-8201A (American version)
NEC PC-8300
Olivetti M10 (American version)
Olivetti M10 (Euro version)
Not related, but possibly mistaken as such:
TRS-80 Model 600
NEC PC-8401A "Starlet"
NEC PC-8500
Olivetti M15
I don't know if Kyocera ever came out with anything after the KC85.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- O-
Uncle Roger "There is pleasure pure in being mad
roger(a)sinasohn.com that none but madmen know."
Roger Louis Sinasohn & Associates
San Francisco, California http://www.sinasohn.com/
3 Feb
3 Feb
9:49 p.m.
On Wed, 3 Feb 1999, Uncle Roger wrote:
Tandy may have *made* the m100; Kyocera *designed* it.
I'm pretty sure Kyocera *made* it too. The FCC ID (if they had them back
then) is a dead give away.
I think Tandy redesigned it (tweaked it) into the 102;
Oh, Bill Gates takes credit for the redesign in the Smithsonian interview
I posted an URL for recently. He says the 100 made too much noise in
meetings, so they redesigned it with a quieter keyboard.
Of course, the Covergent Technologies workSlate (1983) never had that
problem, and had several innovative features not possessed by the Kyocera
clones. (But it cost more, and you couldn't find it at Rat Shack.)
-- Doug
2:54 a.m.
On Wed, 3 Feb 1999, Doug wrote:
Of course, the Covergent Technologies workSlate (1983)
never had that
problem, and had several innovative features not possessed by the Kyocera
clones. (But it cost more, and you couldn't find it at Rat Shack.)
You know, I'm getting tired of classic computers. I hear about this great
little computer, the tandy m100. It has all these nice features. And then
I hear that it was a cheap clone for a _really_ good system...sigh.
So, what _were_ these innovative features?
10:14 p.m.
On Wed, 3 Feb 1999, Max Eskin wrote:
You know, I'm getting tired of classic computers.
I hear about this great
little computer, the tandy m100. It has all these nice features. And then
I hear that it was a cheap clone for a _really_ good system...sigh.
So, what _were_ these innovative features?
Well, surely you know that there's little correlation between innovation
and success. The Tandy Model 100 (and other Kyocera clones) was very
similar to the Epson HX-20 which preceded it by two years, except that it
had a bigger display (which is, of course, one of the most important
attributes of a portable).
But the workSlate was in another class. Take a look at Kai's workSlate
page:
http://www.geocities.com/~compcloset/ConvergentTechnologiesWorkSlate.htm
16 line display, built-in speadsheet, "PDA" features, voice capabilities,
and very cool looking. All in 1983.
-- Doug
4 Feb
4 Feb
3:32 p.m.
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4:56 p.m.
On Thu, 4 Feb 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
There were 2 other important differences IMHO. Firstly
the M100 keyboard
was a lot easier to type on than the HX20 keyboard. I would not want to
type much on the latter.
Last night, I whipped out my workSlate. The keyboard sucks! It's just as
noisy as the model 100's keyboard, but those weird round keys make
touch-typing impossible.
On the good side, the workSlate fits nicely on my flatbed scanner:
http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/convergent/ws.jpg
Yes, you could get text editor ROMs for the HX20. But
you couldn't buy an
HX20 and start using it to enter text in the field. That, IMHO, is why
the M100 was more successful.
And you could buy the M100 at just about any Radio Shack. I never said
the M100 was a bad machine -- it's the "little things" that make a
difference, but it wasn't a trail blazer either. The HX20 wins in terms
of "firstness", the workSlate wins in terms of innovative features and
coolness, but the M100 wins in terms of usability and market share.
-- Doug
4:58 p.m.
On Thu, 4 Feb 1999, Tony Duell wrote:
There were 2 other important differences IMHO. Firstly
the M100 keyboard
was a lot easier to type on than the HX20 keyboard. I would not want to
type much on the latter.
Really? The HX-20 keyboard was almost the same as the M100's. It has a
full layout, with normal sized keys. Are you sure you aren't thinking of
something other than the HX-20?
Also, the M100 had a text editor built in. Sure it was
simple. But it
worked. The HX20 had BASIC and a machine code monitor only. The hacker in
me wants the machine code monitor. But the user in me wants to be able to
enter text. And most people are just users.
Well, you could get the SkyWriter ROM (one of mine has one installed).
Yes, you could get text editor ROMs for the HX20. But
you couldn't buy an
HX20 and start using it to enter text in the field. That, IMHO, is why
the M100 was more successful.
True dat.
Sellam Alternate e-mail: dastar(a)siconic.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Always hasslin' the man.
Coming in 1999: Vintage Computer Festival 3.0
See http://www.vintage.org/vcf for details!
[Last web site update: 01/15/99]
6:48 p.m.
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