CFOG's PIP, August 1989, Volume 8 No. 3, Whole No. 71, page 29
THE PORTABLE CORNER
by Benjamin H. Cohen
This column will run from time to time, covering laptop portables. It will help if others will contribute occasionally, too.
Used Epson Genevas and NEC PC8400, 8401, and 8500 systems sell for about $100 to $150. One place to look for offers on these is the PX-DOCK, a bulletin board specializing in the Epson Geneva PX-8 at [313] 538-6968 (3-12-2400, 8-1-N).
Toshiba T1000s sell for under $600, or you can spend about as much as you want to to put computing power on your lap and get all the bells and whistles including FAX board that plugs in to a serial port.
There are used MS-DOS laptops available, too. Watch out for "Generic MS-DOS" systems. They won't run most 'DOS applications, so you may be stuck with what comes with the system. But there are some bargains if you don't need all the bells and whistles.
Owed to the Repair Shop
by Benjamin H. CohenCome all you young lassies
take warning by me
never leave your Geneva
to run on batt-er-y.The RAM disk will run down
its little nicad
and when it hits bottom
the results will be bad.It won't take a charge,
it won't run at all
the cost to repair it
sure will make you bawl.So if your not usin'
your computing friend
put it on the charger
to avoid that bad end.
Some battery powered portables, like Epson Geneva, have dedicated Ni-Cad batteries. One of them is in a compartment in the main body of the Geneva. There are lots of articles about this battery, but for the most part it's not difficult to deal with: use the machine a lot and keep it charged up. NiCads are designed for hard usage, and about the worst thing you can do for them is to just let them sit around unused. Replacements are about $35.
If you have a 120 K RAM disk "wedge" or a Multi-Unit (64K RAM disk, 300 baud modem, and a slot for a 32K or 64K ROM as Drive I:), the wedge has its own hidden battery. In ordinary usage your Geneva gets plugged in regularly and the hidden battery in the RAM disk gets charged.
But if for some reason you don't use your Geneva for a while, say when your battery dies, and you simply set the Geneva on the shelf, you'll get a rude shock. Welcome to the crowd: the repair guy says this non-use is a frequent happening. The RAM disk in the wedge draws current from its own battery to maintain the RAM disk -- even when you are not using it. When that battery is drained down to zero -- time for a new battery, it won't charge up again. The Geneva main manual says nothing about this. I don't have a manual for the RAM disk, unfortunately.
A Different Portable: NEC PC-8500
While the Geneva was in the shop I picked up a used NEC PC-8500. The NEC's screen is 25 lines (versus the Geneva's 8), and came with a 124K RAM disk peripheral. There's 300 baud modem and 32K of ROM can be configured as RAM disk. Programs in ROM include WordStar-To-Go, Calc-To-Go, Filer, Telcom, PIP, and STAT. The screen is much easier to read than the Geneva's. The NEC is not much heavier than the Geneva, at 6 pounds, with the RAM disk peripheral adding about another pound.
The NEC also needs power to maintain its RAM disk. But the NEC uses 4 easily replaced C cells. You can use standard (3 hours), alkaline (9 hours), or NiCad. NEC says alkaline batteries will maintain the (internal) RAM disk for 60 days and recommends that you keep the system plugged into the wall whenever you're not travelling. For about the cost of a replacement battery for the Geneva you could get two sets of rechargeable C cells and a charger, thus having a spare set on hand all the time. You must plug the NEC in when changing batteries or you loose the contents of your RAM disk(s).
The 124K RAM disk peripheral uses a CR2032 Lithium battery. NEC tells you to replace it every six months. The external RAM disk is not maintained when you change the battery. It costs about $2.
NEC 8500, Epson Geneva, and "Keys" Programs
I gave the NEC to one of the other lawyers in my office because I couldn't get any of the 'keys' programs to run on it, so I couldn't reconfigure it to Dvorak keyboard. I tried SmartKey, XtraKey, MagiKey, and GKX390. I've heard that you SmartKey and MagiKey can run on the Geneva but I got a system ROM burned with Dvorak keyboard built-in instead.
GENEVA ROMS
Mark Gasaway, c/o C.A.E., P.O. Box 370, Livingston Manor, NY 12758, offers 32K ROMs for Genevas for $21, two for $40, three for $56. Two 32K ROMs can be made to act like one 64K ROM (so you can use programs larger than 32K). Reburns are $14, 64K ROMs (for those with the Multi unit) are $30, reburns $19.
Gasaway also offers the improved operating system (allows reset without reinitializing the RAM disk) for $20, or with custom defaults for $40. You can set user BIOS size, RAM disk size, auto shut-off minutes, serial port, RS-232, menu on/off, drives displayed on the menu, function key definitions, MCT settings, and menu file expansion. You can also redesign the keyboard, whether you just want to put the asterisk over the 8 or make a full Dvorak layout.
Gasaway's full page plus of notes are available for from CFOG (enclose an SAE).