CFOG's PIP, October 1986, Volume 4 No. 12, Whole No. 48, page 8

BONDWELL 2 REVIEW

by Howard Schwartz, St. Louis KUG

For well over a year I seriously considered getting a portable computer as a companion to my Kaypro 1. Since I am firmly committed to CP/M, I did not seriously consider purchasing the Kaypro 2000 or any other MS-DOS portable. While the Radio Shack 100 was attractive, its memory limitations (8K upgradable to 24K) were too severe for any practical purposes. The first CP/M portable that I considered purchasing was the Epson Geneva. This comes with 64K of memory, which is respectable, and had WordStar to boot -- or what they called WordStar-to-Go. Since WordStar is my oldest computing friend, that was great. However, the version of it for the Geneva turned out to be severely trunucated. Many aspects of WordStar were dropped for lack of space -- including the file directory! That did it -- if I couldn't know what files I had and had to guess at their names, it was useless. End of Epson Geneva fantasy.

Some of my friends, equally intrigued by portables, purchased the NEC portable, also CP/M, and gave it good reviews. However, it too, came with Word-Star-to-Go, so I Iet it go.

About six months ago I first learned of the Bondwell 2 portable from a mailing sent out by Peopletalk, who offered it at $995 (plus various accessories).

The fact that it had a built-in disk drive with 360K sounded almost too good to believe, as did the fact that it came with an 8 hour rechargable battery. To top it off, it came bundled with WordStar and other Micropro programs (Mailmerge, CaIcStar, DataStar, and ReportStar.) In fact, it sounded much like a portable clone of my Kaypro.

Not long afterward, an ad in Computer Shopper offered the Bondwell 2 for $859, including a 300 baud modem, one of the accessories that sold for $130 by itself. Now I finally got into gear to purchase it. A call to the company listing it brought assurances that it would be available for that price the next month, along with the modem. When the next issue of Computer Shopper came out, however, no ad for it was to be found and a call to the company brought the news that they no longer carried it. Why not? The profit margin was too small. (The moral here is to move quickly when a bargain rears its head in Computer Shopper.)

Somewhat abashed, I called Bondwell directly in California. They told me they had cut the price for the Bondwell 2 to $795 -- this explained why the other company had dropped it -- their price of $859 was no longer a bargain. Bondwell gave me the name and phone number of the Midwest representative in Kansas City, and I called him, intending to hesitate no longer. He confirmed the new $795 price, and we completed an order for the computer plus two cables at $30 each (necessary because the Centronics and RS232 ports are smaller than normal), and the carrying case ($40 -- originally $79). The price, including taxes, came to $940, and the dealer gave me $100 off. So the total cost was $840. I sent a bank check that day, and UPS delivered a large box of equipment one week later.

As portables go, the Bondwell is a bit heavy at 12 pounds. (The NEC Starlet weighs only 6 pounds, but it also doesn't have a disk drive.) The size is quite small, however, 11.2 by 12.2 by 3.1 inches. It does have a fine handle, and is easily carried that way or in the carrying case, which, like the cables, seems to be pretty much of a necessity (the case also has room for the recharger and the optional second disk drive.) The screen folds over the keyboard and locks securely. However, it is also easy to open. My initial reaction was a combination of delight and despair. Delight that the keyboard was as fine as it is (the cursor keys form a square that seems so natural it's hard to know why every computer doesn't have them that way.) At the same time, the fact of life of a LCD screen was inescapable -- it is simply hard to read. That is, until you get it in the right light. The best light is outside, where it is possible to find an angle clear enough for even the crankiest user. The next best light, when indoors, is directly behind or above the screen. The key point is that the LCD screen does not emit any light of its own, and it is therefore totally dependent on reflected light.

Fortunately, the screen can be adjusted to take the best advantage of the available light. On the other hand, those used to working in half-dim rooms will have to give that up fast. (I have heard recently of a firm cables. Although it would use more of the battery, I would be happy to trade an hour or two off the eight available for a little light that would illumine the screen better than the way it is. Note that the MS-DOS version of the Bondwell portable does have a backlit screen.) However, it should be added that the LCD screen, whatever its limitations, does fit 80 X 25 characters on the screen, which makes it identical to the amount present on the Kaypro. This is very important. Also, the LCD resolution is about the best available, with 640 X 200 pixels.

The one accessory I decided to skip was the modem, when the dealer assured me that it was not needed in order to send files between two computers -- that this could be done by linking the serial ports. This, then, was one of my primary concerns, since I wanted to make the many CP/M programs available in this portable format. Using the RS232C cable hooked to the serial port of the Bondwell and the modem port of the Kaypro (which has another serial port for printing), I studied the user's manual for ways to set up this connection. In fact, there were two methods available. One was to use a program included on the system disk called Transfer, and the other was to use Modem7, setup for the Bondwell, which also comes with the computer.

Not being much of an expert on setting these things up, I sought help from two friends in the St. Louis KUG, Bob Rosenfeld and Ken Seger. We did spin our wheels for a while, but once both machines had been set up identically it was possible to send some programs across, while some others (including Newsweep) refused to arrive. (Proper settings are identical baud rates -- 9600 works, so why not use it? -- no parity, 1 stop bit and 8 bits.) At last I succeeded in getting MEX114 for the Bondwell 2 (which I had picked up in my modem wanderings) across the bridge, and then I switched from Modem7 to MEX, and from then on it was easy sailing. Working at 9600 baud, I simply used the S option on the Kaypro (S filename.ext) and the R option on the Bondwell (R filename.ext). For sending a whole disk at one time, I used the batch option (SB and RB). It works great, and the speed of the 9600 baud is a sight to see. Once MEX was set up properly, I cloned both the Bondwell and Kaypro versions. I renamed the Kaypro version Bw-mex, and simply left it on my MEX disk along with the regular MEX. I also tried sending some files and programs the other way, from the Bondwell to the Kaypro, and they went just as quickly and arrived intact. So on the issue of uploading and downloading between the computers, the matter couldn't have worked out better.

Taking advantage of the batch mode, I made up a Kaypro disk of core programs to load on every Bondwell micro floppy. The idea was to make these disks independent in themselves, so that I could write and edit using the single disk. Fortunately, the Bondwell comes with a first class single drive copy program, called FILECOPY, and of course this went on every disk, as did MEX, so that I would be able to upload the material written to the Kaypro (although, to save space, it is possible to simply put MEX on one or two disks and use the log A: command to log into a new disk.)

The other core programs I settled on are: Autorun.com (comes with the Bondwell and shows all executable programs; autoloads unless replaced with a new command line by Comline.com); Bd.com, Bk.com, Comline.com, D.com, Find.com, Hrdsft.com, Makbatch.com, N.com (Newsweep), Recover.com, Vdo.com, and Vdo-save.com. Mft definitely seems to be the best single-drive filecopy program. Using the Setup program that comes with the Bondwell it is possible to create a command file that sets the 8 function keys (which become 16 when used with the shift key), I made two such files, one for WordStar (Wskey.com) and one for VDO (Vdokey.com). Then, using Makbatch.com, it is possible to create a submit file that runs as a command file to load Wskey.com along with Xtrakey and WordStar. (I call this Menu.com, and it consists of the following sequence (the slash indicates a new line):

X My/Wskey/Bk/Sap/Ws

This, then loads the function keys and key redefinitions, deletes bak files, puts the directory in alphabetical order and then loads WordStar. Note that I chose the ^ key as the supershift key on the Bondwell for Xtrakey. This is because it is the farthest key to the right on the keyboard is in the lowercase position, and seems to crey out to be named the second control key.

It should be noted that this is the f ull implementation of WordStar and I was able to speed it up using Wsfst24.lbr as usual. In addition, I was able to set up Word Finder with one version of WordStar, although I chose to use the short (90K) dictionary instead of the long (150K) one, so that there would be some room left on the disk for the file being created. Word Finder works just fine, though, of course, without the graphic effects of the video Kaypros.

Although I was able to set up WordStar without any hitches, the role of VDO, which has most of WordStar's primary commands, was very important, since the WordStar files take almost a 100K in themselves, and not much room is left on the disk when it has WordStar and all of the above utilities. The Kaypro version of VDO is only 6K (and the cursor keys work with it -- and on the Bondwell as well) and thus it is perfect for first draft writing. After that Hrdsft (using the S option: Hardsft filename.ext S) creates a WordStar file that can be finished (and printed out) using all of the luxuries of a full implementation of WordStar. Since VDO has fewer commands available than WordStar, and most of them must be accessed through one of the two menus (^0 and ^Q) it isn't as useful to use it with Xtrakey (although this can be done). In fact, using the 8 Bondwell function keys seems to. be about it. I simply load Vdokey.com before VDO, and the function keys are defined as follows:

1)	^O
2)	^Q
3)	^G
4)	^T
5)	^C
6)	^R
7)	^A
8)	^F

One minor disappointment: ^A^T, which works great to delete the word left in WordStar does not work with VDO because ^A goes to the last letter of the word left instead of the first. I don't know why this is.

All together, these core programs (using VDO instead of WordStar except on designated WordStar disks) come to around 100K. Since the size of a Bondwell disk is 360K (actually 346K after formatting), this leaves almost 250K for files to be created -- more than enough space to get a lot of work done.

All of this is an attempt, of course, to get around the problem of using a single disk drive. One of the options offered by Bondwell is a second 3 1/2" drive ($250) or a second 5 1/4" one ($300). Both plug right into the second drive port and do not require any extra battery or separate AC power. I assume they do shorten the 8 hour life of the rechargable battery somewhat. (By the way, the standard equipment includes the AC hookup for the battery recharger, and it can also be used to power the portable if the battery has run low.) Before I discovered how easy it was to transfer files back and forth using MEX, the 5 1/4" drive, which comes with software to make just such transfers, was very appealing. But now that I have solved that problem, the second 3 1/2" drive is much more attractive, and I may end up getting it, especially for use with those programs that require two drives, including many dBASE II programs. However, the existence of VDO has made the one drive option much easier to live with.

The only optional equipment I have not mentioned is a 256K ram disk which fits into the same slot as the modem. And there are two modems available, one for 300 baud and one for 1200 baud.

Once I had set up the Bondwell as described here, I found I had a portable computer with all of the capacities of my Kaypro except for the sccond disk drive (which can be added) and the graphics capacity. However, the Bondwell does have inverse video capacity, which can be accessed by using ESC I to start it and ESC N to end it (this must be done before entering WordStar.) In certain light conditions these inverse characters are much easier to read, and it is a useful capacity. The cursor uses this inverse video, which makes it quite easy to find. It also pulses in a normal fashion. Note also that the Bondwell can be set up for several European languages. All in all it is a remarkable computer for the price, and the only serious failing is the lack of a backlit LCD.

Comments
by Kurt Gebauer, FOG #49

The Bondwell-2 review is excellent -- as far as it goes. May I respectfully add my two cents.

One of the people in my office has a Bondwell-2, and we're now looking at getting several more for "on-the-road" use -- configured with a Travelcomm1200 (1200 baud modem the size of a pack of cigarettes).

I have managed to transfer information between the Bondwell-2 and the Exec and the Vixen at 19,200 baud (twice 9600) by using a "null-modem cable" and IMP on all machines and using the "Quiet" (RQ, SQ, SBQ) mode on the Bondwell so that the slowness of the LCD display doesn't cause time-out errors.

We have the RAM-disk (-- highly!!! recommended) which I have upgraded to 512K for the mere price of $20.00 in parts (8 IC sockets and 8 chips), as per the Bondwell BBS (818-788-0193) which is run by Jon Bek -- an employee of ServiceLand -- the Bondwell authorized warranty service station. It allows two BIG advantages: 1. Programs run significantly faster (Wordstar, dBase, etc.). 2. The use of the Ram-Disk extends the battery-life significantly, as the disk drive does not need to be accessed, except to save the final version of the various work-files from the Ram-Disk.

If there is significant interest in the Bondwell, perhaps we could ask Pete (SYSOP) to add a Bondwell section [to the FOG #49 RCPM -- bhc], and we can upload a variety of programs, etc. to make this the East-Coast (or at least non-west coast) BBS for Bondwell stuff.

There is also a rather significant group of Bondwell-2 owners who gather and converse (?) on CompuServe's CPMSIG Section 4 (Laptops).