NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3/NN_1993_3.iso/spool/comp/sys/handheld/2748

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-27 | 7.5 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!math.fu-berlin.de!ira.uka.de!scsing.switch.ch!news.univie.ac.at!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!olivea!isc-br!os-d!marcl
From: [e-mail] (H. Marc Lewis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Owner's review of Gateway 2000 HANDBOOK
Message-ID: <marcl.728085841@os-d>
Date: 26 Jan 93 22:04:01 GMT
Sender: [e-mail] (news user)
Organization: ISC-Bunker Ramo, An Olivetti Company
Lines: 137
Nntp-Posting-Host: os-d.isc-br.com

This is an owner's review of the Gateway 2000 Handbook, a very light, compact
and surprisingly powerful notebook computer.

                        ===== BACKGROUND =====

I'm a Sr. Software Engineer who does systems software primarily for Unix
(SVR4) and Unix lookalike systems.  I've been a laptop user since the Tandy
200 came on the market in the mid 80's.  My most recent laptop (still) is
a Toshiba T1000SE with 3mb of RAM.  I don't consider laptops suitable for a
GUI due to the difficulty and/or awkwardness of using a mouse.  My T1000SE
is used mainly to run Microsoft Works, although I also have some of the MKS
tools installed.  I don't use my laptop for terminal emulation, as I have
Unix workstations (with LAN and X.25 WAN connections) both in my office and
at home.

From my experience, I've come to the conclusion that a laptop must weigh at
least 2 pounds (otherwise it's too easy to displace) but not more than 4
(because more than that is uncomfortable for extended lap top use).  It
should have a backlit display, and a pretty conventional keyboard -- at
least in size if not layout.  And it needs either a 3.5" 1.44mb floppy, or
an internal hard disk or RAM disk with 6-8mb minimum.

                  ===== SELECTION AND ACQUISITION =====

The Zeos and Poquet (and their like) are too small.  I don't expect to carry
a useful sized keyboard in my pocket, even my 60/40 jacket pocket.  Plus
they don't have backlighting.  The 386-based units are too big since I don't
want to run windows, or have to deal with a mouse or mouse-substitute.  So
the Handbook looked like the closest fit.  I waited until 1993 hoping the
price would come down (from the original $1,295) but no joy, so I decided to
buy anyway.

I had much trouble reaching Gateway 2000 to place my order, and after
several days of trying their 800 number, I finally reached a sales person by
calling their 605 number at 9:30pm.  The woman who helped me, Diane Smith,
was extremely friendly, professional, and helpful.  My girlfriend works as a
customer service (telephone) rep for the local electric company, so I know
something about what good phone service consists of, and how uncommon it is.
9 working days later it arrived.  Diane called two days before to notify me
that Fed Ex would be delivering it on Monday, and Monday it was.

                          ===== THE HANDBOOK =====

The general specs of the computer are:
    - 9.8" x 5.9" x 1.4" (roughly the size of a `trade' paperback)
    - 2.75 pounds
    - Double scan CGA (640x400) backlit blue on white
    - C&T 8680 `PC on a chip', 10mhz
    - 1mb RAM, expandable to 3mb with proprietary card
    - 2.2 amp/hour Nickel-Metal Hydride battery
      Gateway claims 4.5 hours w/power management, 2.5 without
    - One standard 9-pin serial connector, one miniature parallel
    - 40mb internal (IDE) hard disk, 16ms access time

It comes with:
    - AC adaptor (full recharge in 2 hrs, even when Handbook is being used)
    - an extra battery pack for 6 Alkaline AA cells
    - an adapter for a 25-pin centronics style parallel printer cable
    - a 3-headed serial cable for LapLink transfers
    - a soft vinyl carrying case with zipper, handle, and inside pockets
    - MS-DOS 5.0 plus manual & 3.5" diskettes
    - LapLink XL plus manual & 3.5" diskette
    - Central Point's PC TOOLS Desktop Manager 7.0 plus manual & diskette
    - Microsoft Works 3.0 plus manual & diskettes
    - Owner's manual
    - Warranty and Customer Support manual

Optional accessories (which I didn't buy) include:
    - a FieldMouse pointing device
    - a `Combo' unit with 1.44mb 3.5" floppy drive,
      plus a parallel port and a 2nd serial port
    - a pocket Modem 2400bps data, 9600bps FAX

The software is all pre-installed, and ready to run with about 31mb free
disk space left over.  I installed Turbo C++ and still have about 22mb left
unused.  BTW -- the LapLink XL has a neat way to copy groups of files and/or
directories, so putting stuff onto the Handbook is fairly quick and easy
provided you have access to another PC with a floppy drive.

                        ===== MY IMPRESSIONS =====

First, the keyboard -- it's great!  The feel is a little stiffer than my
T1000SE, the keys don't depress as far, and it's about 85% the size.  It
actually fits my hand better than a standard keyboard where I have to reach
quite a bit for the Backspace key (for example).  For inputting text, I have
no complaints at all.  For programming, I dislike the placement of the Ctrl
key (which should be swapped with the Fn key) and the Tilde/Grave key and
Backslash keys are small and not where expected.  Summary: for text it's
perfect, for programming it's not perfect but quite usable.

The performance is *MUCH* better than I had expected.  It turns in a 10.7
for CPU speed via the Norton SI utility (whereas my T1000SE does 2.1).  Its
does about 2,450 Dhrystones.  I can compile and link a 150 line C++ program
in about 18 seconds (Turbo C++), whereas my 486-based Unix system does the
same program in 13 seconds (GNU g++).

The Handbook has a nice `resume' feature which puts you right back where you
left off when you `turned it off'.  Gateway points out that you never really
turn it off, you just put it into `suspend' mode when you hit the off switch.
It also has a `standby' mode, which it enters after being idle for a user
definable amount of time, where it shuts down the disk and screen.  The
`standby' mode goes to `suspend' mode after 15 minutes.

The built-in `setup' utility allows you to:
    - set date and/or time
    - select which disk (hard or floppy) to boot from
    - set a wake-up timer (to turn the Handbook on at a given time)
    - disable/enable the low battery beep
    - set a password to prevent unauthorized use
    - configure the I/O ports
    - select power management options (CPU speed, various timers, etc.)
    - select power management options for when using AC adapter
    - set cursor size and blink rate
    - map colors to gray-scale palette
    - Ctrl key and CAPS LOCK key swap

In addition, when running any program, you can use the Fn-1 through Fn-6
key combinations to map colors to grey scale without having to invoke the
`setup' utility.  And you can use Fn-minus and Fn-plus to invert the display
at any time.

Upon delivery, the Handbook has expanded memory software (XMS)
pre-installed.  Software for (EMS) extended memory is provided on the hard
disk, but not installed.  The EMS driver can be enabled via modifying the
CONFIG.SYS file.

There are several warnings about the Handbook's sensitivity to static
electricity.  However, I live in Spokane (low humidity, low Winter temps)
and am one of those people who draw big blue sparks every time I touch
anything metal in my house during the Winter.  I've had no problems thus
far, but have been careful to ground myself before picking up or carrying
the Handbook.
--
H. Marc Lewis                 |  Phone: [phone]
ISC-Bunker Ramo Corp.         |  e-mail: [e-mail]
22425 E. Appleway Ave.        |  or:  ...!uunet!isc-br!hela!marcl
Liberty Lake, WA 99019-9534   |  "Nature bats last..."