Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!cunixf.cc.columbia.edu!cunixb.cc.columbia.edu!ta-aca
From: ta-aca@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Andrew C. Athan)
Subject: Re: 20 Meg floppies and a laptop NeXT
Message-ID: <1991May4.132003.17343@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
Sender: usenet@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu (The Network News)
Nntp-Posting-Host: cunixb.cc.columbia.edu
Reply-To: ta-aca@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Andrew C. Athan)
Organization: Columbia University
References: <1991May4.120455.19443@athena.mit.edu>
Date: Sat, 4 May 1991 13:20:03 GMT


>i just got this gear idea:
>
>a portable NeXT!!!
>
>25Mhz 68040 and 56001
>backlit active matrix display
>8Mb RAM
>40Mb swapdisk
>New 80MB floptical
>under 12 lbs
>
>Put W-M on the swapdisk, the rest of the OS on the floptical
>transfer you apps to the swapdisk via the floppy drive
>
>vola' !!!   UNIX on the Fly!!!
>
>(if they could sell it for under $5000, oh, baby!!!)

If you could do it ... I would ... lets see ... pull each of my nose hairs
out one by one. ( :-), I think that one was on Different Strokes some years
ago).

One of the things that makes the NeXT what it is is its MegaPixel display
(i.e. 1M of pixels).  I don't think a decent, readble 1024x1024 or ~1100x800
or whatever will be small/portable enough.  Backlighting?  Swapdisk?  Under
12 pounds?  Not with the battery it would take to power the thing for any
significant amount of time.  A decent unix in 80 Megs?  I wouldn't want to
try it ... especially not NeXTStep anyway (ok, so you could put two drives
on, but that would EASILY blow your $5k and increase the size of the battery
and the weight).

Now if you were talking a "Transportable" ... MAYBE.
If holographic memories were out ... much of this would be moot but ...

Oh, and much of this applies to all the NeXTStepTerminal discussions I've
seen lately ... including the idea about converting 386 boxes to NeXTStep -->
The reason its been so successful so far is because the NeXT boxes have a
unique combination of features (processing speed, well thought out data paths
in the hardware (uh, read, many DMAs), lightweight processes, DSP, MegaPixel
dispay (NeXTStep on a VGA?! I'ld rather do the thing in the first sentence of
my reply), etc. etc.).  Ok.  I closed all my parenthesies.  Off I go to sleep
(its 9:16AM, but I've been up all night).

Flames to /dev/attenuator.  Once they're toned down, I'ld love to read them.

aca
//Email:  ta-aca@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu   OR   athan@cs.columbia.edu
