Message-ID: <9601041418.AA17284@hpc.lut.ac.uk> Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 14:19:07 +0000 From: David Walker <mailto:D.R.F.Walker@LUT.AC.UK> Subject: Re: Computers for Africa To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
>Hello:
>
> I just read the posting on computers for Africa. I never dealt
>directly with these machines. If I recall correctly, they either had a
>Z80 or possibly an Intel 8088. The operating system is TRSDOS. You can
>be pretty sure that transferring data too or from one of these boxes
>would be a pain. There were programs from companies like Micro Solutions
>that would read a variety of weird diskette formats. I am not sure I
>like the idea of sending these ancient boxes anywhere except a museum or
>the recycle bin. I agree with the comment about not sending trash to Africa.
>
> Robert Jaquiss
>
>
>
mailto:>robertj@teleport.COM Public Access User --- Not affiliated with Teleport >Public Access UNIX and Internet at (503) 220-1016 (2400-14400, N81)
This is not such a bad idea. I still use a TRS80. It is A4 sized (handy for a briefcase) and runs for 20 hours on a set of 4 AA batteries (much better than a modern laptop) or a 5 volt adaptor. The neat thing is that it has a very simple built in transfer package which squirts ASCII out of a serial port, so it is really easy to link it to a MAC or PC to transfer the text. It holds about 20K of plain text, and has a simple word processor. I use it in the library to make notes, and on the train returning from meetings to write up minutes. It takes me about 60 seconds to plug in the connection and transfer to my desktop.
I am not giving mine away, it is a workhorse, now ten years old and totally reliable.
-------------------------------------------------------- David Walker Phone +44 (0)1509 222740 Department of Geography Fax +44 (0)1509 262192 Loughborough University LE11 3TU --------------------------------------------------------