IP: Gadget update

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

It has been a light time for new gadgets but I felt that it was time to
update all on what I have been using.


Lets see:


I have gotten the Toshiba Libretto 50 almost all functional under the US
Windows 95. The only utility I could not manage to get to work was the
Power Management (that reduces speed of the Pentium under battery power).
Since I dont use it on the 30, it is no big deal. I am now running the
WIN95 OSR2 version and it works like a charm. I did manage to get NT
working but without Plug and Play it is limited. 


It is a GREAT machine and my pleas to Toshiba that it is sellable in the US
market seem to be bearing fruit


Latest Nikkei news says:


        Mr Nishida, who is executive director of PC division of Toshiba, 
        has disclosed the plan to introduce the Libretto into the US, Europe
        and Asian Market in next several months.


        The Libretto may have the same performance as that of Libretto 50
        which has 75MHz Pentium or may have more performance than that.
        And pitch of the keyboard will become a little more wider than
        Japanese model by reducing some keys like Japanese translation key.


I have the US keyboard and it is fine. I run my Mikon Digital camera via
the PCMCIA port like a charm and all the other pc cards I can find.


Talking about camera, the Nikon Coolpik 100 is a neat small digital camera
that interfaces to a pc by plugging it into a pcmcia slot. Easy and
foolproof, no cables and it works. The camera is a small sharp unit that is
fun to carry.


Talk about small things, I just got the new model Metricom radio modem that
is the size of a pack of cigarets (need a better more PC analogy). It is a
winner. Less than 1/2 the size of the old modem, it works like a charm with
the Libretto and other pcs. Metricom is flat rate (about $30 per month) and
operates at about 50 kb/sec each way. It is available in Silicon vally,
Washington DC, Seattle and soon at major airports near you. I wish it was
in Philly (I may try to fix that around UPenn).


GG just got a HP320 CE machine. It is was the best of the CE systems. Built
like a battleship and with a lot of nice things like a wide screen. I will
report latter on her experieces. Only complaint right now is the screen
background should be a touch lighter.


I am using the new Pilot Professional and it is better than the old one
with backlighting. Just getting up on it so I will report latter.


I am still playing with my Skypage 2-way and still have not returned it or
fallen in love with it.


I am trying without success yet to get a RAM 2-way with the little
keyboard. Lots of promised but no carry through yet (that seems to often be
the state of the computer business).


Do look for the Libretto when it is available. It is the best I have seen
for size/weight and power.


Dave